Nick Seeler (born June 3, 1993) is an American professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
defenseman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...
who is currently playing for the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL). He was drafted by the
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...
in the fifth round, 131st overall, in the
2011 NHL Entry Draft
The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hoste ...
. Prior to turning professional, Seeler played for the
University of Nebraska Omaha
The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...
and
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
.
Playing career
As a student at
Eden Prairie High School
Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) (formerly Eden Prairie Senior High School) is a four-year public high school in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States established in 1923. The present high school opened in 1981 and was significantly added to in ...
for four years, Seeler played on both the junior varsity hockey team and school golf team. However, he saw limited playing time due to his short stature until after a growth spurt in his junior year where he began to develop more as a player. Before graduating, Seeler had been honored as a First-Team All-State selection, an All-Metro First Team choice, All-Lake Conference and a member of the All-Tournament Team in the State Tournament.
Junior
While in his senior year at Eden Prairie High School, Seeler committed to play NCAA Division 1 hockey for the
University of Nebraska Omaha
The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...
. He was later drafted 131st overall in the
2011 NHL Entry Draft
The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hoste ...
by the Minnesota Wild.
Following the draft, he then went on to play with the
Muskegon Lumberjacks
The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at Mercy Health Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League franchi ...
and the
Des Moines Buccaneers
The Des Moines Buccaneers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team has played in the Western Conference since the 2009–10 season.
History
The Buccaneers began USHL play during the 1980–81 season ...
in the
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...
for the
2011–12 USHL season
The 2011–12 USHL season is the 33rd season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league. The regular season began on September 30, 2011, and concluded on April 14, 2012, with the regular season champion winning the Anderson Cup.
...
where he was named to the USHL All-Rookie Team.
He stated that he felt going through the USHL before joining the collegiate league would be the best way to prepare for the jump from junior hockey to college.
College
Seeler then played for the University of Nebraska Omaha for two seasons before transferring to the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
in 2014.
He was not allowed to play in the 2014–15 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
He then played one season for the University of Minnesota before signing an entry level contract with the Minnesota Wild and joining their
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
(AHL) affiliate, the
Iowa Wild
The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, that began play for the 2013–14 season. The team plays at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, as the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild.
The team was f ...
, for the
2016–17 AHL season
The 2016–17 AHL season was the 81st season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 14, 2016, and ended on April 15, 2017. The 2017 Calder Cup playoffs began on April 20, 2017.
Regular season
The AHL had a slight alig ...
.
Professional
Minnesota Wild
After attending the Minnesota Wild's 2017 training camp, Seeler was reassigned to the AHL to begin the
2017–18 season. He scored his first AHL goal on January 7, 2018, against the Cleveland Monsters.
Seeler was called up to the NHL from the Iowa Wild on February 11, 2018.
He made his NHL debut the next day against the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
. Seeler recorded his first NHL point on February 22, 2018, in a game against the
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
. He assisted on
Chris Stewart's goal to help the Wild win 4–2. After his first NHL fight against
Luke Witkowski
Luke Witkowski (born April 14, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Springfield Thunderbirds in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey Le ...
on March 4, 2018, Seeler missed three games due to a bicep strain. He returned to the lineup on March 13, 2018, to play in a 5–1 loss to the
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...
. Seeler made his playoff debut during the
2018 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs began on April 11, 2018, after the 2017–18 regular season and concluded on June 7, 2018, with the Washington Capitals winning their fir ...
against the
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...
. He recorded two points in five games as the Wild lost in five games to the Jets.
As a
restricted free agent
A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...
, Seeler agreed to a three-year, $2.175 million contract with the Wild on July 1, 2018. On November 3, after going pointless in his first 12 NHL games that season, Seeler recorded two assists and his first NHL goal in a 5–1 win over the
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...
.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Wild placed Seeler on
waivers on February 3, 2020, whereupon he was claimed by the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
. As the Blackhawks were already in town to play the Wild at the
Xcel Energy Center
Xcel Energy Center (also known as "The X") is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena has four ...
, Seeler did not immediately have to move to join his new team, although he did not play against his old team. He played in six games with Chicago, registering one assist before the regular season was indefinitely suspended due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. When the NHL returned to play for the
2020 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs began on August 1, 2020, and concluded on September 28, 2020, with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning their second Stanley Cup in franchise ...
, Seeler was one of 31 Blackhawks invited to play in the "bubble" in Edmonton.
After attending the Blackhawks training camp for the delayed
2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season, Seeler failed to make the opening night roster and was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the
Rockford IceHogs
The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...
. On January 16, 2021, Seeler was placed on unconditional waivers in order to mutually terminate his contract with the Blackhawks.
Philadelphia Flyers
On July 28, 2021, Seeler signed a one-year, two-way contract with the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...
for $750,000. Although he was expected to open with the
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey Lea ...
, a preseason injury to
Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Ristolainen (born 27 October 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected eighth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing ...
pushed Seeler up into the Flyers' opening day lineup. He endeared himself to Flyers fans and teammates during the team's first match against the
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. ...
when he fought
Jamie Oleksiak
Jamieson Oleksiak (born December 21, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed the "Big Rig", Oleksiak was selected 14th overall in the first ro ...
to a standstill. Seeler took seven penalty minutes during the game, which Philadelphia won 6–1. However, as the Flyers held a 13–20–8 record by January 2022 and became riddled with injuries, Seeler was asked to move into a fourth-line winger position.
On May 20, 2022, Seeler opted to forgo free agency and agreed to a two-year, $1.550 million contract extension with the Flyers.
Personal life
His parents are Dan and Kris Seeler and he has two older sisters, Ashley and Kelly. Kelly was a member of the
Minnesota's national championship hockey team in 2012.
Career statistics
Awards and honors
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeler, Nick
1993 births
Living people
American men's ice hockey defensemen
Chicago Blackhawks players
Des Moines Buccaneers players
Ice hockey players from Minnesota
Iowa Wild players
Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players
Minnesota Wild players
Minnesota Wild draft picks
Muskegon Lumberjacks players
Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey players
People from Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Ice hockey people from Hennepin County, Minnesota
Philadelphia Flyers players