Defenseman left game following 3rd NHL season to join father’s painting business
Nick Seeler couldn’t take it anymore.
After four seasons of pro hockey, bouncing dozens of times between the NHL and the American Hockey League, being claimed on waivers and then feeling forgotten about by his new team, he was done with all of it.
He was sick of dealing with the life of a player.
The Minnesota kid who grew up dreaming of playing in the NHL traded his stick for a brush, taking a job with his father's painting business.
But less than four years later, he signed a four-year contract as a top-four defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers.
"It's certainly fun to look back on," Seeler said of his unique hockey story. "Everyone's path is different, everyone's journey is different."
He's underselling it.
"It's an incredible story," former NHL general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "Certainly rarely, if ever, been done."
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Seeler grew up in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, as an undersized defenseman who was overshadowed by high school teammates like St. Louis Blues defenseman Nick Leddy and forward Kyle Rau, who has played 61 NHL games with the Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild.
Chris LaCombe, who coached Seeler as a youth player, remembered him as "a 5-foot, 100-pound bantam ... a little short guy, hair down to his eyebrows, that little bowl cut. That's him."
But the toughness and competitiveness that have become hallmarks of Seeler's game now were just as obvious through his development, which included two Minnesota state hockey championships at Eden Prairie High School.
LaCombe, who works as a CAA hockey agent and is Seeler's longtime adviser, got a call from Fletcher, then the Wild's general manager, ahead of the 2011 NHL Draft, which was held at the team’s arena, Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Wild were hoping to draft a Minnesota-born player, and Fletcher asked LaCombe if he represented anyone.
LaCombe immediately recommended Seeler, and the Wild selected him in the fifth round (No. 131).
"At the time, nobody thought twice about it," LaCombe said. "I remember Chuck saying, 'I appreciate it, but he's never going to play for me.' Maybe, maybe not. You've got to wait to get him out there. He competes harder than anybody you've ever seen. So, he goes to (Wild development) camp and [Fletcher] calls me after the camp, he's like, 'You're right, he is tough. But he's got a long way to go.'"
Seeler played one season in the United States Hockey League, then three seasons of college hockey interrupted by a transfer from the University of Nebraska Omaha to the University of Minnesota that forced him to sit out the 2014-15 season because of NCAA rules at the time.
He signed with the Wild after he graduated in 2016 and split the next three seasons between them and their AHL affiliate, playing 99 NHL games before Minnesota placed him on waivers midway through the 2019-20 season in an attempt to clear space under the NHL salary cap. The Chicago Blackhawks claimed him.
Seeler played six games with Chicago and was scratched for 10 others before the season was paused due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. He was on the roster for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs but never got into a game.
But Seeler never was happy in Chicago. It wasn't the time out of the lineup that bothered him, rather how he felt he was never told by the Blackhawks what they needed to see. It left him discouraged enough to quit hockey altogether.
“He felt like they dishonored him and were disrespectful to him and wouldn't tell him anything,” LaCombe said. “And he just is like, ‘You know what? I'm done.’"
The Blackhawks placed Seeler on waivers to terminate his contract, and LaCombe immediately started preparing for what was next.
For Seeler, there was no next.
"We start talking about options, Europe ... Swedish Elite League, Kontinental Hockey League," LaCombe said. "And none of it. 'Shut me down.' So, we decided to shut him down."
With hockey out of the equation for the 2020-21 season, Seeler took a job with the company his father owned, Midwest Industrial Coatings, in Shakopee, Minnesota.
"I just needed a mental and physical kind of break and reset," Seeler said. "I wasn't sure what that looked like, whether that meant getting back into the game or trying to find a different path in my life, a different journey to go on that didn't involve hockey.
"It was an extremely difficult time, for sure. But it was something that I needed to do."
* * *
Seeler said he didn't know if the passion to play again would return, but after a couple months he began training again, then asked LaCombe to test the NHL waters for him.
One of LaCombe's first calls was to Fletcher, who at that time was GM of the Flyers.
"He said, '“Seels” is getting back into the game,’ and ‘Are you interested in having have him be a part of your organization?’" Seeler said. "Thankfully, he wanted to give me an opportunity to get back into it."
Fletcher knew who Seeler was but wasn't sure who he could be after a season away.
"We obviously had an appreciation for him and respect for him," Fletcher said. "After taking a year off, he was just looking for an opportunity to get back in. I remember (assistant GM) Brent [Flahr] coming into my office and saying, 'What do you think about Nick Seeler?' We know the kid, and what is there to lose? Let's give him a shot."
The Flyers signed Seeler to a one-year, two-way contract July 28, 2021.
"You assumed he might need some time in the American league because he missed an entire season," Fletcher said. "But he also had established himself in Minnesota prior to that as a regular player, so we just weren't sure where he would be at after missing time. But knowing how he competes and his mindset, he's a very determined young man and he's tough as nails. So, we thought there was really no risk.
"Worst case, if he starts the year and he had diminished his skills a bit or he would need time to get his timing back, I guess he would play in Lehigh [Valley of the AHL]. But we thought he would push, and he brought an element of compete and toughness that we felt we needed in the organization."
Seeler had three points (one goal, two assists) in 43 games in 2021-22. His average of 8.00 hits per 60 minutes of ice time was second among Flyers defensemen (Rasmus Ristolainen 9.75), and his average of 7.14 blocked shots per 60 minutes was fourth among NHL defensemen who played at least 40 games.
And he was on the NHL roster all season.
"It was exciting, and the coaches certainly respected him right away, right from that first training camp," Fletcher said. "He started earning the trust and respect of the coaching staff and his teammates."
He signed a two-year, $1.55 million contract ($775,000 average annual value) with the Flyers on May 19, 2022, with the first season a one-way contract and the second a two-way deal.
That coincided with the arrival of John Tortorella as coach.
"When I came here, he was on the board but really not a lot of discussion about him," Tortorella said. "But he's grown into that guy."
That guy has become a player Tortorella has come to depend on in a significant way the past two seasons. Seeler averaged 14:29 of ice time in 77 games in 2022-23 and an NHL career-high 16:57 in 71 games last season. Also in 2023-24, he led the Flyers and was fifth in the NHL with 205 blocked shots, and his 132 hits were the most among Philadelphia defensemen.
And, showing how important Seeler was, Philadelphia went 4-5-2 and allowed an average of 4.00 goals when he missed 11 games because of a broken foot sustained March 4. His absence was one of the reasons the Flyers went from third place in the Metropolitan Division when Seeler was injured to missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
If someone was going to design the ideal Tortorella player in a hockey laboratory, it would look exactly like Seeler.
"I don't think it's a John Tortorella player," Tortorella said. "I think it's any coach or any organization that wants an example, as far as the competitive mindset that he has, wants around."
Seeler believes he is the right player for the right coach.
"He expects a lot of his players, and he expects a lot of himself," Seeler said of Tortorella. "He's an intense guy and an intense coach. I think we have a lot of similarities in that sense. We're just competitors. I think he saw that in me early, but it's something that I want to continue to build, with the trust and the respect thing. That's something that needs to be constant."
* * *
Neither the Flyers nor Seeler were sure he would remain a constant in Philadelphia last season. With the then-30-year-old’s contract set to expire after that season, a choice had to be made.
The Flyers have embraced a rebuild and want to keep space open for some of their younger prospects at all positions. So, would a defensive defenseman who plays a physical style and would be 31 when the 2024-25 season began fit their future plans?
Seeler's toughness and shot-blocking certainly made him a desirable commodity to other teams. He understood the business of the game but maintained before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 8 that he hoped to remain with the Flyers.
Rumors swirled. His season-long defense partner, Sean Walker, who also was a pending unrestricted free agent, was traded to the Colorado Avalanche on March 6.
That same day, the Flyers signed Seeler to a four-year, $10.8 million contract ($2.7 million AAV).
"It obviously meant the world to me," Seeler said. "It's something that you work towards. I wasn't sure if I'd ever receive a contract like that. Obviously I worked very, very hard for it, but I had so much support along the way. To be able to share that with my family and close friends and to have that that four-year extension, it meant so much to me."
LaCombe, who had been through all the ups and downs with Seeler, was thrilled.
"It's vindication for all the good people that are doing things the right way," he said. "It worked. He stuck with it. He never wavered one time and you feel good for a player like him who has put in so much the right way.
"The story couldn't have written itself any better."
* * *
Does Seeler feel like he's made it?
"No," he said. "I wish I did. I think just in my whole career, I've had that mentality where you need to keep continuing to work and grow, and never be comfortable in the spot you're in because someone's always fighting for spots and playing time, and you can always continue to get better at your game. So, I don't think I was ever comfortable, and I think it's helped me in my career."
It's why Seeler still takes nothing for granted as he gets ready to play the first season on that new contract; why he trains as hard now, with job security for the first time, as he did before, when his roster status felt like a day-to-day question.
"If you can't follow his lead as far as how he plays and learn from that as a young defenseman, or as a player -- not even a position, just a player -- and how he competes, then you're missing the boat because he's right there in your locker room," Tortorella said. "A lot of times you try to emulate a player, and it may be an opposing player. But he's right there sitting next to you. That's a huge part of what Seels brings here."
Jamie Drysdale learned that firsthand. He was paired with Seeler to end last season, and they likely will begin this season as Philadelphia's second pair.
"Leaving the game for a little bit and then coming back, and to be the caliber of player he is and teammate, it's really impressive and we're really lucky to have him," Drysdale said. "He's a heck of a teammate, a guy that I'm sure every single team in this league would love to have. He's a great player, great person. Glad I'm playing with him and it's pretty cool what he did."
What Seeler did was unheard of. The NHL is the dream. And to willingly put it aside, then come back?
"And not only that, he's better," said Fletcher, now a senior adviser for the New Jersey Devils. "He came back and he's playing even at a higher level now than he did before he took the year off."
With the Flyers still looking to find ice time for younger players, the grind will continue for Seeler. They played seven rookies last season, including defensemen Emil Andrae, 22; Ronnie Attard, 25; and Adam Ginning, 24; and there are more young defensemen coming, including Oliver Bonk, 19, a first-round pick (No. 22) in the 2023 NHL Draft; and Hunter McDonald, 22, a sixth-round pick (No. 165) in the 2022 NHL Draft, who plays a big, physical game similar to that of Seeler.
But Seeler just keeps his head down and plays. He'll keep fighting for his job, fighting for his teammates and showing how perseverance can be the most important lesson a player learns.
"There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes that a lot of people don't realize,” Drysdale said, “and sometimes it can get to you. I think it was just a case of maybe taking a step away and regrouping, and obviously the comeback he's had since he's been back and the importance he's had to this team is pretty incredible. I'm lucky to call him a teammate."
