Player Evaluation: Nick Leddy

Stepping into the NHL as a 19 year old and having a somewhat big role on the team is quite difficult. Being expected to fill the shoes of one of the best puck moving defensemen in the league the very next season is another daunting task. Yet, Nick Leddy hasn’t backed down from those challenges put in front of him. While he’s made his mistakes like most young skaters do, he hasn’t let those discourage him and has proven that he’s coming along quite well as a puck moving NHL defensemen. To back track a bit, there are many folks that don’t quite understand the road Leddy took to the NHL. Leddy was drafted by the Minnesota Wild straight out of the Minnesota High School Hockey league in the first round of the 2009 NHL Draft. While the Minnesota High School league is one of the best leagues in the US for high school aged players, it is still not quite like playing Major Junior hockey in Canada. Leddy though, who was had offers to play for the National Development team, had such a g...