2022-23 Player Review: Nick Seeler was very good at a couple things

Nick Seeler somewhat embodies the good side of the 2022-23 Philadelphia Flyers. He was here last season, signed a new two-year deal to just provide some depth for the Chuck Fletcher era of this team and was actually pretty solid in his role of a depth defender.

The expectations were minimal but after 82 games were played, we were left pleasantly surprised by how successful his season could be considered. It’s nothing perfect and he probably will play in a similar or lesser role next season, but the 29-year-old blueliner did exactly what he should have done with what he was given.

Let’s just dive into what exactly he did, though.

Okay, okay. I get it. You see a couple paragraphs of praise and then look at what Seeler did in 77 games, putting up 14 points and barely scratching the over a shot-pre-game mark and question what the hell I’m talking about. Classic hockey blogger just going off on something that doesn’t make any sense.

Bear with me. Because offense wasn’t where Seeler shined. He might have actually hurt the Flyers offense more than anything, but it was the way he went about controlling the play in the Flyers’ zone and keeping opposition at bay, where he shined.

It should be considered a miracle that a Philadelphia Flyers player was just slightly under breaking even in terms of on-ice goals at 5-on-5. In over 1,000 5-on-5 minutes played, Seeler was able to keep the Flyers in most games and never really was a detriment to his team to be on the ice.

The only Flyers defenseman that had a higher on-ice goals for percentage than Seeler was Cam York. And if we want to add the thousand-minute cutoff for qualifying for this leaderboard, Seeler had the highest on-ice goals for percentage among the five Philadelphia blueliners that played that many minutes.

And those are just actual real goals. He had the fifth-highest on-ice expected goals for percentage among all Flyers skaters (third-highest if you think Tyson Foerster and Lukas Sedlak’s seasons shouldn’t count). This feels so weird to think about him in this way!

It wasn’t the balance of offense that earned Seeler these on-ice numbers though, it was just how much better he is at defense than almost every player that wore orange and black this season.

Look at that difference! That expected goals against rate of 2.14 is elite. If you want to compare that on-ice effect to the best defensive defensemen in the NHL, it is comparable. Jaccob Slavin (2.06 xGA/60), Devon Toews (2.29), Jared Spurgeon (2.21), Jonas Brodin (2.31) – you get where I’m going with this. Seeler’s on-ice effect on the defensive side of the puck was up there with some of the best.

It was just the other side of the ice that Seeler wasn’t too good at and his overall impact was hurt by that.

Yeah, yeah. The metrics that rely on players “shooting” and being “average offensively” don’t look great for Seeler but he shouldn’t be too concerned with that. He might have been the player that benefitted most from having John Tortorella as his head coach.

And we personally love him, because while he can be good and rugged defensively, he is also known to be able to have the most chaotic hockey fights imaginable.

I feel exhausted just watching that (for the 14th time).

Overall, Seeler was a specialty player. Someone who was excellent defensively, not great offensively (despite scoring four goals), and could give the blood-thirsty fans what they want when his fists go flying into a dude’s face. He is one offensive hot streak away from being a fan favorite.

Three Questions

Did they live up to expectations?

Easily. Expectations were that he would might not even be a regular on this Flyers team. To then play a total of 77 games and be one of the best defensive players on this team feels like rising to the occasion and knocking the opportunity out of the fucking park.

What can we expect from next season?

Well, he will either be playing in a similar role (because the same players are here), in an increased role (because they all got traded), or down in the depths of being a healthy scratch or in the AHL (because they added a defenseman or some prospects got better).

If Seeler is playing in Philadelphia, the expectations might be slightly higher to be the all-defensive player that he showed this season, but also you can’t really want that much from a guy on a two-way contract and just hanging out.

How do we grade their 2022-23 season?

I loved it. As someone that enjoys the rough and physical side of the game, while also appreciating rock-solid defense, Seeler might have been My Guy this season outside of the youngsters we have collectively put all of our hope into. He plays the game on an edge but can suffocate offense very well.

Tortorella knows this guy in and out, probably, and utilized his skillset in such a way that he excelled beyond what we could have ever expected. But, he is also a guy that didn’t even average 15 minutes a night and isn’t a whole lot else in two-thirds of the ice. We still love you.

Grade: B-