LA Kings Draft: Three things to know about defenseman Ronan Seeley
By Ryan Sikes
2. Terrific at leading rushes through the neutral zone or trailing rushes to provide support.
Seeley’s bread and butter. One of the biggest reasons why he had such a significant offensive improvement with the Everett Silvertips between 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 was his ability to dump the puck into the opposition’s zone while continuing to pursue the puck. He has excellent stickhandling and vision that allows him to navigate through gaps. Because of this, the Silvertips had what frequently looked like odd-man rushes, knowing Seeley was waiting for a chance to contribute.
As seen in the play below, Seeley starts at the top of the screen, carrying the puck through the neutral zone, and dumping it off to his teammate. Rather than hanging back, he continues to provide support and puts himself in a favorable position to make a quick play on the puck.
His winger caused a defender to sell out on blocking the shot while forcing the goalie out of position. Seeley has the awareness, once the puck settled at center ice, to know the goalie is vulnerable and fires a quick shot into the back of the net.
