This guy doesn't get enough credit or discussion around here but he's firmly taken his place as one of our top forward prospects and is certainly the most promising winger in our system. Not a very big feat in our prospect pool but not to detract from his game at all. My favorite of our forward prospects at this point.
First caught him last season while they were airing games from the Memorial Cup before seeing Thrower take him into next week coming over the offensive blueline off the boards (which he seemingly recovered from despite missing the few games remaining). He was in a secondary scoring role on a very deep and talented Winterhawks roster but it was clear that he belonged anywhere in the lineup. Finished with 27g and 35a in 64gp and I believe he was wearing an 'A' aswell. Caught him in our rookie game against the Caps where he turned up as a standout, scoring the only goal of the game in a shutout win.
This year I was lucky enough to come across HockeyStreams.com where for 70 bucks you get access to all CHL coverage, NHL and AHL coverage, and even UFC events and a couple of other random things like that. All great quality and no blackouts. It puts all other related products to complete and utter shame.
Anyways, just some insight for those who aren't familiar with his play and development:
Coming into this season, he was given the 'C' as the leader of what has proven to be another top notch Winterhawks club despite losing talent like Rattie and Jones. I've taken the liberty of catching around 10 games so far this season and have been blown away by Leier's 200-ft game (If I can find the time outside Flyers games, it'll be to catch him). While he doesn't carry the statline (quite) of teammates Bjorkstrand and Petan, he lead the club in goals until missing the last few games (22 through 31) and is the undeniable straw that stirs the beautiful cocktail that is the Winterhawk's front end. His assists totals arent much (21) but from watching I can firmly attribute this to the fact that he's usually the last forward out of the zone because he's usually always the guy making a nice play from the defensive end boards, whether it's a nice takeaway behind the goal line and moving it up, or being in perfect position for nearly one-toucher breakout passes from their dmen and upto one of their more explosive guys like Petan and Bjorkstrand --- This leaves him trailing into the offensive zone where he cruises in undetected into perfect position and finds himself finishing a great deal of plays. He's got nice placement on his finishing with a pretty dece shot, but it's his pure IQ that allows him to continuously land in prime open scoring positions. He possess a nice stride with good speed. Also, he is the most threatening and reliable penalty-killer on the squad, which eats into is scoring minutes a little bit. He also had a nice shorty for team WHL where he was a standout.
Taylor comes in with a slightly undersized frame at 5'11-177Lbs, and is 19 for another few months. Not much to say about it now because his size in particular doesn't exactly work for or against him. So he's got above average shooting and speed, is a solid playmaker, slightly undersized but what takes him to the next level is that his hockey IQ is simply well well above most players---again this is his greatest asset. He just gets it.
It's great to see that he's being so heavily looked at for Team Canada this year and it's truly a testament to his versatility and reliability. It would be a smart move to have him along.
Last season I mentioned it being a huge mistake by Canada when they passed over Laughton and other 2-way players to pack a roster full of scoring---really not sure what lead them to take that direction but they predictably failed to hit the podium and brass came out recently admitting to their mistake in changing what has always made Canada successful. This is what leads me to believe Leier plays a bigger role this year than generally anticipated still.
I don't what else to add....I think this kids a real diamond in the rough for the organization and being a LW i see him usurping our other top prospects being Centers at this point. He'll end up useable on any line in the same way Read is although I wouldn't directly compare the two.
Let's hope he stays nice and healthy-- Pretty sure he has the rest covered.