A fifth round pick drafted by the Wild out of Eden Prairie HS, he joins a growing list of Minnesota players in the NHL. Seeler is the 23rd alum to play in an NHL game this season. No NCAA team has had more.
"I thought we didn't develop anyone in our program. That's the word," head coach Don Lucia said sarcastically when a reporter brought up that fact.
To Lucia, each NHL debut is special. Having known Seeler since he was a youngster with a bit of a temper playing on the same summer hockey team with his son Mario and having coached him, Lucia has seen him develop and mature over the years.
"When you see a guy go through and watch him grow personally, and like I've said I've seen that as much with Nick as anybody because I've known him so long, I'm really happy for him," he said. "I'm really happy for all the guys (playing Tuesday). Vinni's playing and Brady Skjei's playing and Seeler's playing. We've had a lot of guys who have had a chance to play in the NHL."
Seeler, who played at Minnesota during the 2015-16 season after transferring from Omaha, sat out the previous season. The time practicing and being able to take a step back was good for the physical defenseman, Lucia believed.
"There were a couple, one or two times where (Seeler) had a meltdown in a game where he took a five or retaliation penalty, but we talked through it," said Lucia. "Just to see him mature that year, you felt good. He was going to graduate, the Wild wanted him and he could go on. He's done a good job in the American League and improved his game."
Four of the five Gophers making their NHL debuts this season were either late round picks or undrafted.
The fifth, Justin Holl, was a second round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 who graduated in 2014. He made his NHL debut two weeks ago as an emergency call-up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but took a path that included him spending a year with the Gophers at forward sandwiched around defense.
The Minnetonka native, who scored one of the more famous goals in recent Minnesota history, became the first defenseman to score for the Leafs in each of his first two NHL games.
Lucia ended up using Holl's NHL debut as a lesson to his current team, showing the Frozen Four goal along with Holl's NHL goals.
"We didn't show any breakdown of our game (against Notre Dame), we had a meeting and then it was a Justin Holl talk about his career here," he said about Holl, who was an AHL All-Star this year. "He just went to work in the East Coast League and then had an American League deal and signed a contract with Toronto. He's improved each and every year.
"It's really nice to see those guys do well, but we're just as proud as the guys who are running a company too."
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