Taylor Leier (born February 15, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He was drafted in the fourth round, 117th overall, at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers.[1]

Taylor Leier
Leier with the Straubing Tigers in 2022
Born (1994-02-15) February 15, 1994 (age 30)
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
SHL team
Former teams
Linköping HC
Philadelphia Flyers
HC Oceláři Třinec
Adler Mannheim
Straubing Tigers
NHL draft 117th overall, 2012
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 2014–present

Playing career

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Leier began his major junior hockey career in the Western Hockey League with the Portland Winterhawks who drafted him 24th overall in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft.[2] While playing with the Winterhawks, Leier was drafted 117th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Leier signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Flyers on September 9, 2013.[3] He made his NHL debut against the Carolina Hurricanes on November 14, 2015.[4]

During the 2016–17 season, Leier scored his first NHL goal with the Flyers on December 17, 2016, against the Dallas Stars.[5] He was later returned to the Phantoms and represented Lehigh Valley at the 2017 AHL All-Star Game where he was awarded MVP of the game.[6] In July 2017, he signed a 1-year, two-way, $807,000 contract extension with the Flyers.[6][7] On July 15, 2018, after Leier applied for arbitration, he signed a one-year deal with the Flyers worth $720,000.[8]

After attending Flyers training camp prior to the 2018–19 season, Leier was a late roster cut and was loaned to the Phantoms on October 2.[9] On January 17, 2019, Leier was traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Justin Bailey.[10] Immediately assigned to AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, Leier tallied 12 goals and 23 points in 35 games to close out the campaign.

On June 28, 2019, Leier opted to continue his tenure with the Americans, agreeing to a one-year AHL contract.[11] During the 2019–20 season, Leier returned from injury scoring 7 goals in 17 games with the Americans, before securing a one-year, two-way NHL contract for the remainder of the season with parent affiliate, the Buffalo Sabres on February 17, 2020.[12]

As a free agent from the Americans, Leier belatedly opted to extend his career in Europe, signing mid-season in to the 2020–21 campaign with Czech club, HC Oceláři Třinec of the ELH, on January 3, 2021.[13] His contract with Oceláři Třinec was terminated at the end of January after playing 10 games with the team.[14] On February 2, 2021, Leier signed with Adler Mannheim in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[15]

On August 26, 2021, Leier signed with the Straubing Tigers, also of the DEL, alongside other former Flyers Jason Akeson and Brandon Manning.[16]

Personal life

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Leier grew up in Saskatchewan with parents Tim and Cindy Leier and younger brother Keaton.[17] Keaton is a professional ballet dancer with the Atlanta Ballet.[17][18]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 Saskatoon Contacts SMHL 2 2 0 2 0
2009–10 Saskatoon Contacts SMHL 41 17 24 41 30 11 5 2 7 0
2010–11 Saskatoon Contacts SMHL 44 31 43 74 32 9 7 6 13 8
2011–12 Portland Winterhawks WHL 72 13 24 37 36 22 5 2 7 12
2012–13 Portland Winterhawks WHL 64 27 35 62 63 21 9 7 16 12
2013–14 Portland Winterhawks WHL 62 37 42 79 42 21 6 20 26 10
2014–15 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 73 13 18 31 18
2015–16 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 71 20 29 49 37
2015–16 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 6 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 48 13 24 37 16 5 1 0 1 2
2016–17 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 10 1 1 2 4
2017–18 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 39 1 4 5 6
2018–19 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 34 10 9 19 26
2018–19 Rochester Americans AHL 35 12 11 23 20 3 0 1 1 0
2019–20 Rochester Americans AHL 27 11 6 17 4
2020–21 HC Oceláři Třinec ELH 10 1 4 5 4
2020–21 Adler Mannheim DEL 20 5 5 10 10 6 1 1 2 0
2021–22 Straubing Tigers DEL 54 16 24 40 20 4 2 0 2 2
2022–23 Straubing Tigers DEL 55 21 34 55 23 7 0 4 4 0
2023–24 Linköping HC SHL 30 4 2 6 4
NHL totals 55 2 5 7 10

International

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Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2014 Canada WJC 4th 7 0 0 0 6
Junior totals 7 0 0 0 6

References

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  1. ^ "Philadelphia Flyers 2012 draft". NHL. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  2. ^ "Winterhawks Sign Taylor Leier, Nino Niederreiter". winterhawks.com. July 31, 2009. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  3. ^ "Flyers sign Taylor Leier to Entry-Level Contract". Philadelphia Flyers. September 9, 2013. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  4. ^ Panaccio, Tim (November 15, 2015). "Taylor Leier, Shayne Gostisbehere impress in Flyers' win". CSNPhilly.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  5. ^ "In bittersweet moment, Flyers rookie Taylor Leier notches 1st NHL goal". NBCSports.com. December 18, 2016. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Flyers re-sign Taylor Leier". NHL.com. Philadelphia Flyers. July 14, 2017. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  7. ^ Hall, Jordan (July 13, 2017). "Flyers re-sign Taylor Leier to 1-year deal". nbcsports.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  8. ^ "Flyers' Danick Martel accepts qualifying offer; team re-signs Taylor Leier and Tyrell Goulbourne". nbcsports.com. July 15, 2018. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  9. ^ "Flyers Set 2018-19 Opening Night Roster". NHL.com. October 2, 2018. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  10. ^ "Flyers acquire right wing Justin Bailey from Buffalo". Philadelphia Flyers. January 17, 2019. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  11. ^ "Amerks bring back Leier on one-year contract". Rochester Americans. June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  12. ^ "Sabres sign Taylor Leier to one-year, two-way contract". Buffalo Sabres. February 17, 2020. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "Steelworkers strengthen squad with two Canadians" (in Czech). HC Oceláři Třinec. January 3, 2021. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "Oceláři se rozloučili s kanadským útočníkem Leierem". www.hcocelari.cz (in Czech). January 21, 2021. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  15. ^ "Adler Mannheim: Früherer NHL-Profi Taylor Leier bringt mehr Flexibilität (Update)". www.rnz.de (in German). February 2, 2021. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  16. ^ "STRAUBING TIGERS VERPFLICHTEN STÜRMER TAYLOR LEIER". Straubing Tigers (in German). August 26, 2021. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Pinchevsky, Tal (November 11, 2017). "When He Needs Advice, a Philadelphia Flyer Turns to His Brother the Dancer". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  18. ^ McKay, Stephanie (November 25, 2015). "Ballet student brings his skills back to Saskatoon". The StarPhoenix. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
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