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2012 draft pick forward Taylor Leier has signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers, the team announced Monday.
Leier turned 19 in February and will almost certainly play a third season with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL this fall, meaning his NHL contract would slide another season. Leier and goalie Anthony Stolarz will both slide, leaving the Flyers with 48 of an allowed 50 contracts for the 2013-14 season. Scott Laughton is also eligible to slide, but he has a legitimate chance to make the team out of training camp, so we'll have to wait and see what happens there.
Leier played a prominent role last season on a Winterhawks team that won the Western Hockey League crown and competed in the Memorial Cup. As a second-year WHL player, he scored 27 goals and notched 35 assists in 62 games, impressive nearly point-per-game numbers for an 18 year old. That was a big improvement over his freshman WHL season, in which he scored 37 points in 72 games. It'll be fun to watch him grow in his third and probably fourth WHL years.
Tough start to the day #puckintheface #12zippers pic.twitter.com/mX9v7LWN3e
— Taylor Leier (@Leier22) September 7, 2013
He took a puck to the face in rookie camp the other day and will be in the lineup Monday in Washington for the rookie game against the Capitals.