Prospect Profile: Lucy Leitner

[LucyXpher 1,578]

With the VHLM season only days away, managers and players alike are making final preparations as training camps around the league are wrapping up.  As a development league, the VHLM is a great place for players to cut their teeth, to develop their game as a pro and take it to the next level— but make no mistake, the VHL is the pinnacle of the sport and every player with serious aspirations knows that the journey to the top is anything but a cakewalk.  
 

Houston Bulls rookie, Lucy Leitner, knows this harsh reality all too well.  Coming off a serious injury that kept her out of the draft this past offseason, Leitner signed a 1 year contract with the Bulls as a free agent and is expected to be entered in next year’s draft.  
 

At 5’8” and 155 pounds, the smooth skating rearguard leaves something to be desired in terms of size.  And though she’s not likely to be on the hammer end of a huge open ice hit, what she lacks in size and sheer physicality she makes up for with quickness, agility, IQ, and determination.  
 

“Leitner’s got a great understanding of when to push and when to pull.  Breaking the puck up ice, she lures forecheckers into traps and burns them with her exceptional edge work and vision” — Rob Miller (Assistant Coach, Black Diamond Blades)

 

”She’s rarely caught out of position defensively, that’s what I like about her game— but she knows when it’s time to move up the ice” — League Scout 1

 

“Great stick defensively, loves to skate the puck” — League Scout 2

 

”An exceptional teammate and student of the game, the first one on and last one off at practice. She just loves to play and can skate for days” — Jordan Keene (Head Coach, Black Diamond Blades)

In her last season with the Blades, Leitner only appeared in 3 games before sustaining a season ending neck injury.  Without a doubt, losing a season of play and development can set a player back, and questions remain about her long term health.  

 

“I saw her skating this summer.  She looked good, I just wonder about how she’ll hold up to the physical demands of the VHLM, let alone the VHL” — Anonymous scout

 

A native of Houston, Leitner hopes that returning home to Texas will provide the boost she needs to come back from a disappointing end to her junior career and take the next step as a pro.  This is a Bulls team that finished 2nd in the 91 VHLM regular season, but has been making waves recently with a series of new additions from the front office down.  The opportunities will be there for the rookie defensemen, it’ll be up to her to make the most of them.

 

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Lauren Lambert for VHL.com

Edited May 4 by LucyXpher

[Nathan_8 231]

Great scouting report was nice read

[AJW 2,195]

Houston is fired up