Logan Laich - Team First

[Devise 4,475]

Much was made of the fact that Logan Laich wanted to be apart of the New York Americans this season rather than stay down and be an all star player in the VHLM. He could of been one of the elite power forwards and a top goal scorer had he stayed down. Laich instead chose a path most do not chose. A path where you receive little attention for what you do, you have to grow and learn on the fly, and you do whatever it is the team asks you to do.

 

But it is a path Laich himself relished. The VHL and VHLM are littered with players who have high hopes and aspirations. Players who go out every night and try to be the best player on the ice every single game. But too many of these players on one team can clash. It can cause a team that looks fantastic on paper to experience struggles, momentum shifts in games and make tons of mistakes. Look no further than the Seattle Bears for a team that fits that mold. But as apart of the Americans Logan Laich is proving that team first matters. After all, a team is only as good as it's pieces and every single piece needs to be able to fit right with each other to finish a puzzle. Thus far into the early season Logan Laich has been one of those pieces.

 

A piece that isn't underrated or overrated. Just simply a piece that fits. While his inexperience and lack of training hours appeared like they may hurt the time, with the exception of spending a bit too much time in the box Logan Laich has learned on the fly with the Americans. On top of that he is having a rookie season that he himself is proud of. Although most may not give it much thought, it is the ideal season of a grinder. While only posting 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points, and having recently gone on a downhill turn in the +/- department Laich has been a physical presence on the forward core for the Americans. He is tied for the team league with stud defender Conner Low at 120 hits. That is also good for a tie for 4th most hits in the entire league. 

 

The other impressive thing about his season is less stats based and more positional based. Whenever the coaching staff has asked him to play he has played. When they ask him to sit, he sits. If he needs to forgo a shift because star power players like Odin Tordahl or XXX need some extra minutes to get that clutch goal, he'll do it. If he needs to play 16 minutes a game instead of the usual 20+ and then some that most star players get, he does so. And more recently if the team tries to shake up it's penalty kill and wants Logan to play as a defender? He does so. Laich is unique in that he is a piece that can fit into several different slots and will do so willingly. 

 

Much is made about star power players in the VHL. How they win you championships. But every single team who has won a championship has done so with depth, with players who embraced the role of being the less glamorous part of what a team needs. For New York, Logan fits that role, a philosophy that seems to be a New York American motto. Team first.