Leo Strauss Junior Review

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Leo Stauss Junior Review

Everyone in the VHL knows the name Markus Strauss the legendary German center who played in Seattle and Davos, so when his son Leo Strauss decided to make his way to the league it was no surprise, but how did Leo get here?

Leo like his dad grew up playing hockey in Germany, a country that has started to produce some real good hockey player the last few years. Leo started playing when he was 5 and when he turned 16, again just like his father he decide to head to Canada to play in the CHL. 

 

Leo was drafted by the Vancouver Giants of the WHL and played 4 full seasons for them. Leo put up respectful numbers but nothing that jumped off the pages for scouts of the NHL. In his final year with Vancouver, Leo ran into some injury problems for the first time in his still young career. Leo injured his foot 2 weeks into the season which kept him out till Christmas and then hurt his wrist in the first round of the playoffs which forced him to miss the rest of the season. In a season that was suppose to be his best he ended up missing most of it. This really put a strain in Leo and being so far from home, he really struggle with his mental health. Following his 2nd injury he returned home frustrated and sad that his time in Vancouver was done and he wasn’t able to put in a great final season for the team.

That summer Leo had a decision to make, his dad who was an assistant coach in the DEL for Berlin told his son that he could try giving it a go in the VHL but Leo didn’t think he was ready to join a league his dad played so well in coming off a wrist injury. Instead Leo decided to join his dad in Berlin for 2 seasons.

Sadly the injury bug had found Leo and wasn’t letting go, Leo took another bad slash to his wrists only 5 games into his DEL career, missing another 3 months of hockey. This 2nd injury to his wrist in a calendar year really set the young center back. Leo returned to the ice in early January that season but never found his footing, getting every little ice time and putting up very little production. The following season Leo got out of the gates slow once again and really struggled to find the passion that is needed to be a pro hockey player. That Christmas while on break, Leo sat down with his dad and decided that he need a change, so Markus reached out to some old friends he still had in the VHLM and was able to find him a team in Houston that was willing to give him a chance. 

 

Leo has a long way to go to being as good as his dad but hopefully his trip to NA and to the VHLM will help him find his passion for the game once again and just maybe we might see another Strauss cause havoc in the VHL.