Jake Lechien was born when his father, Curtis, was in the eleventh season of his 16-year career in the National Hockey League.
Since he was very young, Leschyshyn hasn’t had many vivid memories of what life was like with an NHL player for dad. He does remember his days off around the rink, however, when his dad was working and sitting in the gym watching movies on a DVD player. Even when his father retired in 2005, Leschyshyn was still around the NHL scene since Curtis stepped into the role of color analyst for the organization he played most of his career for, the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche.
“We talk a lot every day,” Lechichin told the Post of his father after training on Sunday. He’s a scout for Avs now, so he’s busy in his game section. But he makes time to watch all my games, which is really nice. He’s a guy who won’t throw a lot of, ‘You have to do this and that.’ He always checks in and treats me like a pro. He Cool in that regard because it’s just throwback ideas.”
Curtis Lechien, selected third overall by the Nordiques in the 1988 draft before playing 1,033 games, was a defensive player. His son was drafted in the second round (62nd overall) by the Golden Knights in 2017 as a center out of the Western Hockey League. Obviously the hockey influence was there, but it wasn’t enough to steer Leschyshyn away from what he loves most about the sport.
“I think from a young age I’ve always been a striker,” he said. “Maybe not the bigger guy, I don’t know if that played it at all or anything. Maybe when I was young I always enjoyed scoring goals, so hopefully I can go back to that.”
Rangers hope so, too.
Lechichin skated in his fourth straight game for the Rangers on Monday night against the Panthers since the club removed the 23-year-old from Vegas’ waiver wire on Jan. 11. The move followed two injuries to the striker. group, but the Rangers elected to keep Lechicine despite the returning Chris Crider and Julien Gauthier. The Rangers waived Johnny Brudzinski and later sent him back to AHL Hartford instead, after the 29-year-old had held five games.
It was the first time Leschyshyn had changed teams mid-season at the NHL level. The last time that happened, he was traded from the Regina Pats to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL during the 2018-19 season. It’s been a crazy week, Lechichin said, but he feels like he’s finally starting to settle down.
Leschyshyn played parts of two seasons with the Golden Knights, scoring two goals and four assists in 63 games. He’s been useless over 22 games this season, which has led to him being waived by Vegas. However, Leschyshyn doesn’t expect his game to change much despite the new background.
Leschyshyn is looking to play a consistent two-way central man, wants to be trusted defensively, be able to kill penalties and win encounters. These are the ways he feels he can establish himself in New York, but he also wants to build on them, whether offensively or in other areas.
“I was overjoyed,” Lechichin said of his initial reaction when he found out the Blues had claimed him. “Any team could have taken me, so coming here was the best case scenario. I’ve never been to New York or played for MSG or anything, but I just heard about what an amazing experience it was. So being able to call it my home now is very exciting.” “.