Higher Elevation

LaLeggia's Dominant Two-Way Play Fuels Denver

by Avash Kalra/Senior Writer

Playing in a city that sits one mile above sea level, where “thin air” signifies a lower partial pressure of oxygen available for breathing, senior defenseman Joey LaLeggia continues to make a career out of letting Pioneer fans breathe easier – and opponents breathe much harder.

But LaLeggia, with just weeks remaining in his collegiate career, doesn’t seem content to take a breath at all. In fact, the former National Rookie of the Year, now a member of the reigning NCHC tournament champion Denver Pioneers and amidst a banner year personally, appears unsatisfied.

“I don't think we have a player who spends more time studying video, of his own game, and also how our opponents play,” says Denver head coach Jim Montgomery. “He's so well prepared to execute. I get the sense of urgency with the way he plays – he wants to leave college hockey with a championship.

“That's the driving force behind Joey. He wants to be known as a champion.”

LaLeggia, the clear cornerstone of the NCHC’s defending tournament champions, is also the NCHC’s leading point-scorer – indeed, as a renowned offensive defenseman, pacing a conference that currently holds five of the top eight Pairwise positions.

“He’s the best player,” says Montgomery matter-of-factly, “in the best conference in college hockey.”

It’s tough to argue.

LaLeggia was named the NCHC Player of the Month for February after an exemplary stretch of games where he led all defensemen in the nation in scoring, and now, following a seven-game point streak that includes six multi-point efforts, the senior from Burnaby, B.C., is third all-time on Denver’s defensive scoring list – recently surpassing Matt Carle, the Hobey Baker Award winner in 2006.

Carle, of course, also won two national championships with Denver, and LaLeggia – despite clearly bolstering a Hobey resume of his own over the final weeks of the season – seems to have little else on his mind as the Pioneers prepare for the playoffs.

“I'm a very competitive kid,” LaLeggia said. “I bring a sense of urgency whenever I get on the ice. This year, there’s more, every time I get on the ice. It’s pretty much do-or-die.”

Montgomery, a former national champion himself, agrees.

“He's competitive,” said the second-year head coach, who captained Maine’s 1993 national championship team. “Driven to help his team win in any way he can. He's the first one to dive down to block shots. He wants to be out there in crucial moments.”

Part of LaLeggia’s evolution, it seems, from a freshman season that produced 38 points and countless accolades, has been the bolstering of his defensive play – an odd thing to say about a top-pair defenseman, but in truth, an increasingly overlooked aspect of LaLeggia’s game.

“My offensive instincts are the strongest part of my game,” admits the 5-foot-10 senior, a 2012 draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers. “That's something I've been able to bring to my teams and my teammates throughout my career. I feel that if I'm not contributing there, I'm not doing my job.”

This year, though, even for a player who says he’d be “the first to volunteer” if an opening at forward became available, there’s been something more – beyond the almost three-dozen points, and the distinction of leading all NCAA defensemen in goals.

“Coming to college matures you so much,” said LaLeggia, who in high school also played three years of football and four of soccer. “I'm a different person than when I showed up on campus. As a player, I was one-dimensional, strictly an offensive player. I didn't take a lot of pride in playing good defense. That's something that's evolved. I'm comfortable playing well at both ends.”

Added Montgomery, “He’s now a 200-foot defenseman. The way he defends now leads to even more offense than even when I first started working with him. The credit goes to him. He wants to be a hockey player. He wants to keep getting better.

“Amazingly, he does it quietly.”

Indeed, it’s hard – if not impossible – to lead a conference in scoring quietly, but LaLeggia has seemingly managed to do that this year. Still, as a team, Denver continues to make noise both in the NCHC and on the national stage, looking to return to the title game for the first time since its back-to-back championships in 2005 and 2006.

Of course, that’s LaLeggia’s goal, too – amidst a busy Hobey-caliber season that’s less quiet with each passing day – to continue to chase one final, elusive team accolade.

As for the pressure? It’s the end of the regular season. And it’s in the air.