With championships at multiple levels and success against older, more developed competition, the defenseman with Mannheim in the DEL, Germany's top professional league, showed why he should be the first Germany-born defenseman ever to be selected in the first round when the 2019 NHL Draft is held at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on June 21 (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS) and June 22 (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN).
"Lots of highlights," Seider said. "World Junior Championship]*
Seider (6-foot-3, 208 pounds), a right-shot defenseman, is No. 6 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of International prospects for the 2019 Draft.
"It's his passing, his hockey sense and he's very strong," director of NHL European Scouting Goran Stubb said. "He's not overly physical but he's tough enough both along the boards and in front of the net. And his hockey sense is exceptional. ... Never panics. Makes very smart decisions on the ice. He can shoot, pass and he's a very good two-way player."
Seider started the season as Mannheim's youngest player at age 17 (he turned 18 on April 6). He had played four games with Mannheim last season, and Seider said that made his adjustment to a full season with and against older players far smoother.
"You always need a little bit of time, but the guys were awesome in Mannheim," he said. "They take away so much pressure from myself. They say, 'Come on buddy, just another game, you're at the pros but play your game, play your style and you'll be fine.' That was one of the key moments, and there was a lot of good things."
Seider had six points (two goals, four assists) in 29 games, the second-most points ever by an under-18 defenseman in the DEL (Yannic Seidenberg had eight points in 2001-02), and was named the league's rookie of the year.
In the playoffs he had five assists and a plus-6 rating to help Mannheim win the league championship.