Player Profile – David Leggio

ESTERO, FL – The run for Kelly Cup is over for the Brabham Cup champs, the Florida Everblades. Germain Arena is quiet until the fall and Blades starting goaltender David Leggio is heading home to New York for the summer.

Leggio turned in an impressive record in his first professional season (33-9-6) with 4 shutouts. Due to a call-up of teammate Anton Khudobin to the Houston Aeros (American Hockey League), Leggio manned the net exclusively for the Blades during the post season. Leggio started his stellar career at Clarkson University as a Golden Knight, where he played from 2004-2008. Over those four years, Leggio was (59-29-12) with 8 shutouts and was the first Clarkson goaltender to record back-to-back 20 win seasons since the early 1990’s. Leggio also won the Ken Dryden award in 2006-07 as one of the top goalies in the ECAC (East Central Atlantic Conference). Going from college to professional hockey was not a particularly difficult transition for Leggio. “I had great prep at Clarkson, so it didn’t feel that much different. Although we didn’t play as many games, there was: class, practice, dinner, homework, and go to bed. I actually have much more free time at the pro level of play”. The Blades were at the top of almost everyone’s list to win the Kelly Cup this seaons, a lofty goal that was within their reach twice before. Leggio also expected his team to go all the way, especially since they won the Brabham Cup, given to the team with the most points during the regular season (they previously won the trophy in the 1999-00 season). “We didn’t play as well as we could have. We did fight back hard when we got behind. We were not as consistent as we could be and that really hurt us. Every time we made an error, the other team took advantage of it”, said Leggio. Leggio feels that he was prepared and played well. “There were a few goals I wish I could take back, especially the first one in the South Carolina series”. The Blades won the first round over the Gwinnett Gladiators, but it was no easy series. “Gwinnett played hard. They had a great goalie. We kept the games close. We outshot them, but they jumped on our mistakes”. Florida lost in the second round to the South Carolina Stingrays. “The series could have gone either way. They are a great team. We hit some posts, had some good and bad bounces, but we fought hard the whole time”. Despite the setback, Leggio feels the Blades had a great regular season. “We won the Brabham Cup and did that with all of the call-ups we had. This shows the great level of play we achieved. The team came out to play every game”. Despite this being his first professional season, he played as if he were a veteran. “I played well, but still have some things to work on this summer. I led in GAA (goals against average) and had 4 shutouts, but would have liked more. The game this year was more mental. Some games I saw a lot of shots and sometimes not a lot of shots”. Leggio went on to say that his first year in the ECHL has been a great experience. “I learned a lot of new things here. The older guys with AHL experience have been great sharing their knowledge. We do play a lot more games than we did in college, but I want to play every game”. Leggio was selected to the 2009 ECHL All Star Game. He stopped 10 of 11 shots in the second period and earned the win for the American Conference. (They won by a score of 11-5). He also earned honors as the RBC Financial Group “Savor of the Month” for January 2009 when he posted a record of 8-0-0 with 2 shutouts, 1.50 GAA, and a .945 save percentage. Although Leggio was the Blades lone starting goaltender during the end of the regular season and through the playoffs, he didn’t really miss his partner, Anton Khudobin. “Anton is a great goalie and deserved to go up to the AHL. I hope he has a long playoff run there”. Back home in Buffalo, New York, his parents and sister are there, as well as a number of other family members. Needless to say he will kick back, relax, and catch up with his family and friends. It will still be a busy summer for Leggio who plans to work hard and train for the fall when he hopes to earn a position in the AHL, but before than he will be working teaching goaltending at a Hockey Camp in the Buffalo area. When Leggio returns to Florida in the fall, he will return to one of his favorite hobbies: Playing golf. He also enjoys playing poker with the guys. He hopes to one day play in the NHL, hopefully for his favorite team. Who else – the Buffalo Sabers. “I dream of playing at that level. I know it’s a lofty goal but I’ll work as hard as possible and see where it goes. I love this game. This is the best job in the world”. If he doesn’t make it to the NHL as a player, he has a back-up plan. “I also love coaching. I love teaching as I do at the Hockey Camps in the summer. I would be happy as a coach. I plan to always stay in the game”. Contact the author at Sharon.Weatherhead@prohockeynews.com