‘Soft hands, especially for a big guy’ – that was the scouting report after Andre Lee touched the ice for his very first Development Camp with the Kings back in July 2019.
Over the next three seasons, he scored timely goals at UMass Lowell, including helping the River Hawks play for a Hockey East Championship in 2021 and pushing the team to college hockey’s 16-team tournament in 2022. Last year, the 6-foot-5 forward was largely used as a fourth line player during his first pro season with the Ontario Reign, contributing just nine points (6G, 3A) in 58 games.
This season has been a different story, though. Starting in training camp, coach Marco Sturm wasn’t afraid to see the big Swede up on his top line during the NHL Rookie Faceoff tournament in September. He even had Lee wearing the captain’s ‘C’ on his jersey — an honor that didn’t go unnoticed at the time.
As the 2023-24 season has moved along, Sturm has frequently bumped Lee up from the fourth line, wanting to see just how silky smooth those hands could be in an expanded role.
Lee responded in kind over the first-half of the season, playing his best hockey in a Reign uniform. Up until late January that is; when he suffered a leg injury in a game against Bakersfield and was sidelined for the next two months.
Saturday night marked his return to the Reign lineup – against those same Condors – and Sturm liked everything he saw from Lee, including a goal in his first game back.
“It’s no surprise,” Sturm said, almost as if he expected nothing less. “He’s been becoming a big part of our team. I know he’s had some tough injuries, but it’s like he never missed a beat. So, good for him to get rewarded. It was another great team effort too. We had a lot of guys out, but we’re finding a way right now. For me, that’s the most important thing.”
As an illustration of just how much confidence Sturm has in his 23-year-old forward, he claims to have had zero hesitation putting Lee right back into the deep end, despite the Reign being in a heated playoff battle.
“I was not worried,” Sturm said in an almost defiant manner. “I just didn’t expect him to be that good. He hardly had any mistakes. I put him out there during six-on-five too because he had a great game. That shows that I have a lot of trust in him. That also shows that he had a great game and that he deserved to be out there on the ice.”
For his part, Lee took it all in stride, just like he usually does. He remains one of the most laid back and happy-go-lucky guys on the Reign roster.
“It was an awesome feeling being back with the guys and helping the team out. I missed it a lot. I can’t wait for these next few games and then for the playoffs to come,” he said. “I’m just trying to focus on doing the right things first, not only going out there and scoring. That’s what I’m thinking about before the games, just go out there and do the right thing, play simple and play hard.”
Coming back from the injury wasn’t just about the physical recovery Lee went on to explain, admitting overcoming the mental part of things was just as challenging.
“Injuries can take a toll on you mentally,” admitted Lee. “It’s hard. For me, I had a lot of alone time. My girlfriend left, so I was actually alone. I watched a lot of hockey and tried to stay in touch with the boys. I tried to learn from practice, and I watched the games a lot. I think that was the biggest key, just to feel like you’re still part of the team.”
His coach did an effective job of communicating with him throughout the recovery process and getting him ready to suit up again.
“He comes up to me after practice and asks me how I’m doing, how I’m feeling,” Lee said while talking about Sturm’s coaching style. “He’ll ask, ‘How’s the body?’ and stuff like that. He just wanted to make sure that I was ready to go when I [was released] to come back; which was good. Those are the type of conversations we had and then he would just let me do my thing.”
Keeping it light is just who Lee is, it’s in his DNA.
“I just tried to focus on being happy and keeping my smile when I go to the rink every day,” he said. “Seeing the guys every day just makes me happy.”
Continuing to be a team-first type of player, Lee says he’s most pleased with how the Reign have galvanized as a group – something that should bode well once postseason hockey gets going.
“You can see it out there,” noted Lee. “We do it for each other. That’s what we have to continue to do here, as well … We’ve been through all the ups and downs, and I think we’ve all come together. Obviously, it’s later in the season now too, so we’re tighter now than we were back in the beginning. But yeah, I love every guy in that locker room, and the coaches too. I’m looking forward to the time that’s coming ahead.”
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