BILOXI, Miss. � Defenseman Jay Leach became the ninth former Mississippi Sea Wolves player to advance to the National Hockey League when he made his debut with the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
The 6-foot-4 and 220-pound Leach appeared in 13 shifts, finishing with a +1 and seven penalty minutes consisting of a minor penalty for interference and major for fighting in the Bruins 6-3 win against Pittsburgh.
A native of Syracuse, New York, Leach began his professional career with Mississippi in the 2001-02 season netting three goals, 13 assists and 116 penalty minutes in 70 regular season games, plus one goal, one assist and eight penalty minutes in 10 postseason games.
Selected by the Phoenix Coyotes in the fifth round, 115th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, the 26-year-old Leach has registered 17 penalty minutes in seven games while serving as captain this season for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League.
Leach joins Sea Wolves alumni players Jason Morgan (Los Angeles), Jan Nemecek (Los Angeles), Travis Scott (Los Angeles), Dan Focht (Phoenix), Chris Schmidt (Los Angeles), Francois Beauchemin (Montreal), Michael Ryder (Montreal) and Rob Skrlac (New Jersey) that have advanced to the NHL.
There are three non-players in Sea Wolves team history to advance to the NHL consisting of New York Islanders equipment manager Scott Moon, Atlanta Thrashers assistant athletic trainer Step Roberts and Dallas Stars sales account executive Thom Emerson.
