Height: 5-11
Weight: 195
Shoot: R
Born: 23 Oct 1958, Nouvelle PQ
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Regular Season & Playoff Scoring Record (key)
| year | team | |||||||||||
| 1978-79 | Birmingham | |||||||||||
| Totals: |
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Sleigher Makes Impact With Bulls as Scorer • no byline • The Hockey News • December 22, 1978
First reaction to the news that Louis Sleigher was one of the young players coming to the Birmingham Bulls this season: "Louis who?" That's Sleigher, pronounced SLAY GER and they won't be asking Louis Who much longer. The talented youngster, who turned 20 on October 23, has arrived on the scene with a flourish. He has played both left wing and right wing and is first on the team in scoring after 23 games. Louie was not one of the underage players rounded up by owner John Basset and general manager Gilles Leger. The native of Nouvelle, Que., was draft eligibie this year for any league because his 20th birthday fell during the current season. However, there was no line forming for his services. The stocky five-foot-11, 195-pound Sleigher wasn't drafted until the 24th round by National Hockey League champion Montreal Canadiens. The World Hockey Association had no draft so Louie was signed as a free agent. His junior hockey credentials were impressive, despite the lack of attention by the NHL. Playing at Chicoutimi in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Louie had 65 goals and 54 assists for 119 points in 71 games his final year. The before he was 53-48-101 in 70 games. "We couldn't understand why he wasn't drafted higher." Bulls' GM Leger said. "We knew he had potential to be an outstanding hockey player, and he's proved that so far." Coach John Brophy is high on Sleigher, too, so much so thar he has double-shifted the youngster recently, which means he plays on two lines. He played left wing on one, right wing on the other. "Physically, he reminds me of a young Bobby Hull," Brophy said. "He's about the same size, and he's so strong it's unbelievable. He's a great skater and handles the puck well. I think he'll have a fine pro career." Sleigher scored the hat trick in his second regular season game as a pro. He got the three goals October 15 in a 9-3 Birmingham win at Indianapolis, the same night defenseman Gaston Gingras performed the trick. However, one of Louie's most exceptional goals came in a 7-2 loss at Winnipeg October 25. He held defenseman Mike Amodeo off with one hand, handled the puck with the other, cut in front of the goal and stuffed the puck into the net with one hand. It was an excepional show of strength. Born and reared in the predominately-French-speaking provinge of Quebec, Louis is not fluent in English. But like his hockey game, he's working on that, too. He can communicate. "I am pleased with my performance so far," Louis says. "I had many hat tricks in Junior, but I didn't expect to get one so quickly in the pros. I just hope I can keep playing well, and the team can be successful. |
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