Local player hopes to follow in Geoffrion’s footsteps

Wednesday afternoon, the Elite Edge Hockey Showcase wrapped up at A-Game Sportsplex in Franklin.  With 220 participants from 27 states around the country, players looked to hone their skills — some with college on the mind, others thinking about  Junior in the Canadian Hockey League.

Brentwood native Sebastian Lemm

For one Brentwood native, the Showcase was a good opportunity to get ice time before trying out for the USA Under-17 National team later in the summer.

Sebastian Lemm currently attends  Shattuck St. Mary’s in Minnesota.  The prep school has produced some of the National Hockey League’s biggest stars including Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews.

When Lemm was 14 he contacted the coach about getting into the school. The 6’1, 170 pound forward had to go through a tryout and then get accepted into the school.

“Fortunately, I was able to get in,” Lemm said about going to Shattuck St. Mary’s, adding that playing conditions factored into his desire to leave home.

“A big part of me wanting to go there was getting ice every day. In the South, it is hard to get ice every day, and it has a good reputation in the hockey world,” he said.

But Lemm says knowing that players like Crosby and Zach Parise went to the same school was a draw.

Lemm plays all three forward positions and credits the Nashville Predators for his choice in sports. “The Predators had a huge influence on my hockey career. I watched them growing up and I asked my parents to let me play hockey.”

Lemm names Steve Sullivan as his favorite player because “he has a lot heart.”

Lemm recently turned 17 and will be a senior next year. He plans on finishing high school, but has hopes to play Junior rather than take the NCAA route.

Currently only one player in the NHL is from Tennessee. Predators forward Blake Geoffrion went to the University of Wisconsin and won the Hobey Baker Award for best Collegiate hockey player before heading to Milwaukee and then Nashville late in the season.

Despite the different paths they will likely take, Lemm says Geoffrion is a role model. “I look up to him a lot. I want to follow in his footsteps. That would be really nice. It would be a really good  experience to be drafted by the Preds and play for the Predators some day.”