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Russ Cohen | NHL.com correspondent
Mar 13, 2007, 12:00 PM EDT

Lyon Messier, a hard-working defenseman who got his start in the North American Hockey League, is spreading his wings and perfecting his craft.

He has terrific offensive upside and is working on his defensive positioning. On the surface, he sounds like many other draft-eligible players except for one thing – Lyon is the son of NHL great Mark Messier.

Growing up in Burke, Virginia, Lyon Messier remained far away from the spotlight of New York. He started playing hockey in his teens, a bit later than many kids in Canada, but is quickly catching up. But why defense? After all, his dad is one of the most famous centers in NHL history.

“My father was a defenseman until he was 18. Then he switched up to forward," he said. "I was in Virginia when I started to play defense because I could see the ice pretty well and I could make the first pass pretty good. That’s why they put me on defense. I’ve been doing it ever since. I don’t really pattern myself after anybody, I just play my game. Maybe if I had to say somebody ... Brian Leetch.”

Lyon has had a chance to see plenty of interesting things that have helped to shape his career. The night the Rangers retired his dad’s No. 11 ranks right up there.

“It was an exciting day,” he said. “You know your dad just retired, it was an emotional day. It was exciting being on the bench with all of those hockey players and it was a good experience for me to be on the bench when he retired.”

After two seasons in the NAHL, this draft-eligible defenseman has set his sights on college. He could get drafted in the later rounds of the 2007 Entry Draft, but wants to have all of his bases covered.

“That’s what I am trying to go for,” Messier said. “If everything goes and I get my grades up that’s where I want to go.”

Like any developing player, Messier will have to get a little faster and stronger, areas he has been working on during the off-season.

“I work out every day from 9-11 and then a little off-ice and a little running. Probably two and a half hours a day,” he said.

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