Lee was a decorated three-sport star in high school in Edina, Minn., before settling on hockey, a path that led him to the NHL with the New York Islanders.
Lee was the quarterback on the varsity football team at Edina High School for two years, was named the 2008 Minnesota Gatorade Football Player of the Year and was a finalist for Minnesota's Mr. Football award. He also was a standout pitcher and third baseman on the baseball team. On the ice for Edina High, he was a two-time all-state selection and a finalist in 2009 for Minnesota's Mr. Hockey award, which was won by Nick Leddy, later an Islanders teammate.
Lee was a decorated three-sport star in high school in Edina, Minn., before settling on hockey, a path that led him to the NHL with the New York Islanders.
Lee was the quarterback on the varsity football team at Edina High School for two years, was named the 2008 Minnesota Gatorade Football Player of the Year and was a finalist for Minnesota's Mr. Football award. He also was a standout pitcher and third baseman on the baseball team. On the ice for Edina High, he was a two-time all-state selection and a finalist in 2009 for Minnesota's Mr. Hockey award, which was won by Nick Leddy, later an Islanders teammate.
Hockey would become a career for Lee, the 6-foot-3, 228-pound forward who was selected by the Islanders in the sixth round (No. 152) in the 2009 NHL Draft. He committed to Notre Dame on a hockey scholarship that was to start in the 2010-11 season, so he spent 2009-10 playing for Green Bay of the United States Hockey League under future NHL coach Jon Cooper.
Lee had team highs with 35 goals, 66 points and a plus-38 rating in 59 regular-season games, then had 10 goals and 22 points in 12 playoff games to lead Green Bay to the Clark Cup championship. He was named playoff MVP and was the USHL Rookie of the Year.
As a freshman at Notre Dame, Lee helped the Fighting Irish reach the NCAA Frozen Four. As a junior he was named Second-Team All-America after scoring 20 goals and 38 points.
Lee turned pro following his junior season, making his NHL debut with the Islanders against the Winnipeg Jets on April 2, 2013, and scoring his first NHL goal that night against Ondrej Pavelec. He started the following season with Bridgeport in the American Hockey League, but after scoring 22 goals and 41 points in 54 games he was called up to the Islanders.
On Feb. 27, 2014, in his first game after being called up, Lee had his first multigoal game in the NHL, scoring twice against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He remained with the Islanders the rest of the season and had nine goals and 14 points in 22 games.
Five games into the 2014-15 season with Bridgeport, Lee was called up to New York, where he spent the remainder of the season. He had 25 goals and 41 points in 76 games, finishing ninth in voting for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL's top rookie.
