Mitchell_Stephens_(ice_hockey)

Mitchell Stephens (ice hockey)

Mitchell Stephens (ice hockey)

Canadian ice hockey player

Mitchell Stephens (born February 5, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 33rd overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021. Stephens has also previously played for the Detroit Red Wings.

Quick Facts Born, Height ...

Junior career

Amateur

Stephens was born on February 5, 1997, in Peterborough, Ontario[1] to parents Lee and Heather.[2] Growing up in Peterborough, Stephens played in the Peterborough Minor Hockey Council's AAA Petes program before joining the Toronto Marlboros of the Greater Toronto Hockey League.[3] While playing with the Minor Midget AAA Toronto Marlboros, Stephens helped lead the team to a Kraft Cup title and Scotiabank GTHL Playoffs championship during the 2012–13 season. He reached this achievement by recording 44 goals and 84 points in 58 regular-season games.[4] As a result of his play, Stephens was drafted eighth overall by the Saginaw Spirit in the 2013 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection draft.[5]

Major junior

Stephens with the Saginaw Spirit in 2016.

His outstanding play with Saginaw was recognized when he was chosen to skate as a member of Canada Ontario at the 2014 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.[6] During the 2014–15 season, Stephens was chosen to skate at the 2015 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.[7]

In his final season with Saginaw in 2015–16, Stephens made 43 appearances, tallying 22 goals and 19 assists, while being named team MVP.[8] He missed a significant number of games due to a broken foot that season.[9] Stephens returned to the OHL for the 2016–17 season. Stephens was named captain of the Spirit with alternates Kris Bennett, C.J. Garcia, and Keaton Middleton.[10] He remained captain of the team until January 2017 when he was traded to the London Knights in exchange for various draft picks. At the time of the trade, Stephens scored 62 goals to rank 14th all-time in franchise history.[11] However, Stephens played only 29 regular season games with the Knights and 14 playoff games before returning to the Crunch.[1]

Professional career

Tampa Bay Lightning

Stephens was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. On April 4, 2016, Stephens penned a three-year entry-level contract with the Lightning[12] and was sent to their American Hockey League (AHL) team, the Syracuse Crunch, on an amateur try-out contract. He subsequently made his professional debut with the Crunch on April 8, 2016.[13] He finished the season with the Crunch, recording one goal in five games.[1] In his first full season in the AHL with the Crunch, Stephens was selected to appear in the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic.[14]

On December 9, 2019, Stephens made his NHL debut in a 5–1 Lightning loss to the visiting New York Islanders at Amalie Arena.[15][16] On December 28, 2019, Stephens recorded his first career NHL goal in 5–4 Lightning win over the Montreal Canadiens.[17] On August 3, 2020, Stephens skated in his first career NHL playoff game, recording his first career NHL playoff goal and point.[18] As a result, he signed a two year contract extension to remain with the Lightning on October 7, 2020.[19] Stephens saw limited playing time during the 2020–21 season due to injury, appearing in just seven games with the Lightning and four additional games with the Crunch.[14] He won his second Stanley Cup with the Lightning at the end of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.[20]

Detroit Red Wings

On July 30, 2021, Stephens was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.[14] While attending the Red Wings training camp, Stephens earned praise from coach Jeff Blashill for his skating ability and energy while projecting he would play on their fourth line.[21] During the 2021–22 season, he skated in 27 games with the Red Wings, scoring six points.[22] His season was interrupted by a lower-body injury that kept him out from November 13, 2021 to April 8, 2022.[23]

Montreal Canadiens

On July 13, 2022, Stephens signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens.[22] He spent the entire 2022–23 season with Montreal's AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, scoring 20 goals and 41 points in 68 games. He re-signed with Montreal on July 10, 2023 to a one-year, two-way contract.[24] Stephens participated in the Canadiens' 2023 training camp, but was placed on waivers and after going unclaimed, was assigned to Laval to start the 2023–24 season.[25] He was recalled by Montreal on December 1, 2023.[26] He made his Canadiens debut in a 5–4 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on December 2 playing on the fourth line with Jesse Ylönen and Joel Armia.[27] He scored his first goal for the Canadiens in a 5–2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on December 23.[28]

International play

Stephens competed as a member of Canada Ontario at the 2014 World U-17 Hockey Challenge. He was also invited to compete with the Canada men's national under-18 ice hockey team at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament where he helped Team Canada win gold.[29] In April 2015, he captained the Canada men's national under-18 ice hockey team to a bronze medal as the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships.[30]

Personal life

He is the cousin of Philadelphia Flyers winger Owen Tippett.[31]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

More information Regular season, Playoffs ...

International

More information Year, Team ...

Awards and honours

More information Award, Year ...

References

  1. [1]
    "Mitchell Stephens". Elite Prospects. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  2. [2]
    Davies, Mike (December 12, 2019). "NHL debut a dream come true for Mitchell Stephens". The Peterborough Examiner. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  3. [3]
    Davies, Mike (April 5, 2013). "Peterborough natives Mitchell Stephens, Jordan MacLean hopefuls in Saturday's OHL draft". The Peterborough Examiner. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  4. [4]
    Carafa, Nicholas (December 18, 2015). "Breakout Star of the Month: Mitchell Stephens". GTHL. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  5. [5]
    "Spirit Select Mitchell Stephens with 8th Overall Pick". Saginaw Spirit. April 6, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  6. [6]
    "Prospect report: Don't forget about Mitchell Stephens". penaltyboxradio.com. June 15, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  7. [7]
    "Mitchell Stephens player profile". hockeyprospect.com. May 14, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  8. [8]
    Bernreuter, Hugh (April 9, 2016). "Mitchell Stephens named Spirit MVP, signs contract with Tampa Bay". MLive.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  9. [9]
    "Lightning's Mitchell Stephens: Out indefinitely with broken foot". CBS Sports. April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  10. [10]
    "Spirit Name Mitchell Stephens Captain; Bennett, Garcia, Middleton Alternates". Saginaw Spirit. October 4, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  11. [11]
    "Saginaw Spirit Move Mitchell Stephens to London Knights". Saginaw Spirit. January 9, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  12. [12]
    "Lightning sign forward Mitchell Stephens to three-year, entry-level contract". National Hockey League. April 4, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2021.[dead link]
  13. [13]
    Barbosa, Victoria (April 9, 2016). "Syracuse Crunch lose in shootout to Albany Devils; playoff hopes barely alive". Syracuse.com. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  14. [14]
    Kujawa, Kyle (July 30, 2021). "Detroit acquires center Mitchell Stephens from Tampa Bay". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 19, 2021 – via NHL.com.
  15. [15]
    @TBLightning (December 10, 2019). "Let's do this thing. Congrats, Mitchell Stephens!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. [16]
    "Varlamov, Nelson lead Islanders past Lightning 5-1". Fox Sports. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  17. [17]
    "Steven Stamkos notches 800th career point as Lightning overcome slow start to top Canadiens". Fox Sports. December 28, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  18. [18]
    "Peterborough native Mitchell Stephens scores first NHL playoff goal". The Peterborough Examiner. August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  19. [19]
    "Lightning re-sign forward Mitchell Stephens to two-year contract". Sportsnet. October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  20. [20]
    "Mitchell Stephens to bring Stanley Cup to hometown of Peterborough". Global News. August 23, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  21. [21]
    Khan, Ansar (September 26, 2021). "Mitchell Stephens making case for Red Wings' fourth-line center spot". MLive. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  22. [22]
    "One-year contracts for Bowey, Richard and Stephens". Montreal Canadiens. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022 – via NHL.com.
  23. [23]
    Khan, Ansar (April 8, 2022). "Mitchell Stephens returns, looking to provide energy to Red Wings". MLive. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  24. [24]
    "Canadiens sign forward Mitchell Stephens to one-year, two-way contract". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. July 10, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  25. [25]
    Johnson, Amy (September 30, 2023). "Canadiens Place Four Players On Waivers". The Hockey News. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  26. [26]
    "Mitchell Stephens recalled from the Laval Rocket". Montreal Canadiens. December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  27. [27]
    Zurkowsky, Herb (December 4, 2023). "'I'm here to help,' Canadiens' Mitchell Stephens says of latest NHL shot". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  28. [28]
    "Canadiens' Mitchell Stephens: Nets first goal of 2023-24". CBS Sports. December 23, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  29. [29]
    "Mitchell Stephens scores in U18 opener". The Peterborough Examiner. August 23, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  30. [30]
    "U18 team set to open Worlds". Hockey Canada. April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  31. [31]
    Nugent-Bowman, Daniel. "Break Away". Sportsnet. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  32. [32]
    "CHL/NHL top prospects game rosters announced". Niagara Ice Dogs. February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  33. [33]
    "Tampa Bay Lightning win Stanley Cup in Pandemic Bubble". New York Times. September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  34. [34]
    "Ontario's 2014 World U17 team announced". gthlcanada.com. January 5, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  35. [35]
    "Canada wins 2014 Ivan Hlinka gold medal". Hockey Canada. January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  36. [36]
    "Stephens looking forward to NHL scouting combine". The Peterborough Examiner. April 28, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  37. [37]
    "NHL draft profile 57: Mitchell Stephens". lastwordonsports.com. June 28, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
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