The journey to the NHL isn’t an easy one. For some players, it comes fairly quickly. For most, the journey ends before ever making it to the promised land. For those in between, though, the path is anything but linear. Alex Steeves certainly falls somewhere in the “in between” category and is a very real reminder that hard work (and fortunate timing coupled with opportunity) can and often will pay off.
Steeves was undrafted and found his way to the NHL through a few very successful seasons at Notre Dame in the NCAA. The Toronto Maple Leafs saw promise in the 6-foot, 199-pound forward and it led to him having some dominant AHL seasons and sporadic NHL appearances. Over the past four seasons, Steeves skated in 247 AHL games. In those contests, he scored a very impressive 105 goals and 216 points. All of this success led to just 14 total NHL games split between four seasons, though, and those games yielded just one goal and three points.
Knocking on the door of the NHL for a few seasons but not quite finding his way to consistent NHL playing time, Steeves signed a one-year contract with the Boston Bruins this offseason without any guarantee of NHL playing time. Steeves would be joining a Bruins team that was guaranteed to look different than in any recent season, but without any clear path to the NHL. Between several veteran signings and a number of prospects also vying for playing time, Steeves failed to make the roster out of training camp and found himself skating in Providence in the AHL for the first nine games of the season. In those games, he’d add to his already-impressive AHL resume with three goals and eight points.
Steeves’ Rise From Undrafted to Undeniable
Several injuries opened the door for Steeves to earn some NHL playing time and in time, Steeves actually found himself skating regularly on the Bruins’ top line. While this opportunity undoubtedly came about due to the Bruins’ injury bug, his scoring prowess is what earned him regular playing time and increased opportunities. In 14 games in the NHL this season, Steeves has scored six goals and eight points and has fully looked the part of an NHL top-six forward. Despite playing in fewer games than just about all of his teammates, Steeves is actually tied for fifth on the team in goals.
“Goal scoring is part of my identity; I love it,” Steeves said. “You can probably see with my celebrations and stuff – it’s a big release for me, and it’s been really fun. But credit goes to linemates, coaching staff for putting me in really good positions.”
Alex Steeves has become one of the Boston Bruins’ most potent scorers this season. (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)
Steeves knows his claim to fame will be his goal-scoring, but that hasn’t stopped him from contributing in other ways. Outside of his offensive production, his ability to make the most of his minutes even when he isn’t recording points has stood out. With 52 hits in 14 games, as well as 13 blocked shots, Steeves has shown time and time again that he wants to remain in the NHL lineup even when the team starts to get healthier.
Steeves’ Efforts Not Unnoticed
His impressive season hasn’t gone unnoticed by his head coach either, with Marco Sturm recently paying him his share of praise.
“I brought him up from the minors and I put him in more like a checking role and a fourth liner, and now look at him,” said Sturm of Steeves. “So, good for him and again, he’s a guy I trust. We’ll see, it’s tough to get him out of the lineup, I can tell you that.”
When asked about Steeves telling Sturm that he’d do the work he had to do to find his way back to the NHL, Sturm went into detail about how Steeves put his money where his mouth was.
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“I have to tell you that a lot of guys say that, but to Steeves’ credit, a lot of guys don’t do it, especially in the minors; it’s a different league. I’ve been there, so I know some guys are good for one or two games, and then they start to slow down a little bit. But the message that I got from down there was very positive, and that’s how he is, though. He’s very professional, even when he didn’t like to go down. I remember he said, ‘I will be back, and I’m going to do everything I can to show you,’ and that’s what I like. And the way he said it, I believed it.”
It’s hard to make it to the professional level of any sport. Being considered one of the very best in the world at your craft isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, and maintaining that spot is even more difficult. Right now, Steeves is showing that he absolutely belongs in the NHL, and if he can keep this same work ethic throughout the season, it would be hard to imagine him playing another game in the AHL any time soon.
