When Sam Stevens finally found his role during the second half of last season, he didn’t look back. And now, after adding a 2019 Clark Cup championship with the Sioux Falls Stampede to his résumé, the 19-year-old center’s eyes remain fixated on what’s ahead, and that would be his upcoming freshman season at Boston University.
“There’s a lot of exciting talent going in there,” said Stevens, who totaled 25 points (10-15-25) in 62 regular-season games and six points (3-3-6) in 12 playoff matches last season with the Stampede. “Our freshman class is really something special with all of those USA kids (from the USA Hockey National Team Development Program), the really good United States Hockey League kids and the great guys from other junior leagues. It’s exciting to see who we have going there and how we are going to be able to help the team be successful.”
Stevens originally planned on remaining with the Stampede for the 2019-20 season before going to the University of Wisconsin the following campaign. However, once the opportunity to attend a school in his home city of Boston arose, the 6-foot, 184-pounder was presented with an intriguing alternative option.
“BU came out and saw me play in the playoffs, and they were pleased with that, and I had some chatter with my adviser,” Stevens explained. “I was totally focused on finishing the year in Sioux Falls, so I didn’t put much thought into college. But once the summer came, being from Boston, BU was an appealing option. I took a while to decide because it was really hard. I loved Sioux Falls, and I also loved Wisconsin.
“My decision to go to BU is nothing against Wisconsin. (Badgers head coach) Tony Granato is a great coach and he runs a great program. This is no knock on them. But it was pretty hard for me to decline the option that came up to me, playing in my backyard at such a great school with a great hockey program. And it’s only four miles from where my parents (Marc Stevens and Sylvie Robert) live. It was a great opportunity and after months of thinking it over, I thought this was the best fit for my hockey career and for school.”
Another bonus of going to BU is mom and dad will now be able to attend most of his games.
“They were happy,” Stevens asserted.
The player his parents will be tracking when they’re in attendance is one worth following for all Terriers fans. His development to this point, though, hasn’t always been smooth and steady, particularly his junior years.
Born and raised in Montreal, Stevens moved to the United States at age 14 so he could pursue the NCAA path. His first stop was with the Chicago Mission, where he played one season.
After shining in the Windy City, he played two seasons of prep school hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Minnesota. While he was there, his parents moved from Montreal, where they still have a residence, to Boston, close to Marc’s native city of Worcester and where Sam has since spent all of his summers.
Following his time at Shattuck, Stevens advanced to the USHL for the 2017-18 campaign expecting to continue doing what he’s always done best — score. However, he recorded only two goals and one assist in 26 games with the Chicago Steel and just four assists in 19 contests with the Des Moines Buccaneers.
“The toughest challenge I faced in my junior career was definitely my entire first year,” Stevens said. “Leaving school and going into the unknown a little bit, it took me a little bit more time than I thought it would to adapt. Going somewhere where everyone is good, you have to put your head down and work, and it took me some time to understand that. It was a challenge for me, but I wouldn’t replace it. It really helped me in my second year because everyone is going to go through slumps and bad times. I really grew and matured. You have to control what you can control and try to get better every day regardless, and when your opportunity comes you have to go with it.”
Stevens was handed that opportunity to put his scoring woes behind him when he joined the Stampede for the 2018-19 season. Unfortunately, the first half was much like his previous campaign, as he worked to figure out his role on a team that had only a handful of returnees from the previous year.
And then, everything started clicking.
“My linemates — Blake Bride (now with Air Force Academy) and Andre Lee (now with UMass Lowell) — and I complemented each other,” Stevens remembered. “It couldn’t have been a better scenario and a better place for me.”
The left-handed shooter started scoring consistently for the first time in two seasons, and with his confidence soaring, he was handed another task — to shut down the opponent’s best players at even strength and on the penalty kill each game.
“Growing up and when I went to Shattuck, I’d always been known as an offensive player first and a power-play player,” Stevens said. “Then (Stampede head coach Scott Owens) saw this other part of my game. He knew I had offense in me, but he saw that I could be a reliable two-way center who could get the puck in the net and also keep it out when playing against good players. I finished the year as a shutdown center, and I took a lot of pride in that. Getting those assignments against the top lines on the other teams was a good challenge for me and I was happy to play against them because the top-end players in the USHL are really good and that made me a better player.
“And I had never really penalty killed before, but I was surprisingly good at it. I really worked at it because the penalty kill is as important as the power play, and it was a big learning curve for me, but it was for the best because I grew as a player. I think I have both components in my game now.”
He also has a treasure trove of memories that he accumulated during the Stampede’s 11-1 postseason run to the title. One such highlight was their four-overtime victory against the Sioux City Musketeers in Game 2 of their opening series.
“That game was insane,” Stevens reminisced. “Between periods the guys were looking at each other, super tired with no energy left. But we created a pretty good bond and we had a good feeling. And then (Austen) Swankler scored that big goal.”
Stevens credits that “crazy” win, which served as the series clincher, for aiding them when they played beyond regulation in later postseason matches.
“We went to overtime three more times in the playoffs,” he said, “and that game helped us so much because we played under so much pressure for so long that we weren’t fazed anymore when we went to overtime.”
Exhibit A was Game 1 of their second-round series against the Waterloo Black Hawks, when Stevens potted the winner in the final minute of the first overtime.
“That was a pretty good feeling,” Stevens stated. “That was a day and a half after that long Sioux City game, so we were all tired going into Waterloo. And they have a big Olympic-sized rink, were a good team and had the first-round bye, so they were waiting for us. It was important to go there and grab that first game on their ice. I was fortunate to get that bounce. That was a good win for the team.”
With his confidence high and his game back in a groove, Stevens is hoping to have some more triumphant results this season. Except this year, he’ll be celebrating them with a hometown team.
