When Alex Steeves was one of the final cuts at the end of Bruins training camp, he told coach Marco Sturm that he was going to be back.
It’s one thing to say that, though. It’s another to actually do it. The AHL is littered with players who got sent down, let frustration or disappointment get the better of them, and watched that next opportunity go to someone else.
Steeves wasn’t one of those players. He kept his word.
“I have to tell you, that a lot of guys say it,” Sturm said Thursday night. “But to Steeves’ credit is, a lot of guys don't do it. … He didn't like to go down, but 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.”
Sturm was discussing Steeves after yet another stellar performance from the 25-year-old winger. Steeves had a goal and an assist in Boston’s 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues Thursday night. It was his third multi-point game in the last five games. He has five goals during that time.
With the Bruins dealing with so many injuries, including David Pastrnak’s, Steeves has been getting an opportunity to play in the top six, most recently on a line with Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie. He has been doing two things that are required to stick in such an offensive role: Finishing his chances, and creating chances for his linemates. Both were on display Thursday.
Steeves opened the scoring 6:30 into the game, driving to the net off the rush and burying a nice feed from Geekie. That was the easier of his two points. Geekie, Lindholm and Jonathan Aspirot had done the harder work with some good transition passing; Steeves just needed to hit the net with Jordan Binnington struggling to get across the crease.
His assist, though? That was Example A of why Steeves isn’t going back to the AHL any time soon. One hit on Dalibor Dvorsky on the forecheck to jar the puck loose. Then a double hit on Philip Broberg and Colton Parayko – the Blues’ top two defensemen – to force a turnover. A second later, Lindholm set up Geekie in front to make it 2-0.
Steeves’ forechecking has been a revelation. He is consistently arriving on time and making life miserable for opposing defensemen. He had a game-high six hits Thursday. Despite playing in just 13 of the Bruins’ 29 games, he is sixth on the team in hits this season with 48.
Geekie called him “a hound on pucks.”
“Everything,” Geekie said when asked what that does for the line. “I mean, any time you can get pucks back, I think you saw on my goal, he made a great play behind the net just to separate, and Lindy made a great pass out front. So, it kind of leads to chances like that. I think we had multiple tonight. So, just his ability to recover those pucks and give us a chance to get in good spots. Like I said, he seems to be all over the ice every time you look up, so it's super fun to play with him.”
Steeves did not always play this way. The Bedford, New Hampshire native was a scorer in college at Notre Dame. He spent four years in the AHL as one of the Toronto Marlies’ leading scorers. And yet, he could barely get a sniff at the NHL level. His game needed more.
“I wasn't an overly physical player coming out of the USHL. I wasn't even as physical in college,” Steeves said. “But I think when I added that layer to my game, it just gave me a B game when I wasn't playing as skilled, or the skill wasn't sharp on any given night. I feel like, for a player like me who's not the most beautiful skater on the ice … it's just important for me to have that B game.”
“I don’t think I’m an NHL player if I’m not playing physical,” he says matter-of-factly.
It is certainly true that Steeves’ physicality has helped separate him from other players in the Bruins’ system who have been able to score in the AHL, as has his commitment to defense. While Steeves is making the most of his opportunity in the top six right now, it was his play on the fourth line at the end of training camp that showed Sturm he was a player who could be used anywhere in the lineup. Sturm has also trusted him with penalty-killing duties, adding yet another layer to Steeves’ game, and yet another attribute that could keep him in the lineup even when (or if) everyone’s healthy.
“That's the nice part about it, is he can play any line, he can play any side,” Sturm said. “Maybe not centerman. But overall, he just, I can use him. That's, I think, what coaches really like, and that's what I like about him. 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. So, good for him. 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.”