Derek Stepan

Derek Stepan
Stepan with the Rangers during the 2011-12 season
Born (1990-06-18) June 18, 1990
Hastings, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Arizona Coyotes
New York Rangers
National team  United States
NHL Draft 51st overall, 2008
New York Rangers
Playing career 2010–present

Derek Kenneth Stepan (/stɛˈpɑːn/ steh-PAHN;[1] born June 18, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey center, an alternate captain for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Stepan was drafted in the second round, 51st overall, by the New York Rangers in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and afterwards attended the University of Wisconsin, where he played for the Badgers hockey team in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association WCHA. On July 1, 2010, he signed his first professional contract with the Rangers, forgoing his junior and senior years at Wisconsin.[2] On October 9, 2010, he became the first player in Rangers history, and the fourth in NHL history, to score a hat-trick in his NHL debut.

Playing career

Amateur

Stepan attended high school at Shattuck-Saint Mary's, where he played on the hockey team. He scored 81 points during his junior year and 111 during his senior year at the school.[3] He then attended the University of Wisconsin, where he played for the Badgers hockey program in the WCHA.

Professional

New York Rangers

On July 1, 2010, Stepan signed his first professional contract with the Rangers, forgoing his junior and senior years at Wisconsin.[2] In the autumn of 2010, having attended Rangers' training camp and playing for the team during the pre-season, Stepan made the transition from Wisconsin to the NHL. He scored a hat-trick in his first NHL game on October 9, 2010, against Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres, becoming the first rookie in Rangers history to do so, en route to a 6–3 victory.[4] He is only the fourth player in NHL history to have scored a hat-trick in his debut, joining Alex Smart of the Montreal Canadiens (January 14, 1943), Réal Cloutier of the Quebec Nordiques (October 10, 1979) and Fabian Brunnström of the Dallas Stars (October 15, 2008). Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs later accomplished the feat with four goals (October 12, 2016). Stepan was selected as a member of the 2011 NHL All Star roster on January 11, 2011, and performed in the NHL SuperSkills competition on January 29, 2011.

In the 2012–13 season, Stepan finished tied for the NHL lead with four short-handed points.[5] On September 26, 2013, Stepan was signed to a two-year contract extension worth $6.15 million.[5] On September 24, 2014 Stepan suffered a broken leg in a non-contact drill during a Rangers practice.[6]

On May 13, 2015, Stepan scored the overtime and series winning goal against the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. The Rangers would eventually lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games.[7]

Following the 2014–15 NHL season Stepan became a restricted free agent under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The New York Rangers made him a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights. However, Stepan rejected the initial contract, which was worth $5.2 million a year. On July 5, 2015, Stepan filed for Salary Arbitration, demanding at least $7.25 million per year.[8] On the morning of July 27, 2015, just hours before his arbitration hearing was scheduled to occur, Stepan and the Rangers settled on a six-year, $39 million contract.[9] This contract sets Stepan's salary at $6.5 million, and made him the second highest paid Rangers forward, behind Rick Nash's $7.9 million a year.

Arizona Coyotes

On June 23, 2017, Stepan was traded to the Arizona Coyotes along with goalie Antti Raanta in exchange for the 7th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and Anthony DeAngelo.[10] He scored 14 goals with 42 assists in his first season with the Coyotes, playing in all 82 games. He was named an alternative captain for the Coyotes to begin the 2017–18 season.[11]

During the 2018–19 season, Stepan played in his 600th game on October 10, becoming the first player drafted in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, who was not a first-rounder, to reach that milestone.[12]

International play

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing the  United States
World Junior Championships
2010 Saskatoon

At the 2010 IIHF World U20 Championships, Stepan was the captain of the United States team and led the tournament in scoring with four goals and ten assists in seven games, leading to an All-Star Team selection.[13][14][15][16] He captained the United States to win their second gold medal ever, defeating Canada in overtime.[17]

Stepan joined the United States men's team at the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia, playing alongside Ranger teammate Ryan McDonagh and Ranger prospect Chris Kreider. He finished the tournament with seven points in seven games, and was selected as a top three player on Team USA.

Personal life

Stepan was born into a hockey family, as his father Brad was also a draft pick of the Rangers in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. Stepan's younger cousin, Zachary, was selected 112th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.[18] On August 9, 2014, Stepan married his longtime girlfriend Stephanie Kent in their home state, Minnesota. Stephanie gave birth to the couple's first child on October 27, 2015, and their second child on September 21, 2017.[19]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 University of Wisconsin WCHA 40924336 —————
2009–10 University of Wisconsin WCHA 4112425410 —————
2010–11 New York Rangers NHL 8221244520 50002
2011–12 New York Rangers NHL 8217345122 201894
2012–13 KalPa SM-l 122240 —————
2012–13 New York Rangers NHL 4818264412 124152
2013–14 New York Rangers NHL 8217405718 24510152
2014–15 New York Rangers NHL 6816395522 19571210
2015–16 New York Rangers NHL 7222315320 52020
2016–17 New York Rangers NHL 8117385516 122464
2017–18 Arizona Coyotes NHL 8214425626 —————
NHL totals 597142274416156 9719304924

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2010 United States WJC 1st, gold medalist(s) 7 4 10 14 4
2011 United States WC 8th 7 2 5 7 2
2014 United States OG 4th 1 0 0 0 0
2016 United States WCH 7th 3 0 1 1 0
Junior totals 7 4 10 14 4
Senior totals 11 2 6 8 2

References

  1. ↑ 2014–15 National Hockey League (NHL) Player Pronunciations.
  2. 1 2 "Stepan making jump to pro game". New York Rangers. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
  3. ↑ "Prospect: Derek Stepan". hockeysfuture.com. January 14, 2010.
  4. ↑ "NHL - New York Rangers/Buffalo Sabres Box Score Saturday October 9, 2010". Retrieved 2010-10-09.
  5. 1 2 Podell, I. (September 26, 2013). "Stepan, Rangers agree to 2-year contract". Associated Press. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
  6. ↑ Leonard, Pat (September 24, 2014). "Derek Stepan suffers broken leg, NY Rangers center will be out indefinitely". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Stepan scores 3 in NHL debut in Rangers 6-3 win". yahoo.com. October 9, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Arbitration cases scheduled". National Hockey League. July 5, 2015. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Rangers sign Stepan to 6-year $39 million contract". CBS Sports. 2015-07-27. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  10. ↑ "Coyotes acquire Stepan, Raanta from Rangers for No.7 pick and DeAngelo". Arizona Coyotes. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  11. ↑ "Coyotes Announce Leadership Group for 2017-18 Season". NHL.com. October 4, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  12. ↑ Vest, Day (October 10, 2018). "Preview: Coyotes at Ducks". NHL.com. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Scoring Leaders" (PDF). iihf.com. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  14. ↑ "Media All Stars" (PDF). iihf.com. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  15. ↑ "Goalscoring Leaders" (PDF). iihf.com. Retrieved 2010-12-28.
  16. ↑ "Player Statistics by Team: USA" (PDF). iihf.com. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  17. ↑ "New champs: USA stuns Canada". iihf.com. January 14, 2010. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Stepan bloodlines run in the NHL". National Hockey League. 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
  19. ↑ Dillman, Lisa (October 3, 2017). "Five Questions with Derek Stepan". NHL.com. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
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