Mitchell Stephens (ice hockey)

Mitchell Stephens
Stephens in 2024
Born	(1997-02-05) February 5, 1997 (age 27) Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Right
NHL team Former teams	Seattle Kraken Tampa Bay Lightning Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens
NHL draft	33rd overall, 2015 Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career	2016–present

Mitchell Stephens (born February 5, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Seattle Kraken 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 and Montreal Canadiens.

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 (GTHL). ^[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. ^[20] He won his second Stanley Cup with the Lightning at the end of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. ^[21]

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. ^[20] 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. ^[22] During the 2021–22 season, he skated in 27 games with the Red Wings, scoring six points. ^[23] His season was interrupted by a lower-body injury that kept him out from November 13, 2021 to April 8, 2022. ^[24]

Montreal Canadiens

On July 13, 2022, Stephens signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens. ^[23] 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. ^[25] 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. ^[26] He was recalled by Montreal on December 1, 2023. ^[27] 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. ^[28] He scored his first goal for the Canadiens in a 5–2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on December 23. ^[29]

Seattle Kraken

As an unrestricted free agent entering the NHL free agency period, Stephens signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Seattle Kraken on July 1, 2024. ^[30]

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. ^[31] 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. ^[32]

Personal life

Stephens is the cousin to Owen Tippett of the Philadelphia Flyers. ^[33]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2012–13	Toronto Marlboros	GTMMHL		58	44	40	84	12		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Saginaw Spirit	OHL		57	9	12	21	8		5	0	2	2	2
2014–15	Saginaw Spirit	OHL		62	22	26	48	44		4	0	0	0	0
2015–16	Saginaw Spirit	OHL		39	20	18	38	14		4	2	1	3	0
2015–16	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		5	1	0	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Saginaw Spirit	OHL		22	11	17	28	14		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	London Knights	OHL		29	11	14	25	12		14	7	3	10	2
2016–17	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		—	—	—	—	—		3	0	0	0	0
2017–18	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		70	19	22	41	24		7	1	5	6	4
2018–19	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		32	11	13	24	6		4	0	1	1	2
2019–20	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		24	5	5	10	15		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		38	3	3	6	10		7	1	0	1	2
2020–21	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		4	1	7	8	0		—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		7	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Detroit Red Wings	NHL		27	0	6	6	8		—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	Laval Rocket	AHL		68	20	21	41	49		—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Laval Rocket	AHL		49	13	22	35	16		—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		23	2	1	3	4		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				95	5	11	16	22		7	1	0	1	2

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2014	Canada Ontario	U17	5th		5	0	2	2	6
2014	Canada	IH18			5	4	2	6	2
2015	Canada	WJC18			7	5	5	10	10
2016	Canada	WJC	6th		5	1	1	2	2
2017	Canada	WJC			5	2	3	5	0
Junior totals					27	12	13	25	20

Awards and honours

Award	Year
CHL
CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game	2015	[34]
AHL
All-Star Game	2018	[35]
NHL
Stanley Cup champion	2020, 2021	[36] [21]
International
World U-17 Hockey Challenge Canada Ontario	2014	[37]
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament Gold Medal	2014	[38]
IIHF World U18 Championship Bronze Medal	2015	[39]
IIHF World U18 Championship Top 3 Player on Team	2015	[40]

References

1. "Mitchell Stephens". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
2. Davies, Mike (December 12, 2019). "NHL debut a dream come true for Mitchell Stephens". The Peterborough Examiner . Retrieved October 19, 2021.
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. Carafa, Nicholas (December 18, 2015). "Breakout Star of the Month: Mitchell Stephens". GTHL. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
5. "Spirit Select Mitchell Stephens with 8th Overall Pick". CHL.ca. April 6, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
6. "Prospect report: Don't forget about Mitchell Stephens". PenaltyBoxRadio.com. June 15, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
7. "Mitchell Stephens player profile". HockeyProspect.com. May 14, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
8. Bernreuter, Hugh (April 9, 2016). "Mitchell Stephens named Spirit MVP, signs contract with Tampa Bay". MLive.com. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
9. "Lightning's Mitchell Stephens: Out indefinitely with broken foot". CBS Sports . April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
10. "Spirit Name Mitchell Stephens Captain; Bennett, Garcia, Middleton Alternates". Saginaw Spirit. October 4, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2021– via CHL.ca.^{[ dead link ‍]}
11. "Saginaw Spirit Move Mitchell Stephens to London Knights". Saginaw Spirit. January 9, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2021– via CHL.ca.^{[ dead link ‍]}
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. Barbosa, Victoria (April 9, 2016). "Syracuse Crunch lose in shootout to Albany Devils; playoff hopes barely alive". Syracuse.com. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
14. "Syracuse Crunch forward Mitchell Stephens named 2018 AHL All-Star". Central New York Business Journal . January 25, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
15. Tampa Bay Lightning [@TBLightning] (December 9, 2019). "Let's do this thing. Congrats, Mitchell Stephens!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
16. "Varlamov, Nelson lead Islanders past Lightning 5-1". Fox Sports . December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
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. "Peterborough native Mitchell Stephens scores first NHL playoff goal". The Peterborough Examiner . August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
19. "Lightning re-sign forward Mitchell Stephens to two-year contract". Sportsnet. October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
20. Kujawa, Kyle (July 30, 2021). "Detroit acquires center Mitchell Stephens from Tampa Bay". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved October 19, 2021– via NHL.com.
21. Davis, Greg (August 23, 2021). "Mitchell Stephens to bring Stanley Cup to hometown of Peterborough". Global News. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
22. Khan, Ansar (September 26, 2021). "Mitchell Stephens making case for Red Wings' fourth-line center spot". MLive. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
23. "One-year contracts for Bowey, Richard and Stephens". Montreal Canadiens. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022– via NHL.com.
24. Khan, Ansar (April 8, 2022). "Mitchell Stephens returns, looking to provide energy to Red Wings". MLive. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
25. "Canadiens sign forward Mitchell Stephens to one-year, two-way contract". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. July 10, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
26. Johnson, Amy (September 30, 2023). "Canadiens Place Four Players On Waivers". The Hockey News . Retrieved November 13, 2023.
27. "Mitchell Stephens recalled from the Laval Rocket". Montreal Canadiens. December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023– via NHL.com.
28. Zurkowsky, Herb (December 4, 2023). "'I'm here to help,' Canadiens' Mitchell Stephens says of latest NHL shot". Montreal Gazette . Retrieved December 5, 2023.
29. "Canadiens' Mitchell Stephens: Nets first goal of 2023-24". CBS Sports. December 23, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
30. Seattle Kraken [@SeattleKraken] (July 1, 2024). "Welcome to The Deep! 🌊
    
    We've agreed to terms with forward Mitchell Stephens to a two-year, two-way contract with a 775K AAV" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
31. "Mitchell Stephens scores in U18 opener". The Peterborough Examiner . August 23, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
32. "U18 team set to open Worlds". Hockey Canada. April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
33. Nugent-Bowman, Daniel. "Break Away". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
34. "2015 BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game Rosters". CHL.ca. December 17, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
35. "North rallies for thrilling All-Star Challenge title". TheAHL.com. January 29, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
36. Schram, Carol (September 28, 2020). "Tampa Bay Lightning win Stanley Cup in Pandemic Bubble". The New York Times . Retrieved September 28, 2020.
37. "Ontario's 2014 World U17 team announced". GTHL Canada. January 5, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
38. "Canada wins 2014 Ivan Hlinka gold medal". Hockey Canada. January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
39. "Stephens looking forward to NHL scouting combine". The Peterborough Examiner . April 28, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.^{[ dead link ‍]}
40. Kerr, Ben (June 28, 2015). "NHL draft profile 57: Mitchell Stephens". Last Word on Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2015.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Daniel Sprong	AHL Rookie of the Month January 2018	Succeeded by Janne Kuokkanen