Grant Stevenson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grant Stevenson (born October 1, 1981 in Spruce Grove,Alberta) is an NHL ice hockey player, currently playing center for the San Jose Sharks. Grant is the grandson of NHL Hall of Famer Glenn Hall.
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[edit] College and Junior career
After winning the "player of the year" award with the Spruce Grove Midget AAA team, Stevenson joined Bonneyville of the AJHL for the 1999-2000 season. He recorded 20 and 38 assists in 63 games in his rookie season and was his team's "rookie of the year". He also played in the AJHL Prospects Game. In 2000-2001, Stevenson played for Grande Prairie and improved on his totals with 22 goals and a whopping 67 assists in 62 games, and he played in the AJHL All-Star game.
Recruited by Minnesota State University-Mankato for the 2001-2002 season, Stevenson finished 8th in WCHA Rookie Scoring with 8 goals and 8 assists in 38 games, winning "rookie of the week" twice. Breaking out next year as the highest scoring sophomore in the nation with 27 goals and 36 assists in 38 games, Stevenson was second on the team and 5th in the nation in scoring. Consequently, Stevenson garnered many weekly honors and was named to the WCHA First All-Star Team.
Leaving college two years early, Stevenson signed with San Jose Sharks as a free agent on April 18, 2003.
[edit] Pro career
Stevenson's first season of pro hockey with the Cleveland Barons saw him get a respectable 39 (13 + 26) points in 71 games, Stevenson impressed the most when he had seven assists in nine playoff games. Playing with former MSU-Mankato teammate Shane Joseph signed to a PTO contract March 15, Stevenson took off with five goals and 11 assists in 14 games. Seeing Stevenson's chemistry with the small Joseph, San Jose signed him to a contract. In 2004-2005, Stevenson had a terrible start to the season and was even sent to the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL. Eventually, Stevenson matched his rookie year totals with a 14 goal, 25 assist performance in 77 games. This stagnation in growth prompted many to call him a bust.
Working out hard in the summer to gain more strength and speed, Stevenson led the Barons in scoring with 16 points in 17 games and was consistently playing on their top line before being called up to San Jose on November 23, 2005. After a red-hot start, he has cooled down, but still has ten goals and twelve assists in 47 games. Barons head coach Roy Summer had this to say:
"He's really put it all together this summer," Sommer said. "He went in and worked hard in the offseason, got himself bigger and stronger, came in and had a pretty good camp, came down here and was our best forward."
"He played both ends of the ice, got pucks in, got pucks out, made plays, killed penalties, was a power play guy, was our leading scorer, was averaging two or three quality chances a game, and he did everything that was asked of him and that's why he got the opportunity," Sommer added.
Stevenson is considered a small, shifty forward who is known for his prowess in the offensive zone. Hockeysfuturerates him as a future third-line winger.
For the 2006-07 NHL season, Stevenson is making US$543,400. The contract, which is a two-way deal, ends in June 2007.
[edit] Awards
- 1998-1999: Spruce Grove's Midget AAA-Player of the Year
- 1999-2000: Bonneyville's Rookie of the Year
- 1999-2000: AJHL Prospect Game
- 2000-2001: Grande Prairie's Top Forward
- 2000-2001: AJHL All-Star Game.
- 2002-2003: WCHA First All-Star Team
- 2002-2003: Jofa Second All-American Team.
2005- Most left behind in Chicago AWARD!!
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2003-04 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 71 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 45 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2004-05 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 77 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 70 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005-06 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 17 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005-06 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 47 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
[edit] External links
- Stevenson's stats at hockeydb.com
- Profile on Stevenson at sjsharks.com
- "Stevenson Called up from Cleveland"
