Prospect Review: Alex Steeves

Position: F

Age: 22

Date of Birth: December 10^th, 1999

Place of Birth: Bedford, New Hampshire USA

Nation: United States of America

Junior Team: (2016-2018) Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)

University Team: (2018-2021) University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish (NCAA)

Height: 5’11” / 180 cm

Weight: 185 lbs. / 84 kg

Shoots: L

Drafted: Was not drafted, was signed from college on March 28^th, 2021

On March 28^th, 2021, Alex Steeves’ life was changed forever. This was the day that he had been waiting for his whole life. After 2 years of being undrafted and becoming too old to be drafted in the NHL Entry Draft, Alex Steeves was signed as an unrestricted free agent to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Alex Steeves started his junior career playing with the Dubuque Fighting Saints (Located in Dubuque, Iowa USA) in the USHL. He played there for 2 seasons and in his last season with the Fighting Saints, he played 55 games and registered 57 points (20 goals 37 assists) Some highlights of his play during this time were his play-making abilities and a fast burst of speed off transition play. This promising junior career unfortunately was not enough to get him drafted and decided to take his talents to the NCAA.

Stevees went on to play in the NCAA Division 1 hockey with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Steeves spent 3 years with the University of Notre Dame and in that time, he played 104 with 33 goals and 36 assists. His production ad this high level of play proved to be a bough for the Maple Leafs to sign him at the end of his 3^rd year of university hockey.

Where Alex Steeves really took strides in becoming a top prospect for the Toronto Maple Leafs was during the 2021-2022 Toronto Marlies season. Steeves bounced around on the lineup but mostly played on the 2^nd or 3^rd line of the Marlies. Even though he was sometimes a 3^rd liner, he still produced at an amazing level. In 58 games played Steeves registered 28 goals and 23 assists for 46 points. His point-per-game average was 0.79. He was a top 50 goal scorer in the AHL and in total points he was in the top 65. These numbers are great considering that he was only getting 2^nd and 3^rd line minutes for most of the year.

This year Alex Steeves should be seeing some action with the Leafs when we have some players go down but besides that, I see him as a leader and top scorer for the Toronto Marlies this season. According to Elite Prospects, Steeves’s strengths in his game are his speed and acceleration, and I couldn’t agree more. In his 3 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was always trying to get after the puck in any way that he could. That type of grit and hustle is something that the Leafs will love on the 4th line when they need it in a pinch. We should be seeing Steeves in some preseason games this year and hopefully, if he shows the coaches what he has to offer, we could see him wearing the Maple Leafs Crest on his chest a lot this season.

My final thoughts on Alec Steeves are that he is an all-around hard worker. He is always getting after it in the offensive zone and busting his butt to get the puck to the most optimal spot in the offensive zone. I really like how handles the puck in the offensive zone and knows when and where to send the puck. My prediction for where we will see Alex Steeves this year is the 4^th line of the Toronto Maple Leafs when injuries occur, and the 2^nd line of the Toronto Marlies on a regular basis.