{"id":266369,"date":"2025-09-30T11:26:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T11:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/266369\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T11:26:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T11:26:13","slug":"steeves-looking-to-carry-his-scoring-prowess-to-the-nhl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/266369\/","title":{"rendered":"Steeves looking to carry his scoring prowess to the NHL"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steeves played a little more than 12 minutes in a 3-2 shootout loss to Philadelphia, including some time on the penalty kill. He played on the fourth line with Sean Kuraly<\/a> at center and Tanner Jeannot<\/a> on the left side. The trio combined for 10 hits, with Steeves landing four.<\/p>\n

When Steeves, who spent part of his youth in New Hampshire, hit free agency in July, he fielded myriad offers to continue his career \u2014 including a chance to stay in Toronto, which had given him brief NHL looks in each of the last four seasons \u2014 but settled on Boston, which offered a one-way deal ($850,000 salary cap hit), and just as important, the opportunity to compete for a spot on a Bruins team that had undergone a significant makeover from previous seasons.<\/p>\n

For the first time in recent memory, there were multiple job openings on the spoked-B roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a big reason why I came here, to be honest. At the end of the day, I want to play, and I want to get games under my belt,\u201d Steeves said. \u201cAfter four years pro, I feel like I\u2019ve had a really good four years, and I wouldn\u2019t trade the last four years for anything, but I\u2019m also 25 and still young, but I want to start getting games under my belt and the opportunity to come here and potentially compete to steal a job and get those games and help build back an organization that\u2019s as great as this one, was definitely appealing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though he has those New Hampshire roots, he didn\u2019t grow up rooting for the Bruins.<\/p>\n

\"BruinsBruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy puts the puck in front of the Flyers\u2019 net in the first period Monday night.Ken McGagh\/For The Boston Globe<\/p>\n

\u201cI was kind of a very impressionable young kid, and my parents were Canadian, and I was actually born in Minnesota, so I was a bit of a Wild fan,\u201d Steeves said. \u201cAnd then when Winnipeg got their team back, my dad\u2019s from Winnipeg, so I kind of hopped on that wagon with him. It wasn\u2019t really a disdain for the Bruins or anything like that, it was just me being a young kid who wanted to be different than my peers and playing the Canadian card for my parents, trying to be cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steeves, who played three seasons at Notre Dame (Bruins teammate Andrew Peeke was his captain in South Bend for a year), has always been a point collector and has shown improvement in his 200-foot game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m a straight-line, physical goal scorer. I think offensively I definitely have the aptitude to make plays and find those soft areas for myself and my teammates and then away from the puck when I don\u2019t have it, I want to get the puck back,\u201d said Steeves, who played with Fraser Minten<\/a> with the Marlies. \u201cSo, I\u2019m working to be a disruptive force out there. Forechecking is a big part of my game. So just keeping things simple but really effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marco Sturm<\/a> sees Steeves as a winger who can fit in up and down the lineup. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s a power forward. He put up a lot of numbers, good numbers in the minors, he can definitely score. He had some chances, especially Game 1 [against the Capitals]; I think he had a few chances in New York [in Game 2] to score some goals. He didn\u2019t, and that\u2019s OK, too,\u201d said the coach. \u201cBut he\u2019s an interesting player because I think he can play that grinding game, too, and that\u2019s one of the reasons why I put him there [Monday night]. Third line, fourth line, whatever you want to call it, but more on the right side and have a little bit more of that grinding game because I think he can do that, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Observations from the game:<\/p>\n

\u22c5 Jeremy Swayman had a rough re-entry, giving up a pair of goals that he normally would handle easily. On the first, the Bruins goalie fumbled the puck behind the net, allowing Tyson Foerster to steal and feed Noah Cates for an easy strike.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s just something I want to work on \u2014 my puck handling, and I got too cute,\u201d said Swayman, who gave up another to Rodrigo Abols on a shot from the dot that went under his blocker.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerfect shot, you tip your cap,\u201d said Swayman, who was beaten in the shootout by Bobby Brink.<\/p>\n

\u22c5 Kuraly scored Boston\u2019s first goal, tipping in a net-front feed from David Pastrnak<\/a>, who had just been sprung from the penalty box.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if you got half a brain, you know he\u2019s dangerous, so it doesn\u2019t take you long to learn that,\u201d Kuraly said about charging to the net when Pastrnak had the puck.<\/p>\n

\u22c5 Morgan Geekie tied it in the third when he broke in alone off a nice feed from Elias Lindholm and banked one off Flyers goalie Dan Vladar\u2019s glove.<\/p>\n

\u22c5 In addition to last season\u2019s alternate captains Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, defenseman Hampus Lindholm wore the \u201cA.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u22c5 Song of the night: \u201cGet into the Groove<\/a>\u201d by Madonna.<\/p>\n

Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @globejimmcbride<\/a>.<\/p>\n