Anaheim Ducks Early Season Rookie Report Cards
Sam Steel
Grade: B-
Twenty-year-old old Sam Steel, hailing from Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, was the Ducks first round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He was selected 30th overall with the first round pick they acquired in the trade that sent goaltender Frederik Andersen to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Steel is a smaller player, standing at only 5’11” and weighing 186lbs. Steel was a prolific player in junior hockey, playing 5 seasons (4 full seasons and a 5 game stint to start his career) with the Regina Pats. During his tenure with the Pats, he posted 338 points in 258 games played. This included an outstanding season in 2016-17 that saw him score an absurd 131 points in 66 games on route to being named the WHL player of the year.
Steel is billed as a playmaker with top end hockey IQ. He has a knack for scoring goals while remaining responsible defensively. Steel has decent skating ability, with a mid-high end speed and unmatched creativity with the puck. His weaknesses lie almost entirely in his size, seen by many as too small to be an effective center at the NHL level.
Many believe, because of his size, a position on the wing would suit him better. Paired with a sub-par face-off ability, it seemed likely that Steel would follow a bit in the tracks of Rickard Rakell, another player drafted a center, who has found a nice home on the wing.
Steel played all three games for the Anaheim Ducks during the first week of this season. He started the season against the San Jose Sharks, centering a line with Jakob Silfverberg and Pontus Aberg, who the Ducks acquired via waivers the week of the start of the season.
The first game was an unforgettable moment for Steel surely but it was a relatively forgettable performance. Steel looked nervous, and a bit outmatched by the Sharks, as did much of the roster. The center played just over 13:00, not registering a shot, and despite being on the winning side of a 5-2 game, ended the game with a minus 1 rating and finished 8/17 in the face-off dot.
The second game was Steel’s most productive as on the stat sheet. He logged 15:36 of time on ice, 3 shots on goal, as well as winning the same amount of face-offs, in fewer attempts going 8/13, winning 61.5% of his draws. Steel looked more comfortable during this game, playing a more aggressive game offensively while remaining responsible defensively. Steel showed promise in the offensive zone making more plays and, while he didn’t show up on the stat-sheet offensively, gave fans plenty to be optimistic about.
In terms of the stat sheet, it was more of the same from Steel in game three. There were no points for Steel, no logged shots on goal, and he had his worst face-off percentage to date despite playing over 20 minutes, including an overtime period. The eye test told an entirely different story, however. Steel looked dominant at times making slick plays with the puck, finding his teammates with passes that were of high difficulty, and showing off another gear to his skating.
Steel’s best game so far certainly has been his third game. Steel showed fans why he was so highly regarded by management and, if this is a sign of things to come, he will be a very fun player to watch for the foreseeable future.
I’m going to give Steel a B-. If we grading the rookies game by game, he would get an A for the third game of the season. Overall, I feel a B- is sufficient, he played well and is playing a difficult position to adjust to at the NHL level as a center.
He has yet to really jump out on the stat sheet only tallying 3 shots on goal through 3 games (all of which occurred during the same game) and his overall face-off win percentage is decent, but not earth-shattering, at 51%. Steel has promise and I think he will have a coming out party soon enough.