Derek Stepan brings winning pedigree to Coyotes

Jim Cerny

Derek Stepan brings winning pedigree to Coyotes image

Derek Stepan was acquired by the Coyotes this summer as much for his leadership skills and winning pedigree as for his considerable on-ice skills. Though he's still chasing his first Stanley Cup ring, Stepan did help the Rangers reach three Eastern Conference Finals (2012, 2014, 2015) and the 2014 Stanley Cup Final during his seven years on Broadway. He played post-season hockey in all seven of those seasons.

So, when Stepan discusses what it takes to be a winner, his words carry significant weight.

"It's never easy winning," Stepan said simply on Thursday at the start of training camp with his new team.

"It's funny, throughout the year you come in after a win and you see more guys wearing ice bags because that's what it takes. It's plain and simple. It takes hard work."

 

Stepan arrives in the desert not only with 515 games of regular season experience in the NHL, he has also appeared in another 97 post-season contests. He knows what it takes to raise one's level of play at the most important times of the year, and how players must sacrifice for one another in order to be a true team.

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It is this gained knowledge and experience that instantly makes Stepan an extremely valuable addition to a Coyotes organization which has failed to play a single playoff game the previous five years and is coming off a 70-point season.

"I like to keep it very simple," said the affable Stepan, who scored 17 goals and 55 points in New York last season. "I'll try to do what I do best, play a 200 foot game, try to make the guys around me better, and try to be a leader for these young guys. When I was a young guy, I had older guys do it for me, and I want to do the same thing for them. Hopefully I can step in and help in all aspects."

 

 

While both head coach Rick Tocchet and general manager John Chayka said there is no rush and no timetable to name a captain, Stepan is on the short list for that honor along with another newcomer, three-time Stanley Cup champion Niklas Hjalmarsson, and another Cup-winning defenseman, Alex Goligoski. The 27-year-old Stepan was an alternate captain for several seasons with the Rangers.

Wearing a letter is not the be-all, end-all for Stepan, however.

"I'm just excited to get that jersey on and play because I think I can do a lot of good things for this organization," he stated simply.

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Of course, it's going to be an adjustment for Stepan, leaving the bright lights of the big city for the quiet of the desert, and leaving behind a team with great expectations every year to one trying to find its footing again as a contender.

However, in typical Stepan fashion, the easy-going Minnesota native believes the transition will be a smooth one.

 

 

"Coming into a team where there's been a lot of changes might help me a little bit," Stepan explained. "New coach, new system for everybody.  We're all kind of starting at the same spot. I came down here early, developed relationships with guys. Just trying to be myself. Hopefully that will help me make that transition from a team I was a part of for a long time that much easier."

Stepan immediately hit off with star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, even taking in a Diamondbacks baseball game together recently where the young Swede gave his new teammate a hard time about throwing out the first pitch. Clearly, Stepan appreciates his budding friendship with Ekman-Larsson as much as he anticipates playing with him on the ice.

"I said it even when I was in New York, the guy is a superstar," Stepan said of Ekman-Larsson. "When he's on the ice, he has the ability to take over. There's a handful of guys in the league that can do that, and he's one of them. He's a rock-star of a guy, too."

The new-look Coyotes hit the ice for the first day of training camp on Friday.

Stepan, literally and figuratively, leading the way.

Jim Cerny