Mitchell Stephens

History

2011-12: Mitchell Stephens played for the Toronto Marlboros bantam AAA team and competed for the Marlboros midget minor team in the 2012 OHL Cup. He had 1 assist in two games at the tournament.

2012-13: Stephens was a team captain for the Toronto Marlboros minor midget AAA team. He scored 44 goals with 40 assists and 12 penalty minutes in 58 games. In seven games at the 2013 OHL Cup he scored 4 goals with 3 assists and 8 penalty minutes. Stephens was selected by Saginaw in the first round (8th overall) in the 2013 OHL Priority Draft.

2013-14: Stephens skated for the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit as a 16-year-old and played for Canada Ontario at the 2014 World Hockey Challenge. He scored 9 goals with 12 assists and was -3 with 8 penalty minutes in 57 regular season games for the Spirit. Saginaw finished third in the West Division and lost to Erie in a first-round playoff series. Stephens had 2 assists and was +1 with 2 penalty minutes in five playoff games. He had 2 assists and 6 penalty minutes for Canada Ontario at the WHC.

2014-15: Stephens played for the gold medal Canada U18 team in the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August before returning to Saginaw for his second season. He joined the Canada U18 team for the 2015 World Juniors following the OHL playoffs. Stephens was second to San Jose prospect Dylan Sadowy in scoring for the Spirit, scoring 22 goals with 26 assists and finishing -17 with 44 penalty minutes in 62 regular season games. Saginaw was third in the West Division and was swept by first-place Sault Ste. Marie in the first round of the playoffs. Stephens was -2 with no points nor penalties in four games against the Greyhounds. In five games at the Ivan Hlinka tournament he scored 4 goals with 2 assists and was +9 with 2 penalty minutes. He scored 5 goals with 5 assists and was +1 with 10 penalty minutes in seven games at the World Juniors. Canada defeated host Switzerland in the bronze medal game. Stephens played for Team Cherry in the 2015 CHL/NHL Top Prospects game and was ranked 112th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings. He was invited to the NHL Prospects Combine and selected by Tampa Bay in the second round (33rd overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Talent Analysis

Stephens is a defensively responsible center who brings an element of leadership to his team. He’s regarded as having plenty of character and intangibles, but his offensive game has been coming along nicely since he entered the OHL with the Saginaw Spirit. He has a great shot and is an underrated playmaker. Stephens’ coming out party was at the U18 World Championships where he led team Canada with 10 points in seven games.

Future

Stephens will return to Saginaw for likely two more seasons where he is expected to lead both in the dressing room and on the ice offensively. He should have no trouble besting last season’s total of 48 points in the 2015-16 campaign, and, if all goes well for the Peterborough native, he could earn a look for the U20 Canadian World Junior squad.