NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Sam Steel

Get to Know Sam Steel

Date of Birth: 2/3/1998
Place of Birth: Edmonton, AB, CAN
Ht: 5’11” Wt: 176 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Center
Team (League): Regina Pats (WHL)

Statistics

What Scouts See

The Draft Analyst:

Steel is an excellent scorer from the center ice position, with the smarts to augment an elite finesse game. He’s very good around the net, using his quick hands and keen vision to create multiple opportunities without the benefit of time or space. Slight of frame, Steel relies on his first-step quickness and acceleration to distance himself from opposing checkers.

Last Word on Sports:

Steel has outstanding hockey IQ, and thinks the game a step ahead of others. He seems to always make the smart play with the puck on his stick.  Steel is also a very hard worker, who constantly keeps his feet moving and is involved in every aspect of the play. He is strong on the forecheck, and uses his good puck protection skills to make plays down low on the cycle game.

What BSN Avalanche sees

Steel is one of my personal favorite prospects in this draft. He’s talented but he augments his natural skill with unbelievable hockey IQ. He plays an incredibly smart game and it shows up in all three zones and he combines the smarts with a high-effort approach. He’s a good stick-handler and has soft hands that allow him to create for both teammates and himself on offense. He’s not an over-the-top offensive talent but he’s plenty talented and has a mature defensive game to boot. As if I haven’t gushed enough, he also is a really good faceoff guy who can play in all situations and has some sandpaper to his game that comes out all the time. He’s a guy who obviously loves to compete.

Consistency is an issue here. Steel goes from looking like a surefire first round prospect to a guy that you forget is out there. That fire he shows in so many of his games can completely disappear in other contests, which is troubling. He’s also a bit slight of build, making you wonder just how much strength he can add to his frame and still be effective. His lack of strength really stands out defensively when he tries to body his man and too often he simply didn’t have the upper-body strength to make it work.

Highlights

NHL Potential

It’s hard not to watch Steel and see a bit of Derek Stepan here. I love Steel’s game and think he could be a really good second line center in the NHL.

Expected Draft Position

There’s a bit of variance with Steel’s rankings as some see him as a bottom first round guy and others have him ranked in the 50’s. Given that, we’ll put the expectation on Steel being a second-day selection.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization

Steel would immediately fill the need for another center in the organization. Beyond J.T. Compher and J.C. Beaudin, there’s not much else at the pivot for the organization to look forward to so Steel’s addition would be a big one. Given his talent level and mature approach, it would also give the Avalanche an exciting base of young forward prospects to begin building from. Steel would obviously come to the Avs via their second round selection at 40th overall but I think he’d be great value there.