Sam Steel (born February 3, 1998) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). Steel was selected 30th overall in the 2016 NHL entry draft by the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

. He also formerly played for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

Playing career

Junior career

Steel first played junior hockey as a youth in his hometown of Sherwood Park, Alberta. While playing for and captaining the Sherwood Park AAA Flyers, Steel was selected with the second overall pick in the 2013

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

(WHL) Bantam draft by the

Regina Pats The Regina Pats are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1917, the Pats are the world's oldest continuously operating major junior hockey franchise in its original location and using its original name. The ...

. On August 28, 2013, he signed a standard player contract with the Pats. After appearing with the

Sherwood Park Crusaders The Sherwood Park Crusaders are a Junior ice hockey team in the BCHL. They play in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, with home games at Sherwood Park Arena Sports Centre. The team was part of the AJHL, until 2024 when it switched mid-season to ...

of the

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. The 2023–24 season began with 16 teams, however 5 ...

(AJHL), Steel completed the 2013–14 season by making his WHL debut with the Regina Pats, featuring in five games. The following season he finished with 54 points in 61 games as the Pats retooled and made Steel and other young players the focus of their team. In the 2015–16 season, Steel put up 70 points. After an impressive 2016–17 season in which he led the WHL in scoring, Steel was awarded the

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy The Four Broncos Memorial Trophy is awarded each year to the Western Hockey League's Player of the Year. The trophy is named in honour of four members of the Swift Current Broncos who were killed on December 30, 1986 in the Swift Current Broncos ...

as WHL Player of the Year and the

Bob Clarke Trophy The Bob Clarke Trophy is awarded annually to the player who leads the Western Hockey League in points scoring during the regular season. In both years Bobby Clarke, Bob "Bobby" Clarke played in the WHL, he captured the League scoring title. In 19 ...

as the league's points leader. The Pats went to the WHL final, but lost to the

Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats, the team arrive ...

. In his final season with the Pats, Steel was named the Pats' captain. As a member of the

2018 Memorial Cup The 2018 Memorial Cup (branded as the 2018 Mastercard Memorial Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a four-team, round-robin format tournament that was held at Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan from May 18–27, 2018. It was the 100th Memorial C ...

host team, and despite a 1–2 round robin record, Steel led the hosts to the final, ultimately losing the national championship game 0–3 to Acadie-Bathurst Titan. While not on the championship winning team, Steel was awarded the

Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy is a Canadian Hockey League (CHL) trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the annual Memorial Cup tournament. The trophy was first awarded in 1972 and won by Richard Brodeur of the Cornwall Royals. ...

as Tournament MVP, and Ed Chynoweth Trophy as leading scorer (2 goals, 11 assists).

Professional career

After the completion of his second full major junior season with Regina in 2015–16, Steel was selected by the

of the

(NHL) in the same position he was ranked by the NHL Central Scouting, as the final pick of the first round (30th overall) of the 2016 NHL entry draft. The Ducks previously traded goaltender

Frederik Andersen Frederik Andersen (born 2 October 1989) is a Danish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs. Representing Denmark men ...

to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

to obtain the selection used to select Steel. On December 21, 2016, Steel signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Anaheim. Steel joined the Ducks for their 2018–19 season, making his NHL debut on October 3 in a game against the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

. He recorded his first career NHL goal in a 4–2 loss to the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

on October 21. Steel recorded his first career NHL

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 5–4 win over the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

on March 26, 2019, becoming the youngest player in Ducks history to score a regular season hat-trick. A

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

at the end of his contract, the Ducks did not extend a qualifying offer to retain his rights and Steel became an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on July 1, 2022. On August 30, 2022, it was announced that Steel had signed a one-year contract with the

. In the following season Steel had a breakout season with the Wild, playing alongside

Kirill Kaprizov Kirill Olegovich Kaprizov (; born 26 April 1997) is a Russian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger and Captain (ice hockey)#Alternate captains, alternate captain for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Befo ...

and

Mats Zuccarello Mats André Zuccarello Aasen (born 1 September 1987) is a Norwegian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), winger for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played for the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars. Prio ...

. Steel established new career highs offensively in registering 10 goals, 18 assists for 28 points through 65 regular season games. As a pending restricted free agent, Steel was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Wild due to salary cap considerations on June 29, 2023. Released as an unrestricted free agent, Steel was promptly signed at the opening of free agent frenzy to a one-year, $850,000 contract with the

on July 1, 2023. In his first season in Dallas, Steel had 24 points in 77 games and added 5 more points in the

2024 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2023–24 season. The playoffs began on April 20, 2024, and concluded on June 24, 2024, with the Florida Panthers winning their first Stanley C ...

. At the end of the season he was once again a restricted free agent and, once again, did not receive a qualifying offer. However, before he could become an unrestricted free agent, he signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract to remain with Dallas on June 30, 2024.

International play

In August 2015, he was a member of the gold medal Canadian Junior team at the 2015 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament held in

Břeclav Břeclav (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. Located at the Czech-Austrian state border and near the Czech–Slovak state border, it is an important railway hub. Administrative divis ...

, Czech Republic. On December 15, 2017, Steel was named to the 22-man roster to represent

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the

IIHF World U20 Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally ...

. Canada and

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

took part in the first outdoor game in the World U20 Championship history during the tournament at New Era Arena,

Orchard Park, New York Orchard Park is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Erie County, New York, United States. It is an outer ring suburb southeast of Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, the po ...

. The game was tied after regulation time and Steel was among the players selected by Canada for the shootout to decide the game. Steel was one of three Canadians who missed and Canada lost to Team USA. However, Canada went on to win the gold medal as tournament champions, beating

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

3–1 in the final.

Personal life

Steel grew up in Sherwood Park, Alberta and was friends with former NHL

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

Carter Hart Carter John Hart (born August 13, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is an unrestricted free agent. He previously played for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Born and raised in Sherwood Park ...

as a child. Steel's older brother Patrick also played hockey. While playing hockey for the

Canmore Eagles The Canmore Eagles are a junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They play in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, at the Canmore Recreation Centre. History The Eagles franchise was established for the 1995–96 season as the ...

of the AJHL, Patrick died from an undetected heart problem.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steel, Sam 1998 births Living people Anaheim Ducks draft picks Anaheim Ducks players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Dallas Stars players Ice hockey people from Alberta Minnesota Wild players NHL first-round draft picks Regina Pats players San Diego Gulls (AHL) players Sportspeople from Sherwood Park 21st-century Canadian sportsmen