1st article!


With season 43 coming up for the SHL a player announces his eligibility after careful consideration of which league he wanted to join. Sean Stevenson Jr. Joins the SMJHL after training for many years with his father and mentor Sean Stevenson. Some of you may remember that name from his time in the SMJHL (Season 4) and SHL (S5-S12). Coming in with a skill set much like his fathers, Sean has a strong defensive minded game, focusing on skating, strength, and defensive awareness in order to help keep the puck out of the net. He isn’t going to be some flashy player who lights the lamp or plays a ton on the power play but what he excels at is killing penalties and shutting down the opposing team’s best player. He isn’t going to be the guy driving off in the million-dollar car, or the guy who gets all the ladies, but he will be the guy first on and last off the ice at practice, a leader in the locker room, and someone you can count on to show up every night and give you 20-30 minutes of solid defensive play with minimal mental mistakes. When we were talking to one scout he had this to say, “Sean Stevenson Jr. makes the game slow down. You have to be aware of the passing lanes and where he is on the ice. Whether he is putting his stick out to break up a pass, dominating a smaller forward in the corner and kicking the puck out to his team, or working players away from his goalie in front of the net, you always have to be aware of where he is. He is the kind of defender you saw in the 90’s and early 2000’s that wasn’t going to fill the scoresheet but would always be where he needed to be defensively for his team.” Another scout eluded to his best suited role. Built to shut down his portion of the ice look for Sean to try to improve his passing and puck handling skills to be able to get the puck out of his own end at the SMJHL level as the competition heats up from what he is used to back home in Oregon.

Sean comes from the Portland Junior Hawks development program in Portland, OR and over the last 3 seasons notched 3 goals and 15 assists for 18 points in 96 games. However light the stats seem he also had a +67 in those 3 seasons and led his team in blocked shots and takeaways. Sean’s coaches had nothing but good things to say about his progression from raw hockey product with no real outlet for hockey in Salem, to star defender, ready to make his mark on the SMJHL.

Things will be difficult for Sean as he has to make his own connections an hope that some of his dad’s old connections can help him get a spot in the SMJHL that will help him grow as a player and a person. When asked about which team he had though to join the most his answer was simple: “I am a legacy of the Whalers, so of course they would be my first choice but I will play wherever I feel the best chance to grow and mature into a player ready for the next step in my career. I love the game of hockey and I can’t wait to play it at the highest levels.”

So there you have it. Excited to see what Sean can do in the SMJHL and beyond. Stay tuned later this week for a comprehensive breakdown of his final season with the Junior Hawks and a preview of what is to come for the young Defenseman.