- Dave Steckel
-
Dave Steckel 
Steckel during his tenure with the Washington Capitals.Born March 15, 1982
Milwaukee, WI, USAHeight 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Weight 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb) Position Center Shoots Left NHL team
Former teamsToronto Maple Leafs
Washington Capitals
New Jersey DevilsNHL Draft 30th overall, 2001
Los Angeles KingsPlaying career 2004–present David Steckel (born March 15, 1982) is an American professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League.
Contents
Playing career
Steckel was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, 30th overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Steckel played one full season with the US Junior National Team in the United States Hockey League before entering Ohio State University. He played four seasons with the Buckeyes hockey team, and then joined the American Hockey League's Manchester Monarchs for the 2004–05 season.
Steckel, a free agent, then signed with the Washington Capitals August 25, 2005, on the recommendation of Bruce Boudreau.[1]
He made his NHL debut with the Washington Capitals in the 2005–06 season, appearing in seven games. After appearing in five more games with the Capitals in 2006–07, he made the team's opening night roster in 2007–08.[2]
Steckel proved himself to be a valuable commodity to the Capitals. He often centered the third line and was called on as a key member of the penalty kill. Steckel also proved himself very effective at face-offs, and typically was placed on the ice to take face-offs during critical moments of games. Near the end of the season, Steckel broke his finger blocking a shot and had to have pins put in. However, he missed very few games and was back on the ice during the playoffs.
Steckel's size and grit have served the Capitals well, and it was expected that he would have an expanded role in the 2008–09 season.[3]
In the 2008-09 season Steckel was once again one of the Capitals top face-off men and one of their top penalty killers. He was 2nd on the team in shorthanded time-on-ice per game (first among forwards) with 3:48. On face-offs, he finished the season 5th in the NHL, winning 57.9% of his draws. He scored 8 goals and had 11 assists during the regular season. In the 2nd round of the 2009 playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins he scored his first-ever playoff game-winning goal in overtime of Game 6 to force a Game 7.
During the 2011 NHL Winter Classic on January 1, 2011, Steckel landed a shoulder check to the head of Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, arguably the NHL's top player at the time[4][5]. Crosby experienced mild concussion symptoms and neck pain but remained in the game. A subsequent hit from Tampa's Victor Hedman left Crosby with severe concussion symptoms and he did not return for the rest of the regular season, the 2010–11 Stanley Cup Playoffs, or the first twenty games of the 2011-12 NHL season. Hedman later said that be believed it was Steckel's hit which had caused Crosby's severe concussion[6], and many observers concurred that it was the hit from Steckel which indeed caused Crosby's head injury.[7][8][9]
On February 28, 2011, Steckel along with Washington's 2012 2nd round pick was traded from the Capitals to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Jason Arnott.[10]
On October 4, 2011, Steckel was acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 4th round pick in 2012. [11]
Personal
Steckel married his college girlfriend, Diondra "Didi" Reynolds, in 2007. Reynolds played basketball from 1999–2003 at Ohio State University.
Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1998–99 U.S. National Development Team USDP 53 3 14 17 20 — — — — — 1999–00 U.S. National Development Team USDP 58 15 18 33 108 — — — — — 2000–01 Ohio State University CCHA 33 17 18 35 80 — — — — — 2001–02 Ohio State University CCHA 36 6 16 22 75 — — — — — 2002–03 Ohio State University CCHA 36 10 8 18 50 — — — — — 2003–04 Ohio State University CCHA 41 17 13 30 44 — — — — — 2004–05 Reading Royals ECHL 9 3 6 9 2 — — — — — 2004–05 Manchester Monarchs AHL 63 10 7 17 26 6 1 1 2 4 2005–06 Hershey Bears AHL 74 14 20 34 58 21 10 5 15 20 2005–06 Washington Capitals NHL 7 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2006–07 Hershey Bears AHL 71 30 31 61 46 19 6 9 15 16 2006–07 Washington Capitals NHL 5 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2007–08 Washington Capitals NHL 67 5 7 12 34 7 1 1 2 4 2008–09 Washington Capitals NHL 76 8 11 19 34 14 3 2 5 4 2009–10 Washington Capitals NHL 79 5 11 16 19 3 0 0 0 0 2010–11 Washington Capitals NHL 57 5 6 11 24 — — — — — 2010–11 New Jersey Devils NHL 18 1 0 1 2 — — — — — NHL totals 309 24 35 59 115 24 4 3 7 8 Awards and honours
Award Year College CCHA All-Rookie Team 2001 References
- ^ El-Bashir, Tarik (2007-09-29). "Steckel in the mix for Caps". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092802122.html. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ "Capitals announce opening night roster". Washington Capitals. 2008-10-07. http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=385264. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ El-Bashir, Tarik (2008-10-13). "Steckel branches out". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/12/AR2008101201659.html. Retrieved 2008-10-22.
- ^ Stevenson, Chris (2011-05-10). "Bergeron helps Crosby through concussion woes". torontosun.com. http://www.torontosun.com/2011/10/05/bergeron-helps-crosby-through-concussion-woes. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
- ^ Cotsonika, Nicholas J. (2011-07-09). "Sidney Crosby’s concussion progress". yahoo.com. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=nc-cotsonika-crosby_concussion_recovery_090711. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
- ^ Matheson, Jim (2011-04-02). "Hockey World". Edmontonjournal.com. http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Hockey+World/4550412/story.html. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
- ^ Cole, Cam (2011-11-01). "Is there more to Crosby’s concussion?". nationalpost.com. http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/01/07/is-there-more-to-crosbys-concussion/. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
- ^ Custance, Craig (2011-11-01). "Sidney Crosby's concussion could be the one that changes everything". sportingnews.com. http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/feed/2011-02/crosbys-concussion/story/sidney-crosbys-concussion-could-be-the-one-that-changes-everything/. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
- ^ Gulli, Cathy (2011-17-02). "Hits to the head: Scientists explain Sidney Crosby's concussion". macleans.ca. http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/02/17/the-aftershocks/. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
- ^ "Caps get Arnott from Devils for Steckel". National Hockey League. 2011-02-14. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=554534. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ^ http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=594447
External links
Preceded by
Jens KarlssonLos Angeles Kings first round draft pick
2001Succeeded by
Denis GrebeshkovCategories:- 1982 births
- American ice hockey centres
- Hershey Bears players
- Living people
- Los Angeles Kings draft picks
- Manchester Monarchs players
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- New Jersey Devils players
- Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey players
- People from Washington County, Wisconsin
- Ice hockey people from Wisconsin
- Reading Royals players
- Toronto Maple Leafs players
- Washington Capitals players
- People from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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