Toronto Maple Leafs Forward Breaks Record as He Pushes for an NHL Roster Spot
One Toronto Maple Leafs prospect has etched his way into the team's history books as he looks to fight for a place on the team's main roster.
Toronto Marlies forward Alex Steeves broke the team's all-time record for career points, netting his 170th point for the American Hockey League club against the Laval Rocket in his 200th career AHL game.a
Having been tied for first all-time with 198, Steeves scored two goals on Laval to break the record, one that put him solely at first with 169, and his second to give him point 170.
Steeves passes Kris Newbury for first place. Newbury had a similar pace to Steeves, having his then-team high 168 points in 198 games, both marks two back of Steeves. Newbury played just 44 games for the Leafs, having 76 career NHL games played.
Steeves leads the Marlies with 12 goals and 16 points on the season in 12 games. He's played in four games for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, but has gone pointless, although his ice time only reached a high of 14 minutes.
Is Alex Steeves An Ignored NHLer, or a AAAA player?
In 11 total NHL games, Steeves has just a single point. His story is quite similar to former Leafs center Adam Brooks. A promising forward for Toronto with offensive skill, like Steeves struggled making the transition from the AHL to the NHL. Brooks now plays in Germany with EHC Munich after 43 career NHL games.
The transition between the two leagues is a difficult climb. In baseball, the term "AAAA" player is common to describe players who are not able to make MLB, but are too skilled for Triple-A baseball, the highest minor league system in MLB.
In the NHL, the same factors exist where a player benefits from a certain designation or play style, with some top-six talents who don't have the physicality or skating to be bottom-six players are often relegated to the AHL top-six where their toolkit fits better.
There's nothing wrong in Steeves game. He's a hard worker with fine physicality and skating, and has a good work ethic. In an interview with the Toronto Observer, Steeves discussed his mentality for being the best he can be.
Steeves has always been a player who has slipped through the tracks, having been undrafted and ignored in junior hockey, he's found a way to overcome. It took Bobby McMann until the age of 26 to make the NHL and end up a full-time Leaf.
If Steeves is patient, there may be a spot for him, but at 25, Steeves is one of the best players in the AHL, nothing to feel ashamed about, but his NHL chances have not come easy and it'll remain a question if he'll make the league full time.
For now, he's made his mark in the second best league in the world, and will continue to do so.
| POLL | ||
Has Alex Steeves earned a full-time NHL roster spot? | ||
| Yes | 327 | 34.7 % |
| No | 355 | 37.7 % |
| Yes, but not in Toronto | 260 | 27.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
