LD Devante Stephens - Kelowna Rockets, WHL (2015, 122nd, BUF)

[R S]

Thread worthy as a steady climber all season.

I rate him as a 5th round prospect for 2015, coming in at #29 on my final WHL player rankings: http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2015/05/final-whl-rankings-2015-nhl-draft.html

#29 Devante Stephens

Team: Kelowna Rockets
Position: D
Shoots: L
Height: 6’1.25
Weight: 171
GP: 64
Goals: 4
Assists: 7
Points: 11
Pts/Gm: 0.17
PIM: 33

Player Analysis: Devante Stephens is a raw but toolsy rookie blueliner for the Kelowna Rockets…is the owner of a long and fluid skating stride which generates plenty of top speed…both his backwards and forwards skating feature power due to strong edgework…transitions to and from forwards to backwards skating can be a bit clumsy at times, causing him to get beat wide from time to time…while his mobility is fairly good he does have a bit of a rigid, raw and unrefined look to his overall movement…plays a confident offensive game, even if his skills are fairly untested at this level…handles the puck fairly well when exiting his zone…executes solid outlet passes, moving the puck with plenty of zip…has shown the ability to take something off his outlets or to make a play on the backhand against aggressive forechecking pressure…shot is good but not great…footwork and shooting mechanics could be refined…fairly good at getting pucks on net by changing shooting angles…should be a fairly decent goal scorer at the WHL level…makes smart pinches which fits in well with Kelowna’s aggressive and up-the-ice mentality, reading the play quite well offensively…defensively he features a long wingspan and subsequent reach…looks far bigger and longer than his listing would lead you to believe…listed at 6’1 and 161 on his WHL team page and 6’1.25 and 171 by NHL Central Scouting…long reach comes in handy with his good stick positioning…does a good job breaking up passes and tipping attempted shots wide or over the net…isn’t a killer physically but will play the body…overall defensive positioning and reads remain a work in progress but has shown solid progression throughout the year…he was a regular within the Rockets top 4 defensive unit, especially in the second half where he ended the regular season by playing 22 consecutive games on the Rockets top pairing with Madison Bowey…he rarely looked out of place on that top pairing…special teams participation was fairly hit and miss in my viewings (he did do some PK) but he should be on both units full-time when looking ahead to next year…spent some time at forward during the playoffs for the Rockets and looked surprisingly comfortable in that role, even when penalty killing as a forward…was a rather consistent offensive producer when weighing his full season, posting 0.15 PPG before January 1st and 0.19 PPG after…was an undrafted player in bantam, being listed by Kelowna instead…overall I see plenty of raw tools within Stephens’ game…things like his overall movement, puck skills and defensive play need to be polished and refined, but the sense, frame and basic skillset exist…Kelowna will surely be losing Bowey, Morrissey and Martin from their blueline for next season, meaning plenty of ice time and opportunity will exist for Stephens over the next few years…an absolutely top-end projection for him would probably be that of a two-way blueliner (with a more defensive lean) who plays within an NHL team’s top 4 and on special teams…I rate him as roughly a late 5th round type of player and wouldn’t be shocked at all if he came off the board quite a bit earlier than that…

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[MMC]

Traded to Tampa Bay