Sam Steel (born February 3, 1998) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

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 eccentri ...

who currently plays for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Steel was selected 30th overall in the

2016 NHL Entry Draft The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine go ...

by the Anaheim Ducks.

Playing 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 major 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 h ...

(WHL) Bantam draft by the

Regina Pats Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * ...

. 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 A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They play in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, with home games at Sherwood Park Arena Sports Centre. History The Edmonton Crusaders joined the A ...

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. There are currently 16 teams in the league. The re ...

(AJHL), Steel completed the 2013–14 season by making his WHL debut with the Regina Pats, featuring in five games. After the completion of his second full major junior season with Regina in 2015–16, Steel was selected in the same position he was ranked by the NHL Central Scouting, as the final pick of the first round (30th overall) of the

by the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks previously traded goaltender

Frederik Andersen Frederik "Freddie" 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. Andersen was a ...

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. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

to obtain the selection used to select Steel. On December 21, 2016, Steel signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Anaheim. 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 b ...

as WHL Player of the Year. In his final season with the Pats, as a member of the Memorial Cup host team, and despite a 1-2 round robin record, Steel led the hosts to the final, ultimately losing the national championship to Acadie-Bathurst. While not on the championship winning team, Steel was awarded MVP of the tournament. 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. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

. 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 in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

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 wic ...

in a 5–4 win over the

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

on March 26, 2019, becoming the youngest player in Ducks history to score a regular season hat-trick. On August 30, 2022, it was announced that Steel had signed a one-year contract with the

International play

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

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the

IIHF World U20 Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, 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 t ...

Personal life

Steel's older brother Patrick also played hockey. While playing Junior A hockey in 2011, 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 Ice hockey people from Alberta Minnesota Wild players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Regina Pats players San Diego Gulls (AHL) players Sportspeople from Sherwood Park