Exceedingly large 6’5″ 215 lbs. 7th year defenseman Dustin Stevenson(6) gets his first big league contract of the 1-year 2-way variety with Dallas Stars since his entry level deal was up with Washington Capitals at the end of 2013 season.
Even after signing his next contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins he only played 7 games without recording a point.
He was instead reassigned to affiliate Wheeling Nailers, where he had his most productive season since juniors with 5 goals and 21 assists in 57 ECHL games with a monster, tied for team best +23 rating.
In the postseason he would continue this uptick scoring 1 goal and 3 assists in 10 Kelly Cup Playoff contests.
With a pair of good campaigns in the lower league, Adirondack Flames stepped in and gave him a contract for 2014/2015.
While he may have only appeared in 45 AHL games and was a healthy scratch on far too many occasions he still was able to notch 3 goals and 8 assists with a +5 plus/minus on a non-playoff contending squad.
This performance was good enough to keep him in Calgary Flames‘ minor league system as he next inked for 2015/2016 with new affiliate Stockton Heat.
Not sure what Dallas saw in the big blue liner but they must have liked something to get him tied up on the opening day of unrestricted free agency.
The soon-to-be 27-year old will likely see most of his playing time with their farm team Texas Stars but could get an NHL look depending on the situation.
Still, this is an all around good story of persistence and perseverance.
Dustin Stevenson(9) WBS Penguins
Undrafted 4th year giant-sized defenseman Dustin Stevenson(9) signs a 1-year deal to join Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 2013/2014.
After his 3-year entry level contract with Washington Capitals was up, he was not qualified for the upcoming season and became an unrestricted free agent.
The 6’5″ 220 lbs. d-man was always in the parent club’s training camp and released to AHL‘s Hershey Bears but never found a roster spot and reassigned double A affiliates.
He has skated in 200 ECHL contests (3 goals, 26 assists) in his first two years with South Carolina Stingrays and won a Kelly Cup Championship last season with Reading Royals.
His game has never been about scoring. He’s seen as more of a steady, shutdown blue liner that’s tough to play against.
The soon-to-be 24-year old did however connect for a goal and 8 assists in 22 playoff match-ups with a +17 rating. He also put up big points in 3 seasons of Saskatchewan junior hockey, so it’s possible those offensive abilities have been kick started and will blossom in his new environment.