The first thing that caught my eye about the play of Blake Stephens was the excellent pressure he applied to puck carriers when he was on the penalty kill. He was a smothering presence who quickly shot out to the point and used his stick to cut down passing lanes while getting his body planted in shooting lanes, he was extremely effective in minimizing the time they had on the puck and even forced some turnovers at the point - one of which led to a shorthanded breakaway that he finished off beautifully. He was able to find himself in scoring areas constantly through intelligent off-the-puck movement and slipping out of sight from the defense. The puck found him time and time again because of how well he was setting himself up, and he got plenty of quality shots away as he did well to use his hands to adjust his shooting angles when the defense did manage to get in tight on him. He protected the puck well too, using his body position to keep himself between the defender and the puck as he delayed play to find a passing option for himself to kick the puck out to. His vision and overall awareness of the game going on around him impressed me and it seemed like he had a great understanding of what his next move should be at all times.