Steen, like most of the rest of the BC team, seemed a bit out of sorts at the WHL Cup but I was pleased to see a much more confident and consistent player in U18 play this month. Steen’s game is built around excellent skating abilities. He has a picture-perfect stride with smoothness in his feet, flexible hips, and a long stride that really maximizes his extension. He is really slippery along the wall and can look completely surrounded before weaseling his way out of the masses with possession. I’d love to see him add more strength to his frame as he can get pushed around a little at the net-front and I think it would unlock his ability to escape contact even more. Despite a lack of strength, Steen in no pushover on the defensive end as he is really savvy at using his long stick to disrupt and prevent the opposition from setting up comfortably. He was one of OHA’s most effective penalty killers with his ability to poke, prod, and get in passing lanes. That long stick and control when wielding it also served to clog up the neutral zone and force plays back into the offensive zone. Where Steen needs the most work in my eyes in his decision making when under duress. With open ice, he makes crisp tape to tape passes to teammates in stride but when under pressure he can throw possession away too easily. He isn’t a liability at this level because he can always lean on his feet to limit the number of scenarios where he’s truly locked into a need to make a pass out of pressure, but that’s not a viable crutch to lean on at higher levels.

He’s a player who relies heavily on his edges in order to adjust his positioning and anticipate the play turning around. I think he’s probably up there with the smoothest and smartest defenders in the draft which is why I’m been so bullish on his ranking all year. For a player who has been listed at 5’8 and 135 lbs, you’d better have a decent idea of his physical growth and how much more length to his strides he’s going to add. I do think he’s one of the most detailed defensive defenders in the entire class though as he closes out gaps early, never lets anyone around him easily, and pins guys well along the boards. His decision making with the puck is smart, well-timed, and controlled too. Beyond just size at this point, the only real ways I would look for a change in style would be to see more puck rushing tendencies and volume shooting out of him. He tends to outlet pass and facilitate laterally on the PP to the elite shooters on his team which is hard to argue against. I do like his shot release though and think it may come in as an underrated aspect.

One player I watched lots of video on last season was defenseman Riley Steen. I gotta say, his skating and decision making looked much improved already. He’s moved up the initial list that I’m making for sure. He’s a tremendous skater and is physically aggressive already. He joins the rush, can evade as a puck carrier end to end, and is constantly pushing the pace. I think he can still work on lengthening his strides too but he is already showing that he is quite a bit stronger than others.