Sam will always be the “Man of Steel” for the Pats

Sam Steel will always be one of the Pats all-time greats.

    If you made any type of joke about how Sam Steel wasn’t the best interview subject, you automatically felt bad about it, because he was that good of a guy.

    During his time with the Regina Pats, the star centre’s actions always spoke way louder than his words. When it game to talking to the media in post-game interviews, he was more of a quiet person, but his skills in that department greatly improved as his WHL career progressed.

    With the Pats, the Sherwood Park, Alta., product morphed into a superhero. He became “The Man of Steel” with all the big plays he made for the Pats.

    In 258 career regular season games with the Pats, Steel piled up 123 goals, 215 assists for 338 points and a plus-78 rating in the plus-minus department. His career assists total rates sixth all-time and points total 10^th all-time in the history of the Pats.

Pats captain Sam Steel (#23) breaks past a Titan defenceman Adam Holwell.

    Steel, who stands 6-feet and weighs 184 pounds, appeared in 44 career WHL playoff games with the Pats collecting 18 goals, 39 assists and a plus-18 rating. At the Memorial Cup tournament that wrapped up on Sunday in Regina, Steel topped the tournament in scoring with two goals and 11 assists in five games.

    He claimed the Stafford Smythe Trophy as tournament MVP and was named to the event’s all-star team at forward.

    Steel played with great skill and a great heart. You could see his passion for the game on a nightly basis.

Sam Steel plays to honour his late older brother Patrick.

    The 20-year-old plays to honour his older brother, Patrick, who suddenly passed away at age 18 on November 9, 2011. Patrick was a forward in the junior A ranks with the Canmore Eagles of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and he was found dead in his billet family’s home due to an undetected heart problem.

    From that tragedy, Sam paid tribute to Patrick assuming the mantra: Finish the play.

    Sam Steel became an easy player to cheer for. He also did everything right on and off the ice.

    I have had some friends in Regina who grew up in Moose Jaw cheering for the Warriors, who are the Pats bitter rivals. Those friends admitted that their children have grown up cheering for the Pats, and it feels wrong expect for the fact they look up to Steel so that makes everything OK.

Sam Steel makes a pass in the offensive zone.

    One friend, who has been a lifelong Warriors fan, has brought her son out to numerous Pats fans functions to see Steel. That friend told me it was impossible to hate Steel.

    At those functions, Steel will be the first player to arrive, sign autographs for every young fan that comes to meet him. He will have short visits with the young fans and show genuine interest in their lives. After two hours has elapsed and he has fulfilled every autograph request, he is the last Pats player to leave.

    It is like he is too good be true, but that is who he is.

    On the ice, you almost don’t know where to start with all the big games he had. Steel was part of a core group of players that included Adam Brooks, Chase Harrison, Connor Hobbs and Tyler Brown who helped the Pats win five series in the WHL playoffs from 2015 to 2017 and advance to the WHL Championship series in 2017 falling in six games to the Seattle Thunderbirds. Together, they were the boys next door.

    To show how magical a time it was for the history Regina major junior franchise, the Pats won a total of three playoff series from 1994 to 2014.

From left, Sam Steel, Nick Henry and Cale Fleury celebrate a goal.

    During the 2016-17 campaign, Steel was named the MVP of the WHL and topped the CHL in scoring with 50 goals and 81 assists. On March 14, 2017 when the Pats locked up first place in the WHL regular season standings with a 5-4 win over the Saskatoon Blades at the Brandt Centre, Steel had a chance to take a rip shot on goal on a two-on-one break for his 50^th tally of the season, but he made a beauty setup pass to defenceman Josh Mahura for a goal near the end of the second period.

    When you saw Steel make plays like that, you realized why the Anaheim Ducks selected him in the first round and 30^th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

    In the second of the 2017 WHL playoffs, the Pats were in Swift Current trailing the host Broncos 3-1 in Game 6 needing a win to force Game 7. Brown, who was the Pats star goalie, made a big breakaway stop on Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin to keep the Pats in the game, and Steel sparked the offence.

Sam Steel (#23) drives hard to the net for the Pats.

    With 1:24 to play in the second period, Steel sent a beauty pass across the face of the Broncos goal to a pinching Mahura, who scored to cut the Broncos edge to 3-2. Few players could have made the pass on that play that Steel did down low around the Swift Current net.

    From that spark, the Pats tied things up at 3-3 before the second period ended and pulled out a 5-3 victory. Steel netted two goals in the Pats 5-1 victory in Game 7 of that series with the Broncos held in Regina.

    Steel kept piling up the memorable games this season being named the team’s captain at the start of the campaign in which the Pats were celebrating their 100^th anniversary and hosting the 100^th Memorial Cup. He appeared in 54 regular season contests with the Pats posting 33 goals, 50 assists and a plus-27 rating.
    On Jan. 5, he helped Canada win gold at world junior hockey championships in Buffalo, N.Y.

Sam Steel sits sixth all-time in career assists for the Pats.

    The Pats finished seventh overall in the WHL with a 40-25-6-1 record. Regina fell in a tough seven-game first round series to the Broncos, who finished second overall in the WHL at 48-17-5-2 and won the league championship.

    Steel had big moments in that series. With the Pats facing elimination in Regina in Game 6 on March 31, Steel had a goal and two assists to power the Pats to a 7-2 victory to force a series deciding Game 7.

    In Game 7 on April 2 in Swift Current, Steel had helpers on both Pats goals as they dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Broncos. The Pats embarked on a 45-day layoff to prepare for the Memorial Cup.

    At the Memorial Cup, no one is going to forget the night Steel piled up five assists in a 6-5 round robin victory over the Broncos on May 23. He equaled the record for most assists in one game at the Memorial Cup dating back to when it started to be played in a tournament format in 1972.

Sam Steel sits 10th all-time in career points for the Pats.

    He shares that mark with Dan Hodgson of the Prince Albert Raiders from 1985 and Jonathan Drouin of the Halifax Mooseheads from 2013.

    In the tournament’s semifinal clash with the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs, Steel had the winning goal and an assist in a 4-2 victory. He picked up his assist setting up Jake Leschyshyn for an easy empty-net tally with 5.2 seconds to play.

    The Pats ultimately fell 3-0 in the Memorial Cup title game to the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The Titan claimed their first CHL championship with their victory over the Pats.

    While the Pats were heavily outplayed in the first two periods of that contest, Steel rang a shot off the goalpost in the second period and was robbed by the glove had of Titan netminder Evan Fitzpatrick in the third period.

    Coming out accept the Stafford Smythe Trophy from CHL president David Branch, Steel had tears in his eyes and was fighting to keep his composure. It was heartbreaking to see him like that.

Sam Steel looks to fire a shot on goal on the power play for the Pats.

    With a three-year NHL entry-level contract signed with the Ducks, it is unlikely Steel will return to the WHL for an overage campaign. That trophy presentation was likely that last thing he took part in wearing a Pats jersey as an active player.

    During the post-game media scrum, Steel talked about how great it was to be part of the city of Regina and how proud he was to be a member of the Pats. The reality of what happened still hadn’t sunk in.

    “I’m not sure what to think right now,” said Steel. “It is just tough.

    “Unbelievable group of guys. Even when we lost out and we were going through the training process, there was not one guy who complained.

Sam Steel, left, received the Stafford Smythe Trophy from David Branch.

    “I think it showed this tournament. We made each other proud for sure. I couldn’t be happier with the group of guys.”

    During a media availability on Tuesday, Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock said Steel has been a main part of his memory during his time with the team. Paddock became the Pats head coach and general manager before the start of the 2014-15 campaign, which was Steel’s 16-year-old rookie season with the club.

    “Four years have flown by,” said Paddock. “I think the ultimate compliment for him was he was a no maintenance guy.

    “It doesn’t matter how good he is to us, but it matters that you never have to worry about him. You need that kind of guy.

    “It is hard, but it is time. It is time for him to move on, and it is time for him to play pro. We still have a good core of guys, but he is sort of the easy guy to poster child that kind of guy in the organization, because that is what he was for us.”

The spectators at the Brandt Centre give Sam Steel one final ovation.

    Every team in the major junior ranks wishes they had a poster child type player like Steel, who could do it all. The Pats have to count themselves as being a pretty lucky team.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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