COLUMBUS, Ohio — In early October, Alex Steeves was one of a handful of prospects that joined the Toronto Maple Leafs' main group of players out in Gravenhurst, Ontario as part of a two-day retreat. He was proud of the fact that he found himself as one of the last few cuts before the Leafs trimmed their roster down for the start of the season.
But it took until February 7, 2023, for Steeves to get his first call-up to the Maple Leafs.
"It was frustrating in the sense that I am an ambitious person, I have goals and I want to have success. But obviously, I'm happy for my teammates who got called up," Steeves told SI.com on Friday. "I've been champing at the bit to get this opportunity to find ways to grow with the Toronto Marlies this year but now it's my chance to get in there and show them maybe that I can help the team."
Steeves sits second in Marlies scoring with 38 points, a far distance away from team captain Logan Shaw's 52 points. With 16 goals, he's tied for second in team goal-scoring behind Adam Gaudette, who has 19.
The Leafs don't necessarily expect Steeves to score a ton on a fourth line on Friday with Zach Aston-Reese and Pontus Holmberg, but they want to see good minutes from the player.
Skating is the difference.
Steeves spent a lot of the summer in Toronto working with the skills staff to improve his skating and his speed. But more than anything, the Leafs just want to see Steeves win puck battles in the minutes that he gets deployed in, taking a page from how Holmberg has adjusted to the NHL.
"Steeves is a guy that has worked to be consistent in his game, and yet there were others at the time that were playing really strongly and had gotten a call above him," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Thursday. "You can tell he's a hungry, focused and committed guy. We're excited to give him a run here."
A product of the University of Notre Dame, Steeves chose to sign with the Maple Leafs when he became a free agent in March of 2021. He cited Toronto's development staff as the difference in choosing the Leafs over other NHL teams.
It's not clear how much rope Steeves will get this time around. With Auston Matthews out of the lineup (knee) and Matt Murray on injured reserve, the roster spot opened up to allow the Leafs to carry an additional player in Steeves. As long as Matthews is out, the 23-year-old could get some runway here.
But whatever happens, Steeves is intent on making an impact.
"At the end of the game, hopefully they say Alex Steeves made the team better tonight," he said. "I can just take care of my own efforts."
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