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Dave Steckel

From Alfawiki
David Steckel
Born (1982-03-15) March 15, 1982 (age 44)
United States
OccupationProfessional ice hockey center
Years active2004–2018
Known forFaceoff specialist in the NHL

David Steckel (born March 15, 1982) is a retired American professional ice hockey center. Throughout his NHL tenure, he played for the Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Anaheim Ducks before finishing his professional journey with the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers in Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Steckel was particularly known for his expertise in winning faceoffs.

Playing career

Selected 30th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Steckel spent a season competing with the US Junior National Team in the United States Hockey League prior to playing four years at Ohio State University. He then joined the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (AHL) for the 2004–05 campaign.

After becoming a free agent, Steckel signed with the Washington Capitals on August 25, 2005, following a recommendation from Bruce Boudreau. He made his NHL debut in the 2005–06 season, participating in seven games, and secured a spot on Washington’s roster at the start of the 2007–08 season. Steckel established himself as a reliable third-line center and an essential penalty killer, earning recognition for his faceoff capabilities. Despite sustaining a finger injury late that season which required surgical pins, he missed minimal time and returned in time for the playoffs.

In the 2008–09 season, Steckel continued to serve as one of Washington's premier faceoff specialists and penalty killers. He ranked second among forwards on the team in average shorthanded ice time per game (3:48) and was fifth in the NHL with a 57.9% success rate on faceoffs. That year, he recorded eight goals and eleven assists. A highlight included scoring his first overtime game-winning goal in the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second round of the 2009 postseason.

During the 2011 NHL Winter Classic, Steckel collided with Sidney Crosby in an incident later associated with Crosby’s serious concussion problems. On February 28, 2011, Steckel was traded along with Washington’s 2012 second-round draft pick to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Jason Arnott.

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Steckel on October 4, 2011, trading a fourth-round pick in the 2012 draft. In his sole full season with Toronto, he matched his career-best eight goals and totaled thirteen points across seventy-six games.

In the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, Steckel’s role diminished to that of a reserve player, appearing in only thirteen games before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks on March 15, 2013. The Ducks sent Ryan Lasch and a seventh-round pick in the 2014 draft to Toronto in return. This transaction reunited Steckel with coach Bruce Boudreau. Anaheim extended a one-year contract to him on November 11, 2013; however, by December 12 he was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals.

As an unrestricted free agent on July 28, 2015, Steckel signed his inaugural overseas contract—a one-year agreement with Germany’s Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers competing in the DEL.

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1998–99 US NTDP U18 NAHL 51 3 14 17 18 — — — — —
1998–99 US NTDP Juniors USHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1999–2000 US NTDP Juniors USHL 52 13 13 26 94 — — — — —
2000–01 Ohio State University CCHA 33 17 18 35 80 — — — — —
2001–02 Ohio State University CCHA 36 6 16 22 75 — — — — —
2002–03 Ohio State University CCHA 36 10 8 18 50 — — — — —
2003–04 Ohio State University CCHA 41 17 13 30 44 — — — — —
2004–05 Reading Royals ECHL 9 3 6 9 2 — — — — - Manchester Monarchs AHL 63 10 7 17 26 6 1 1 2 - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" Hershey Bears AHL 74 14 20 34 58 21 10 5 15 - Washington Capitals NHL 7 0 0 0 0 — — — — - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" Hershey Bears AHL 71 30 31 61 46 19 6 9 15 - Washington Capitals NHL 5 0 0 0 2 — — — — - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" Washington Capitals NHL 67 5 7 12 34 7 1 1 2 4 |- Washington Capitals NHL 76 8 11 19 34 14 3 2 5 4 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" Washington Capitals NHL 79 5 11 16 19 3 0 0 0 0 |- Washington Capitals NHL 57 5 6 11 24 — — — — — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" New Jersey Devils NHL 18 1 0 1 2 — — — — — |- Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 76 8 5 13 10 — — — - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 13 0 1 1 0 — — — - Anaheim Ducks NHL 21 1 5 6 4 7 1 1 2 - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" Iowa Wild AHL 4 1 1 2 4 — — — - Norfolk Admirals AHL 61 9 16 25 38 10 1 3 4 - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" Anaheim Ducks NHL 6 0 0 0 — — — — - (2014–15) Norfolk Admirals AHL 76 7 16 23 53 — — — — - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" (2015–16) Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 52 19 11 30 82 12 3 2 5 - (2016–17) Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 51 14 20 34 38 13 1 7 8 - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" (2017–18) Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 43 10 17 27 20 12 1 6 7 - (2020–21) Columbus Adult League C Level 23 18 29 47 6 — — — —
(2021–22) Columbus Adult League C Level 16 15 13 28   2  

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NHL totals !425 !33 !46 !79 !129 !31 !5 !4 !9 !8 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" AHL totals !349 !71 !91 !162 !225 !56 !18 !18 !36 !44 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" DEL totals !146 !43 !48 !91 !140 !37 !5 !15 !20 !79 |}

International

Year Team Tournament   GP G A Pts PIM
2000 United States WJC18 6 2 5 7 14
2001 United States WJC 7 0 1 1 6
2002 United States WJC 7 0 1 1 12
Junior career totals 20 2 7 9 32

Awards and honors

Award Year
Collegiate
All-CCHA Rookie Team 2001
AHL
Calder Cup (Hershey Bears) 2006
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