Vegas Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson (20) and San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) vie for the puck during the first period of an NHL Hockey preseason game at T-Mobile Arena Friday, Sept. 30. 2022.
Published Friday, Sept. 30, 2022 | 9:36 p.m.
Updated Friday, Sept. 30, 2022 | 10:42 p.m.
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Chandler Stephenson has always had a business-first mentality to him. That can be a good thing, as the Golden Knights’ center proved last year with the best season of his career.
Mention the name Ford Tomis Stephenson, and that stoic demeanor turns to a wide smile across the 28-year-old’s face.
Ford is Chandler’s 4-month old son. His fiancee, Tasha, gave birth May 22.
“I’m definitely more happy,” Stephenson said. “I’m excited to go home and see him. Every day could be something new.”
It was a long offseason for the Golden Knights, but it wound up being a memorable one for Stephenson. Fatherhood in its early stages has been exhausting, he’ll admit. But even when the Golden Knights lose like they did Friday night, 7-3 in a preseason game to the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena, Stephenson will wake up tomorrow to a smiling baby that has given him the most joy he’s felt in a while.
“Not sleeping at night, but seeing him in the mornings, so happy and smiley,” Stephenson said. “It kind of changes your mood immediately.”
Being a father is uncharted territory that Stephenson has taken in stride. Another role he’s welcomed is being one of the more important players should the Golden Knights want to get back to the postseason this year.
Stephenson scored a career-high 64 points in 2022, setting personal-best marks in goals (21) and assists (43). What’s more impressive is Stephenson accumulated a majority of those points on a decimated Vegas roster.
In a season plagued with injuries, Stephenson was one of the constants, playing 79 games.
Stephenson rose to immediate success centering a line with Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone. His speed was the element that made that trio go.
As those two dealt with a myriad of injuries, Stephenson stayed consistent.
“Just great acceleration and a calmness to his game,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Like a lot of our centers, it’s a little different for him in how he’s going to play. We’ve had some back-and-forth in the d-zone, so it tells me he cares. He’s asking questions, wants to be in the right spots.
“I know last year was a career year, and after you have a career year, everyone expects it to be better the next year. It doesn’t always work out that way. We’re not going to put any pressure on him to exceed what he did the year before. We’re hoping he can match that consistency and stay at that level.”
Pacioretty is in Carolina now, but Stephenson and Stone remain partnered with Jonathan Marchessault on Vegas’ new second line a week into training camp.
After that career year, Stephenson admits there’s a small part of him that wants to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke.
“At the same time, I want a healthy team more than that,” Stephenson said. “I think that’s the main focus, is guys staying healthy. Obviously, the personal success is huge, and you want to help the team out that way. It’d be good for everyone to stay healthy to start the year.”
So far, the Golden Knights are staying healthier than they were a year ago. Stone made his preseason debut Friday after recovering from an offseason back surgery. Jack Eichel is 100% after his first normal offseason in three years, and fully recovered from artificial disk replacement surgery in his neck.
They’re healthy in the forward group, at least. Robin Lehner, following double hip surgery, isn’t playing this year. Backup netminder Laurent Brossoit is not participating in camp while recovering from hip surgery of his own.
Logan Thompson and Adin Hill are still on track to be the tandem, but Hill struggled Friday, giving up seven goals on 38 shots against the team that traded him prior to training camp.
It will be up to top-end players, like Stephenson, to carry the load with the uncertainty in goal. But with two days off before returning to practice Monday, the Golden Knights have three preseason games left to iron out what went wrong.
“It’s an attention-getter,” Cassidy said. “You’ve played your games, you’ve had training camp. Hey, we’re not nearly where we need to be. So, we’ve got to get the hell back to work the next time we reconvene. There comes a time you need to be with your group. Let’s drill down on the guys who are going to be here, and let’s get the hell to work.”
Stephenson has put in the work since being traded to Vegas in December 2019. He has 121 points in the last two-and-a-half seasons and has two years left on a four-year extension he signed in 2020. The confidence in his game has grown exponentially.
But even if there are bad days at the office like there were Friday, he’ll have something happy to come home to.
"He recognizes me now and smiles," Stephenson said. "You kind of see the little stages; rolling over and now pushing up a little bit. It’s really cool. A whirlwind, for sure."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
