The St. Louis Blues are bringing back a familiar face, hiring Alexander Steen as a European Player Development Consultant. He will normally work overseas but will be back in town to help with the upcoming prospect camp.
Steen, 39, retired from the NHL in 2020 after 1,018 regular season games, 765 of which came with the Blues. Never a star player, he was one of the most consistent, versatile members of the St. Louis roster for a decade, setting a career-high with 33 goals in 2013-14. He played in all 26 games of the club’s 2019 Stanley Cup run, providing his usual strong defensive play even in a limited role.
Selected 24th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2002, Steen knows how the process goes for exciting European prospects. It took him three full seasons in Sweden before he was ready to come to North America, but that development time was well worth it.
He scored 18 goals and 45 points as a rookie and would never look back. Steen never played a single game in the minor leagues—the epitome of NHL-ready.
He’ll now try to help get the Blues’ new prospects to that point, assisting European players in developing the habits they need to succeed in North America.