Troy Stecher

Troy Stecher (/ˈstɛtʃər/ STETCH-ər;[1] born April 7, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Vancouver Canucks.

Troy Stecher
Born (1994-04-07) April 7, 1994
Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Detroit Red Wings
Vancouver Canucks
National team  Canada
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2016–present

Undrafted into the NHL, Stecher played for the University of North Dakota for three seasons. In his last season, he was honoured as a Second-Team All-American West, All-NCHC Second Team, and NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year.

Playing career

Stecher began playing hockey at the age of six with the Richmond Minor Hockey Association. After graduating from Alfred B Dixon Elementary, Stecher attended South Delta Secondary School due to their hockey academy while still playing in bantam hockey.[2] Despite being selected in the 2009 WHL Draft by the Portland Winterhawks, Stecher chose instead to play with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL to better develop as a player.[3]

In his second year with the Vees, Stecher was named an Assistant Captain[4] as he helped guide the Vees to the national junior ‘A’ Championship.[5] Although Stecher was loaned to Team Canada West for the 2011 World Junior A Challenge, he still registered a career high 42 points in 53 games during the regular season. While playing in the RBC Cup, Stecher recorded 10 points in 15 games and was named the Royal Bank Cup’s top defenseman.[6]

On June 28, 2012, Stecher was named team captain for the 2012–13 season.[6] It was during this season, his final year with the Penticton Vees, that Stecher committed to playing NCAA hockey for the University of North Dakota.[5] At the conclusion of the 2012–13 season, Stecher was named to the BCHL First-Team All-Star[7] and awarded the Top Defenceman Trophy for the Interior.[8]

Collegiate

Stecher played three seasons of college hockey with the University of North Dakota.

In his freshman year at North Dakota, Stecher played in all 42 games, the only freshman to do so.[9] He ended the season with 11 points in 42 games.

In his last year of draft eligibility, Stecher was passed over in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, the third straight draft he was not selected in.[3] As such, Stecher returned to North Dakota for his sophomore season. During a December game against the Lake Superior State Lakers, Stecher was injured and was expected to miss 6–8 weeks to recover.[10] After missing eight games, Stecher returned for a 3–2 loss against Nebraska Omaha on January 30.[11] He ended the season with 13 points in 34 games.

In his last year at North Dakota, Stecher set a career high with 29 points in 43 games. He was named a Second-Team All-American West at the conclusion of the 2015–16 season[12] and selected for the All-NCHC Second Team. He was also named a finalist for NCHC Defenseman of the Year and NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year.[9] Following his outstanding third season, the Vancouver Canucks signed him to a two-year entry-level contract on April 13, 2016.[13]

Vancouver Canucks

Stecher was a late cut from the Canucks' 2016 training camp and was sent to their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets to start the season.[14] After playing in the Comets' first four games and tallying an assist, he was recalled to the Canucks on October 24, 2016.[15] He made his NHL debut the next day, logging 22:35 minutes of ice time in a 3–0 loss to the Ottawa Senators.[16] As a result, Stecher became the first player born and raised in Richmond, British Columbia to play for the Canucks.[2] His first career assist and point came on a Daniel Sedin goal on November 5 in a 6–3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.[17] In the same game, he was hit by Leafs enforcer Matt Martin in the 3rd period and a line brawl proceeded.[18]

He scored his first NHL goal against Kari Lehtonen on November 13 in a 5–4 overtime victory against the Dallas Stars.[19] On March 26, 2017 he left a game against the Winnipeg Jets with an upper-body injury due to a fall into the boards after a collision with a Jets player.[20][21] Stecher healed well enough to play on the Friday game.

During the Canucks 2017–18 season opener, Stecher recorded his first NHL fight against Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Strome.[22] On October 24, 2017 the Canucks announced via Twitter that Stecher would be out 4-to-6 weeks with a knee injury that was caused in a game against the Detroit Red Wings.[23] He returned to the Canucks lineup on November 24, 2017, after missing 14 games.[24] Stecher concluded the regular season with 11 points in 68 games. On July 20, 2018, Stecher signed a two year, $4.65 million deal with the Canucks.[25]

Detroit Red Wings

After not being tendered a qualifying offer by the Canucks, Stecher became a unrestricted free agent. On October 10, 2020, Stecher signed a two-year, $3.4 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[26]

International play
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Canada
World Championships
2019 Slovakia

On April 29, 2019, Stecher was selected to make his international debut after he was named to the Team Canada roster for the 2019 IIHF World Championship, held in Slovakia.[27] He helped Canada progress through to the playoff rounds before losing the final to Finland to finish with the Silver Medal on May 26, 2019.[28] Stecher finished the tournament posting 1 goal and 3 points in 10 games from the blueline.

Personal life

Stecher was born to parents Tracey and Peter Stecher alongside his two older siblings.[2]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Greater Vancouver Canadians BCMML 38 4 27 31 22 5 1 1 2 6
2010–11 Penticton Vees BCHL 54 5 15 20 47 9 2 3 5 6
2011–12 Penticton Vees BCHL 53 5 37 42 42 15 2 8 10 8
2012–13 Penticton Vees BCHL 52 8 39 47 40 15 0 6 6 10
2013–14 U. of North Dakota NCHC 42 2 9 11 14 — — — — —
2014–15 U. of North Dakota NCHC 34 3 10 13 22 — — — — —
2015–16 U. of North Dakota NCHC 43 8 21 29 37 — — — — —
2016–17 Utica Comets AHL 4 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
2016–17 Vancouver Canucks NHL 71 3 21 24 25 — — — — —
2017–18 Vancouver Canucks NHL 68 1 10 11 35 — — — — —
2018–19 Vancouver Canucks NHL 78 2 21 23 32 — — — — —
2019–20 Vancouver Canucks NHL 69 5 12 17 32 17 2 1 3 10
NHL totals 286116475124 1721310

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2019 Canada WC 10 1 2 3 2
Senior totals 10 1 2 3 2

References
  1. 2014–15 NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Pronunciation Guide – North Dakota.
  2. Wood, Graeme (October 27, 2016). "Stecher makes history for Richmond with Canucks debut". richmond-news.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  3. Clipperton, Joshua (April 4, 2016). "North Dakota free agent Troy Stecher 'dreamed about playing for Canucks'". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  4. Sequeira, Emanuel (August 23, 2011). "Vees name Stecher assistant captain". pentictonwesternnews.com. Penticton Western News. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  5. "STECHER COMMITS TO NORTH DAKOTA". pentictonvees.ca. March 8, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  6. "VEES SIGN TWO; NAME CAPTAIN". pentictonvees.ca. June 28, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  7. "Four Vees selected to BCHL all-star teams". pentictonwesternnews.com. Penticton Western News. March 7, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  8. "2012-2013 BCHL AWARD WINNERS". pentictonvees.com. March 12, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  9. "TROY STECHER". fightinghawks.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  10. Dilks, Chris (December 10, 2014). "North Dakota's Troy Stecher Likely Out 6-8 Weeks". sbncollegehockey.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  11. "Late rally spoiled by Ortega overtime winner". fightinghawks.com. January 30, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  12. "2015-16 All-Americans". ahcahockey.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  13. "Canucks sign defenceman Troy Stecher". Vancouver Canucks. April 13, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  14. "Canucks Reduce Roster". Vancouver Canucks. October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  15. "Canucks Recall Megna and Stecher from the Comets". Vancouver Canucks. October 24, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  16. "Craig Anderson, Ryan Dzingel spark Senators". NHL.com. October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  17. "Maple Leafs extend winning streak to three". nhl.com. November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  18. "Martin Putting Targets on Leafs' Rookies?". The Hockey Writers. November 8, 2016.
  19. "Canucks rally past Stars in overtime". nhl.com. November 13, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  20. "Canucks' Troy Stecher: Departs Sunday with injury". cbssports. March 27, 2017.
  21. "Canucks' Stecher leaves game with injury". TSN. March 26, 2017.
  22. Paterson, Jeff (October 9, 2017). "Stecher put summer boxing lessons to use in Canucks season opener". TSN.com. TSN. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  23. "Canucks' Troy Stecher out 4-6 weeks with knee injury". Sportsnet. October 24, 2017.
  24. Mike G. Morreale (November 24, 2017). "Hall helps Devils past Canucks". NHL.com. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  25. Sadler, Emily (July 20, 2018). "Canucks re-sign defenceman Troy Stecher to two-year deal". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  26. Kujawa, Kyle (October 10, 2020). "Detroit adds defenseman Troy Stecher". NHL.com. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  27. "Hockey Canada names 22 players to 2019 IIHF World Championship roster". Hockey Canada. April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  28. "Finland defeats Canada for Gold Medal at World Championship". The Sports Network. May 26, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
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