As a player, if you was Scott Stevens coming against you it ment trouble. The hard hitting defenseman won the Stanley Cup three times before entering the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008.
Stevens surely put in some huge hits. The Paul Kariya and Eric Lindros ones are probably the most recognizable, but according to himself there was another one that was way more massive.
“I hit Pat Flatley once, coming across the middle, and I mean just totally crushed him. He had no idea that I was coming, he had his head down and I was like ”oh my gosh”. When you make contact on some guys you just know. But Patrick Flatley is a tough guy, he came back,” Stevens says on the Cam and Strick Podcast.
Being a hard hitting player, sometimes that means getting hit as well. Stevens have experienced several moments like that, but nothing compares to the one in 1994.
In a playoff game against the Boston Bruins, Stevens picked up a puck behind the net and decided to cut the net.
He took a peek over his shoulder, cut the net. The next thing he knew, Bryan Smolinski had put in a huge hit and Stevens found himself wake up in the training room, Stevens told ESPN.
He was out cold.
“I skated to the bench, sat on the bench and then went to the dressing room and the next thing I knew I was on the medical table,” Stevens said. “I guess I was unconscious.That was a scary feeling. When I woke up I asked (current Devils assistant coach) Bobby Carpenter why he wasn’t playing. He was hurt and he wasn’t playing in the game, but I didn’t know.”
Stevens actually came back and played in the game, something that probably wouldn’t have happened today.
It was a scary moment, but it’s part of the game, he says.
”That’s why it’s a special game,” Stevens says on the Cam and Strick Podcast. “It’s a tough game and you have to be ready and physically prepared for this game. It’s a grind, and that’s why it’s so amazing when you do win the Stanley Cup.”
Make sure to follow The Hockey Beast on Instagram!
