Scott Stevens know the art of putting in big hits. Some would say he put in a couple of dirty hits throughout his career, while some would argue that he played hard but fair.
The 6’2″, 216 lbs defenceman skated in more than 1600 NHL games, winning the Stanley Cup three times and entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008.
Already as a youngster, Stevens started shaping his physical game. On the Cam & Strick Podcast, the 56-year-old speaks about his strong hitting game.
“I’m proud of being a physical player,” Stevens says. “I loved that part of the game and I know how important that is for your team, and how disappointing it can be for the other team. When you give someone a good wack and you can see that whole bench just drop their chins a bit and the guys on your bench get excited. So I know what it brought to the game. I had no trouble doing that.”
There are several hits that comes to mind when thinking about Scott Stevens. The huge hit on Paul Kariya in the 2003 Stanley Cup Final is one of them and the Eric Lindros hit back in the 2000 Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final is another.
But talking about the best hits of his career, Stevens are thinking about another one. It was all the way back in the 1987 Playoffs, while facing the Edmonton Oilers.
I could look further back and show you hits that was ”Oh shit, I don’t know if he’s gonna get up,” Stevens says on the Cam & Strick Podcast. “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.
Watch the hit down below:
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