Darren Zary
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
He’s Mr. Versatility.
He’s Mr. Intangible.
He’s a Swiss Army Knife all wrapped up into a five-foot-nine package.
Undersized and perhaps undervalued when he first entered U Sports hockey, Carter Stebbings has become a bit of an unsung hero on the reigning Canada West champion University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s hockey squad.
He flies under the radar, never earning the big accolades, yet seems to do all the little things right on the ice.
“My versatility is probably my biggest strength, whether it’s killing penalties or being out there on the power play,” Stebbings said.
“I’ve built trust with Coats (Huskies head coach Brandin Cote) to play in any situation, and it helps me in the line-up every night.”
Indeed, Stebbings does a bit of everything.
He’s shown that he can score, recording eight goals and two assists for 10 points in 12 Canada West conference games this season.
He kills penalties, plays on the power play, blocks shots and has proven to be responsible defensively.
He’s also one of only four U of S forwards to play all 12 conference games this season.
Off the ice, he’s an Academic all-Canadian at the U Sports level while being rewarded some of the Huskies’ major scholarships.
“Every year, he gets a prominent academic award,” Cote noted.
SMHA Wild Zone, Blazers alumnus
The 23-year-old Stebbings spent three seasons with the Saskatoon Blazers AAA under-18 squad, the last as its captain, before moving on to the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos. That’s where Cote, as an assistant coach, got a first-hand look at what Stebbings could do.
“I guess when you talk about a guy who’s so versatile, the best way to describe him is he’s really like a Swiss Army Knife, right?” said Cote, whose Huskies (8-3-1) return to action this weekend against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (12-1-1) in Canada West conference play at Merlis Belsher Place.
“He plays through lots of bumps and bruises, and things like that, too. He’s the lowest maintenance kid you’ll ever see. He’s from a really good family, a really quiet, mild-mannered, respected player. He’s the ultimate team guy. He’s just an all-around great person, great teammate and really good player for us.”
Things have gone well for the fourth-year Huskie forward, who has 29 goals in his last 67 Canada West conference games.
Last season, Stebbings was a key contributor as Saskatchewan captured the Canada West championship and finished third nationally at the University Cup.
The Huskies came into the new season with high expectations, yet haven’t been able to pull away from the pack and, in fact, find themselves in an uphill climb to catch the University of Calgary Dinos (14-2-0) in the Canada West’s East Division standings.
“Obviously last season, the outcome we had was pretty awesome, so we’re hoping to repeat and elevate again this season,” said Stebbings, a fourth-year accounting major in the Edwards School of Business.
He’s already interned with Buckberger Baerg and Partners this past summer and plans to return there next summer.
“That is exciting and a new chapter in my life. Being a student-athlete, I take a lot of pride in my school as well as hockey. It’s nice to be rewarded with my grades and stuff.”
The Huskies have been rewarded with a reliable, consistent effort.
Cote already had a deep trust in Stebbings, having the benefit of previously coaching him. “So I kind of knew, coming in, when he decided to kind of forego his last year of junior to come here, we were going to have a guy that people were maybe going to question at first, because they really didn’t know a whole lot about him.
“He’s small, maybe not the fastest guy, but he does everything so well. He’s so smart. He really does everything for us.”
