麻豆社区

One of the territory's top hockey players is continuing to fine-tune his talents on the East Coast.

Former Moncton Wildcats' 麻豆社区Ted Stephens recently began his third season with the St. Francis Xavier X-Men, where he has his sights set on a breakout year.

"I'm trying to improve year by year,鈥� the 23-year-old told the Star when reached in Antigonish, N.S. recently. "Hopefully this year, I can show a bit of an improvement from last year and maybe chip in a little more offensively, as well as show a better overall game.鈥�

The X-Men opened their Atlantic University Sport season with three wins and four losses, and Stephens has gone pointless thus far.

"It's definitely not the start we wanted, but we've been in every single game,鈥� the Whitehorse native said. "We're getting better every game and I think we're better than our record shows right now.鈥�

Stephens tallied just one goal and four assists in his 25-game rookie season at St. F.X., but followed that up with a strong sophomore campaign that included seven goals and 10 assists in 28 games last season.

The six-foot, 190-pound forward, who attended the Columbus Blue Jackets rookie camp in 2010, said he continues to have high hopes for his hockey career.

"I'd like to continue playing after my university career is done, but I don't really look too far into the future,鈥� the business student said. "I just want to take it season by season, and whatever happens, happens.鈥�

Longtime St. F.X. head coach Brad Peddle said he wants to see "continued improvement鈥� from his Yukon star.

"His first year, he came in and it was a little bit of a learning experience,鈥� he explained. "There was some growing pains, but it reflected the year before, when Ted missed a considerable amount of time with an injury. His second year, he really started to come and of course, he got more opportunity to play in offensive situations.鈥�

Peddle said he relies on Stephens to be a smart, heads-up player in the offensive zone. His strength with the puck in the corners has seen the coach convert the centre to the left side.

"He sees the ice well and he certainly understands the game. The thing with him is he just needs to make sure he's consistent and strong,鈥� Peddle said. "He's got pro skills. He just has to make sure that he's consistent and really works on his strength off the ice.鈥�

This season, Peddle has paired the playmaking left-winger with 麻豆社区forwards Jason Bast and Brennen Wray.

"Our team is pretty deep,鈥� the coach said. "We have four really strong lines, but we count on two lines for offensive production and he's on one of those lines.鈥�

In October, the X-Men travelled to Boston for two pre-season exhibition games against NCAA opponents. While they dropped both games, 2-1 to Boston University and 8-2 to Boston College, Stephens said it was a great experience.

"We had a lot of fun,鈥� he said.

Also last month, St. F.X. and Saint Mary's University were awarded hosting rights for the 2015 and 2016 Canadian Interuniversity Sport Men's Hockey Championships.

"It's a huge deal,鈥� Peddle said. "It's the national championship and it's hard enough to get to it. As the host team we get a berth in it, so we have a guaranteed chance to win the national championship next year.鈥�

Stephens said he's looking forward to the opportunity to perform on the national stage next season.

"It will be my senior year, which is pretty cool,鈥� he said. "The guys are pretty fired up about it. It's the first time it's ever been hosted in Nova Scotia, and for us to get it is pretty cool.鈥�