Story Taken From Jamestown Sun***
UJ Hockey player has opportunity of a lifetime to move to next level as he is rated 218 in the 2019 NHL Draft rankings.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
True Freshman Defenceman, Josh Stephens from Bayreuth, Germany has been rated in the top 300 ice hockey players in the World. After a tremendous season the Jamestown Jimmies finished 16th in the ACHA and made a National Tournament appearance for the third consecutive season. Cole Bell, the head coach of the Jimmies stated, "The boys look like they have had a good offseason. Many of the players have come back stronger and better than when they left, which is great to see. I have been most impressed by some of our young recruits such as, Josh Stephens. He has better skating ability and vision than guys up to eight years older than him. He's going to be a great addition to an already top tier ACHA team."
From the early goings of the season, Stephens lead the charge on the point. He logged a lot of minutes and shut down the opponents top players. He was asked by Jamestown reporter, Conrad Volsh, how he felt stepping into a large role on a College hockey team as a 17 year old.
"The guys on the team have made the transition easy for me. Being a young guy they have taken me under their wing and shown me the ropes. I try to use my experience playing internationally against some to the best players in the world to do my part and pull my weight. Coach has also given me a lot of confidence to play my game. This is the last opportunity for a lot of these guys to win a National Championship and I am just trying my hardest to do my part in helping the team accomplish that goal."
As the season winded down, the Jimmies faced some hardships due to injuries and sickness. Stephens was forced to move to forward during the National Tournament. Scouts realized the extent of his versatility as he played a lot of minutes for the depleted Jimmies. Unfortunately the Jimmies lost their first game and went home early but for Stephens it was still a successful showing.
Only two months after the National Tournament McKeens Hockey wrote an article on him naming him the first ACHA player to ever be rated in the NHL entry draft. Being named amongst the best players for any sport is an incredible feat. Stephens does not credit his success this season to himself though:
"I really grew as a player this season all thanks to my coaches and teammates. Cole (Bell) taught me a lot about positioning in the defensive zone which made the game a whole lot easier. My teammates were there for me giving me confidence to play my game all year. They played their positions and roles all year and worked as hard as they possibly could every day."
Stephens was rated 218 in the upcoming 2019 NHL entry draft but will not attend as he would rather stay home in Germany and train for the upcoming season in Jamestown.
