University of Minnesota Athletics
Mr. Consistency: Junior Defenseman Judd Stevens
2/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Judd Stevens is not living on the edge. He is too responsible to even risk peaking over it. He doesn't rock the boat and get in people's faces. Heck, he goes out of his way to make sure he avoids stepping on toes as much as possible. He doesn't get too up, nor does he get too down. Stevens has been described as vanilla ice cream. Not that anything is wrong with vanilla ice cream. It may not be very exciting, but its dependable. Something that one is always satisfied to have around.
Stevens describes himself as mellow and responsible. His personality has carried over on to the ice, where over the past three seasons he has been a Steady Eddie for the Golden Gophers. He is not flashy. In fact, if he is playing the way he likes to play, a defensive game favoring puck and stick skills over aggression and checking, Stevens doesn't mind if fans don't notice that is even out on the ice.
"Something that I've always seen as a strength of mine is not trying to make any big mistakes," Stevens said. "Along with that comes not making some of the great plays that a Keith [Ballard] or Paul [Martin] or Jordan [Leopold] might have made. I just like to be able to be counted on. You can put me out there and I'm not going to make a major mistake. I'll be out there and help the team any way I can by moving the puck to guys that are going to score the goals and make the great plays."
"He's one of those guys that isn't going to do anything too flashy, but he's always the guy that you count on to be steady defensively," Fleming said about his teammate. "When he contributes offensively, that's a bonus. Not every defenseman can be offensive. He does a good job of playing the defensive side."
Stevens began his first two seasons partnered with All-American Paul Martin. While sharing common hardworking and responsible qualities, Stevens tried to take advantage of every moment spent on the ice with Martin. Every drill and game situation, Stevens soaked up as much information as he could from his defensive teacher, and prided himself on being a reliable blueline partner to one of the team's defensive leaders. "It was great playing with Paul," Stevens remarked. "I can't say enough about him. He was a great kid and great role model. He gave me pointers and told me where he expects me to be on certain plays. That's been invaluable. He's a really good teacher. He's patient and is understanding."
At the beginning of the 2003-04 season, Stevens lost his defensive partner to the NHL. As a junior, Stevens has been paired with freshman Jake Taylor for a majority of the season. Taylor doesn't exactly play with the same style as Martin. He has been the rocky road to Stevens' vanilla. While the change to a more physical partner has been an adjustment for Stevens, it has added a surprise element to his normally sound game every time the two are out on the ice together.
"I like playing with Jake because I'm not a physical-style defenseman, more of a stick-checker," Stevens commented, "or doing stuff with the puck that makes up for not playing like P.J. [Atherton] and Jake and Joey [Martin] and those guys that are more of a physical-style defenseman."
"I think playing with Jake for the last few weekends has worked so well because our styles are so different," he added. "Playing with Paul the past couple of years, he was more like how I am now, where it's a little more different being with Jake as a bruiser. Paul and I worked together to move the puck to each other and knew exactly where each other were. But now with Jake, I let him do more of the hitting and try to stay back and get the puck from the guy getting hit."
Being partnered with a freshman has also been a chance for the upperclassmen to try and pass on some of the defensive skills and ideas he has learned and observed over his first two collegiate seasons.
"Playing with Jake, he's already a great player and he's only going to continue to become better and better. I just try to help him as much as I can. I know what Paul did for me and try to help Jake out in that same way. Help him keep learning and improving," Stevens said.
Stevens' dependability and diligence were qualities embedded in him during childhood. He credits his parents for teaching him the importance of "staying on top of things". The early emphasis on responsibility in all areas of life has lead Stevens to succeed both on the ice and in the classroom. He is currently majoring in finance at the Carlson School of Business and commented on the importance of scholastic achievements. "I've always put a lot of emphasis on doing well in school since I've been here," he said.
Stevens has personal experience with what hard work can equate to in hockey with two NCAA Championship rings on his fingers. He has also personally experienced what that same drive can lead to in the business world with his family's ownership and management of Maynard's Restaurant in Excelsior on Lake Minnetonka. Both his parents, Tom and Lisa, are involved with the daily management of the business and Stevens has gained as much knowledge from his management days at Maynard's as he has in his Carlson business courses. "Maynard's is a big part of my life," Stevens remarked. "A lot of my family is involved with it. My aunts are managers and my mom works upstairs, my dad's the general manager. I'm a manager, all my brothers have worked there. So it's a real good family atmosphere. I enjoy working there."
With all the responsibility Stevens undertakes on the rink and in school, the focus he puts on being a dependable friend and teammate, the diligence he applies to all areas of his life, it may sound like the 20-year old doesn't often get to act like a 20-year old. But the balance of his mellow personality and easygoing mentality helps the junior unwind when the day is over, the skates are off and homework is completed. He can just hang out with his roommates and dig into a big bowl of vanilla ice cream. Not that anything's wrong with vanilla.
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Courtney Walerius. She welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu.
Junior forward Jake Fleming sums up his roommate, fellow junior defenseman Judd Stevens perfectly. When asked if Stevens has a side people may be surprised to find out about, Fleming sighed briefly, looked up shaking his head and said, "No. Nothing really surprises me about him. He's not really the crazy guy. He's just a good kid."
Judd Stevens is not living on the edge. He is too responsible to even risk peaking over it. He doesn't rock the boat and get in people's faces. Heck, he goes out of his way to make sure he avoids stepping on toes as much as possible. He doesn't get too up, nor does he get too down. Stevens has been described as vanilla ice cream. Not that anything is wrong with vanilla ice cream. It may not be very exciting, but its dependable. Something that one is always satisfied to have around.
Stevens describes himself as mellow and responsible. His personality has carried over on to the ice, where over the past three seasons he has been a Steady Eddie for the Golden Gophers. He is not flashy. In fact, if he is playing the way he likes to play, a defensive game favoring puck and stick skills over aggression and checking, Stevens doesn't mind if fans don't notice that is even out on the ice.
"Something that I've always seen as a strength of mine is not trying to make any big mistakes," Stevens said. "Along with that comes not making some of the great plays that a Keith [Ballard] or Paul [Martin] or Jordan [Leopold] might have made. I just like to be able to be counted on. You can put me out there and I'm not going to make a major mistake. I'll be out there and help the team any way I can by moving the puck to guys that are going to score the goals and make the great plays."
"He's one of those guys that isn't going to do anything too flashy, but he's always the guy that you count on to be steady defensively," Fleming said about his teammate. "When he contributes offensively, that's a bonus. Not every defenseman can be offensive. He does a good job of playing the defensive side."
Stevens began his first two seasons partnered with All-American Paul Martin. While sharing common hardworking and responsible qualities, Stevens tried to take advantage of every moment spent on the ice with Martin. Every drill and game situation, Stevens soaked up as much information as he could from his defensive teacher, and prided himself on being a reliable blueline partner to one of the team's defensive leaders. "It was great playing with Paul," Stevens remarked. "I can't say enough about him. He was a great kid and great role model. He gave me pointers and told me where he expects me to be on certain plays. That's been invaluable. He's a really good teacher. He's patient and is understanding."
At the beginning of the 2003-04 season, Stevens lost his defensive partner to the NHL. As a junior, Stevens has been paired with freshman Jake Taylor for a majority of the season. Taylor doesn't exactly play with the same style as Martin. He has been the rocky road to Stevens' vanilla. While the change to a more physical partner has been an adjustment for Stevens, it has added a surprise element to his normally sound game every time the two are out on the ice together.
"I like playing with Jake because I'm not a physical-style defenseman, more of a stick-checker," Stevens commented, "or doing stuff with the puck that makes up for not playing like P.J. [Atherton] and Jake and Joey [Martin] and those guys that are more of a physical-style defenseman."
"I think playing with Jake for the last few weekends has worked so well because our styles are so different," he added. "Playing with Paul the past couple of years, he was more like how I am now, where it's a little more different being with Jake as a bruiser. Paul and I worked together to move the puck to each other and knew exactly where each other were. But now with Jake, I let him do more of the hitting and try to stay back and get the puck from the guy getting hit."
Being partnered with a freshman has also been a chance for the upperclassmen to try and pass on some of the defensive skills and ideas he has learned and observed over his first two collegiate seasons.
"Playing with Jake, he's already a great player and he's only going to continue to become better and better. I just try to help him as much as I can. I know what Paul did for me and try to help Jake out in that same way. Help him keep learning and improving," Stevens said.
Stevens' dependability and diligence were qualities embedded in him during childhood. He credits his parents for teaching him the importance of "staying on top of things". The early emphasis on responsibility in all areas of life has lead Stevens to succeed both on the ice and in the classroom. He is currently majoring in finance at the Carlson School of Business and commented on the importance of scholastic achievements. "I've always put a lot of emphasis on doing well in school since I've been here," he said.
Stevens has personal experience with what hard work can equate to in hockey with two NCAA Championship rings on his fingers. He has also personally experienced what that same drive can lead to in the business world with his family's ownership and management of Maynard's Restaurant in Excelsior on Lake Minnetonka. Both his parents, Tom and Lisa, are involved with the daily management of the business and Stevens has gained as much knowledge from his management days at Maynard's as he has in his Carlson business courses. "Maynard's is a big part of my life," Stevens remarked. "A lot of my family is involved with it. My aunts are managers and my mom works upstairs, my dad's the general manager. I'm a manager, all my brothers have worked there. So it's a real good family atmosphere. I enjoy working there."
With all the responsibility Stevens undertakes on the rink and in school, the focus he puts on being a dependable friend and teammate, the diligence he applies to all areas of his life, it may sound like the 20-year old doesn't often get to act like a 20-year old. But the balance of his mellow personality and easygoing mentality helps the junior unwind when the day is over, the skates are off and homework is completed. He can just hang out with his roommates and dig into a big bowl of vanilla ice cream. Not that anything's wrong with vanilla.
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Courtney Walerius. She welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu.
