As time passes on and Bruins players filter in and out of the lineup, it’s becoming pretty evident who is going to stay in Boston once things stabilize with the NHL roster.
Alex Steeves impressed Bruins coaches in training camp with his versatility and just how hard he consistently played on and off the puck and showed that he could be used on multiple lines and multiple different positions. Given the chance to show it at the NHL level, he was among the first of the callups when injuries hit and he has done nothing but earn trust and help the B’s win games since arriving at the NHL level.
The 25-year-old Steeves further cemented his burgeoning role with the B’s by potting a pair of goals in Wednesday night’s 3-1 win over the New York Islanders at UBS Arena that pushed Boston into one of the top-3 playoff spots in the Atlantic Division headed into the Thanksgiving holiday.
"He did his job like he always does and that's why he has my trust,” said Marco Sturm following the win when asked about Steeves.
Perhaps the most impressive part is that Steeves made the biggest impression on the game while playing just 11:41 but being very noticeable throughout the contest for his high effort shifts and the way he was finishing plays. The first goal was an important one for the Bruins as it arrived less than two minutes after the Islanders had taken a 1-0 lead in their building during the first period.
“It’s awesome and this year there has been a lot of that just counting on some guys to step up their games a little bit,” said Tanner Jeannot. “I think he’s been playing great the entire time that he’s been up here. He’s physical, he’s fast and he’s hard on pucks.
“He got rewarded tonight for going hard to the net and on the second one [Fraser Minten] made a great play and he buried it. Really happy for him.”
The Bruins responded with a strong puck possession shift that ended with Sean Kuraly throwing a puck at the front of the net where Steeves had carved out good position. Steeves was able to turn and push a puck past Ilya Sorokin after camping out at the front of the crease and it marked his second goal in nine games up with the Black and Gold following his promotion from the P-Bruins.
Simple, hard-working shift from Boston’s fourth line ends with Alex Steeves knocking home his second goal of the year.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) November 27, 2025
1-1 game.
pic.twitter.com/OOCC5codm5
After a Tanner Jeannot goal at the beginning of the second period gave the Bruins a slim lead, Steeves gave the Bruins the breathing room they needed when he potted the first shorthanded score of the season for Boston. Steeves intercepted a pass in the B’s zone and created a 2-on-1 with Fraser Minten that culminated in Minten executing a toe-drag dish to Steeves for the hammered one-timer that gave him his first multi-goal game at the NHL level.
That play has got to be some kind of nightmare fuel for all the Maple Leafs fans watching two of their former prospects team up to create a big goal for the Boston Bruins.
Alex Steeves with his second of the game after a SICK dish from Fraser Minten.
— Sticks in the 6ix Podcast ™️ (@StixInThe6ixPod) November 27, 2025
My god, I wish they still wore blue and white. pic.twitter.com/iem6EEkjZR
In most of his nine games with Boston, Steeves has consistently been doing the right things, but wasn’t really getting rewarded for it with actual offensive production. That changed on Wednesday night, where Steeves, Minten and a 44-save performance from Jeremy Swayman were clearly the three biggest reasons that Boston came away with the two points in victory.
“It’s funny how the game works and stuff like that. I’ve always kind of as a player told myself that if I’m getting the chances then [the goals] are going to come,” said Steeves, who scored 36 goals in 59 games at the AHL level last season for the Toronto Marlies. “For me I had the chances tonight and they want in. I’m never going to stop trying to make goal-scoring a part of my identity.
“I’m not thinking I’m David Pastrnak, all of a sudden, but I’m definitely feeling more confident and it feels good to get rewarded on an individual level. But it feels even better that I feel like I helped contribute to a big win.”
Fair or unfair, it is telling to put Steeves’ impact side by side with Matej Blumel as both forwards were signed to “show me” contracts with the Bruins organization last summer after standout seasons in the AHL. Blumel had a tough night on Wednesday as he was done with a lower-body injury after just two minutes of ice time, where his offensive blue line turnover led to the Islanders' only goal of the game, and Blumel has yet to find the back of the net in four games with Boston, while boasting much less lineup versatility than Steeves.
“Having Blumel out in the first two minutes and having a shortened bench didn’t help us, but the guys certainly did it,” said Sturm. “Give them a lot of credit. Those kinds of bounce back goals [like the first Steeves goal] are ones you’ve gotta have, otherwise it’s going to be a long night.
“It was a good bounce back [score after the Islanders goal]. We lost Blumel, shortened our bench a little bit. Was it our best game? No, but I’ve got to say we [beat] the Islanders in all three games [this season] and that is tough to do in this league.”
There are still miles to go in this NHL season and a ton of games to be played with injuries, slumps and many more player moves in the offing for the Black and Gold, but it feels like with each passing game that Steeves is earning a role on this Bruins club by building trust and playing a very strong overall game.
It might be time to start counting the solid Steeves as another one of the countless underutilized players that the Bruins organization has plucked from other teams (Morgan Geekie, Marat Khusnutdinov, Justin Brazeau, Parker Wotherspoon etc.) and found impactful roles for with the Black and Gold.
