John Stevens

Classroom

John Stevens has been one of the hockey program’s top students throughout his career. Majoring in business administration with a concentration in finance, he has maintained a 3.263 grade-point average as part of the D’Amore-McKim School of Business, which is ranked 22nd in the nation in undergraduate business programs according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

Stevens has been named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team twice in his career (2014 and 2016), which requires student-athletes to maintain a GPA of 3.00 or better during each of the two academic periods in which he was actively competing.

He also was named one of Northeastern’s Huntington 100 recipients in 2016, which recognizes outstanding undergraduate and graduate students for their achievements in the classroom and in the community. The honored students were nominated based on criteria that are commensurate with the university’s mission, ideals, values and academic plan. The selection committee considered students for their impact on the campus community, record of service, global engagement, demonstrated leadership, entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to the ideals and values of Northeastern.

Character

From Northeastern Head Coach Jim Madigan: “John is the epitome of what a captain is about in the characteristics he possesses. He’s a quiet leader, and at times quiet leaders are the most effective because they only speak up when there’s something important to say. He leads on and off the ice and is always doing the right things. As a person, he has high expectations for himself. He goes about his life trying to be the best he can be and getting better each day as a student, a person and an athlete.

“He helped turn our program around by creating a culture in that locker room, and his presence in the room, even as a freshman, was felt. He’s a young man who, when our team has faced adversity, has risen and taken control. His quiet leadership style, hard work and ability to have others follow in times of adversity is what makes a great leader.

“He [was going through an injury earlier, but] still found a role where even though he [couldn’t] help on the ice, he [could] help in other ways. That’s John wanting to do anything and everything he can for our team to be successful.

“From a coaching perspective, he makes our jobs easier because he manages that room. When you have a great culture in the room, that credit goes to the captains. We’re fortunate to have John in this program because of the character and qualities he exhibits daily. He’ll be missed when graduates.”

Community

Stevens has been at the forefront of many of Northeastern hockey’s community service endeavors. Most recently, he participated in Northeastern Title IX video campaign through the university’s Office for Gender Equity and Compliance, focusing on sexual harassment and sexual violence. Watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0qwrLO4iDU.

Stevens and his teammates also make a point of being active members of their community, including visiting local schools to read to elementary school children. The team also invites members of the school to a game and holds an autograph session with the kids afterward.

During Northeastern’s trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the inaugural Friendship Four in 2015, the Huskies visited an elementary school and integrated middle school in Belfast to speak with the students about the importance of education and being a Division I student-athlete, among other topics.

Last February, the team also worked with Northeastern’s “Love Your Melon” campus crew, which is an apparel brand dedicated to giving a hat to every child battling cancer in America as well as supporting nonprofit organizations who lead the fight against pediatric cancer.

The hockey program also is a consistent fixture on campus, including volunteering during Move-In Weekend for incoming freshmen.

Competition

As of March 2017, Stevens had played in 136 career games and was on pace to break the program record for career games played before an injury early this season. He has since returned to the ice. Known for his playmaking abilities, he’s tallied 106 career points on 26 goals and 80 assists, and Northeastern is 69-51-16 when he plays, 49-19-7 when he records a point and 41-12-4 when he tallies an assist over three-plus seasons.

As the team’s top-line center for the bulk of his time on Huntington Avenue, Stevens has averaged 18-20 minutes of ice time per game through his career, thanks to his ability to play in all game situations (even strength, power play and penalty kill). He is also the team’s top face-off man, taking nearly 2,400 face-offs in four seasons.

The hard work of Stevens reaped benefits for the team at the tail end of the 2015-16 season. After beginning the season with one win in the first 14 games, the Huskies responded with a 21-3-3 record over their final 27 games, culminating in the program’s first Hockey East championship since 1988 and first NCAA Tournament berth since 2009. Stevens played the best hockey of his career during Northeastern’s torrid stretch, which included the longest winning streak in team history (13 games), setting career longs for both assist streaks (eight games) and point streaks (eight games). From Dec. 19, 2015, through Mar. 25, 2016, Stevens recorded 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 24 games.