Luke Stevens Following In His Father's Footsteps

When Kevin Stevens was in his second stint with the Penguins from 2000-02, sometimes he would bring his three young children - Luke, Ryan and Kylie - around the locker room at the team's former practice facility, the Iceoplex at Southpointe.

"I had a key to the lock, and at night I would bring the three of them down there," Kevin recalled. "I think they were 1, 2 and 3 years old. I'd be taking a steam or something and they'd be running around the showers."
Other times Kevin would bring Luke, his oldest, to the rink during the day so that they could skate around after practices. That's when Kevin's Penguins teammates would be more than happy to play some hockey with the well-behaved toddler.
"Just being around all of that, you took it for granted back then because you just didn't really know what was going on," Luke recalled. "You just thought it was Dad's job or whatever. Then you look back at the pictures and it's (Mario) Lemieux and (Paul) Coffey and all those guys. It's kind of crazy."
The Stevens family lived in Peters Township during those years, and Pittsburgh became like a second home to Luke, even when they moved back to his parents' native state of Massachusetts after Kevin retired.
"Obviously he had a ton of success (in Pittsburgh), so that was the spot that we always would go back to," Luke said. "We have friends that still live there."
And now, the next time Luke comes to Pittsburgh, he will do so as a member of the Penguins organization. The 23-year-old forward, who wrapped up a four-year collegiate career at Yale back in March, signed an American Hockey League contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
"It's great," Luke said. "It's something where I kind of grew up in this organization with my dad playing there, so once I graduated college, you look for what's next and where to sign. This was the spot that you always wanted to go to. Luckily, I was able to get a deal from them and it worked out. I'm pumped."
That's the same word Luke used to describe how his dad felt. Luke, who was originally drafted by Carolina in the fifth round (126th overall) in 2015, leaned on Kevin a lot through the process of deciding where to go after not signing with the Hurricanes.
"It's huge. That's something that not a lot of players have," Luke said. "I'm lucky enough to have that and to lean on him when I have questions about anything, really. He's been through everything that I'm trying to go through.
"My dad was pushing towards Pittsburgh. When we finally got wind that I could sign here and be part of the organization, it was kind of a no-brainer from our end."
Instagram from @lukestevens25: Thank you to my family, friends and everyone at Yale who has helped me get to this point. Extremely excited for my next chapter in the @penguins organization. Can't wait to get to work!
Kevin, who is currently a Penguins special assignment scout, was a key member of Pittsburgh's back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams in 1991 and '92.
He played in 522 games with the organization from 1987-95 and 2000-02, ranking in the top-10 in several all-time franchise lists: goals (260, 7th); assists (295, 10th); points (555, 8th); power-play goals (110, 5th); and game-winning goals (27, 7th).
And while Kevin would be proud of Luke for taking this next step in his career no matter what, the fact that it's with Pittsburgh just made the whole situation even more special.
"The whole family roots for the Penguins," said Kevin, who added that Kylie is probably the biggest Penguins fan in the family. "There's no real other teams. So for us, it was awesome. I think the biggest thing when someone is just starting out is to be in a great organization that develops players. I think ours is the best. That's why getting this opportunity is a great opportunity for him."
In addition to his dad's former teammates that he knows, like Phil Bourque and Jay Caufield, Luke played alongside John Marino in the same youth hockey organization - called the South Shore Kings - for years.
"I've known Johnny my whole life," Luke said. "We're really good buddies."
Luke also grew up in Duxbury, Mass., which is the same town that Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan raised his family. Luke is the same age as Sullivan's youngest, Kiley, and the two are good friends.
"I know a fair amount of people in the organization, and it's a huge comfort thing for me to be able to go in there and feel a little bit at home," Luke said. "Knowing they care about you and want to see you do well. That's a huge reason why I wanted to sign here, too, was just because I'm familiar with the organization and I know there's great people involved."
Speaking of familiar, Luke plays a similar type of game to Kevin, who was a dominant power forward.
"I get to the net hard and just focus on doing the little things on the forecheck and just being hard to play against," Luke said. "I think I skate well for my size and use that to my advantage."
But ask Kevin and Luke how they're different, and they both have to laugh.
"We're both pretty big guys, but my dad is a little wider than me," Luke chuckled. "I'm still trying to fill out a little bit. But I'm a little taller than him. I got him in the height category."
Luke currently measures 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, while Kevin was listed at 6-foot-3 and 231 pounds during his playing days.
"I was heavier, bulkier, bigger, whatever you want to call it," Kevin said. "I played a little different than he played. He's a good skater. He's a better skater than I was (laughs). My skating was pretty choppy. I had to work to get down the ice. Back when we played, the game was more physical."
Another difference between the two that brings out Kevin's trademark hearty laugh is that Luke isn't quiteas loud as he is.
"Luke's a little quieter than me," said Kevin, who famously guaranteed that the Penguins would come back from a 2-0 series deficit to beat the Boston Bruins in the 1991 Wales Conference Finals. "That's probably a good thing! I just yelled a lot."
But while Luke may not be as vocal as Kevin, his dad feels like he's got that same confidence and belief in himself that is necessary at the professional level.
"I think anything in life is all about confidence," Kevin said. "When you believe you can do something, you can do it. I think that's the most important thing we try to instill in all our kids. He's got an opportunity; now he has to go for it."
Kevin couldn't be prouder of his first-born for putting himself in this position, especially thinking back to all of the work Luke put in along the way.
"You look back when you sign these contracts and remember hard it is to get there," Kevin said. "I remember the rinks that (Luke's mom) Suzanne and I had to take him to and all the hard work he had to put in. We played about an hour from our house for like 10 years. They practiced every single day and he had to go there and do that every day.
"Now he graduated Yale and has an opportunity to go play hockey. What else can you want, you know?"