A player fighting twice in one night has always intrigued me. Whether the second fight is a rematch or it’s because someone on the other team thinks you deserve it for even getting in the first one it’s always something that catches the eye on the score sheet. Some guys go through their entire career without having two fights, in an occupation where all they do is give you five minutes penalty, so I’ve always appreciated the occasional two fight night.
John Stevens, yes the Flyers current head coach John Stevens, had 1 fight every 20 games in his professional career at many different levels of the pro game. Just before the start of the 1986-87 NHL season, after a preseason that saw him unable to crack the big club’s opening night roster, the 20 year 3rd rounder was sent to the Hershey Bears for some development. And some chocolate. In late January, after a solid first half with the Bears Stevens was called up to the Flyers as a replacement for big Dave Richter who sprained his knee in a game against the Islanders. Stevens would play his first NHL game in Buffalo and even earn an assist on a Peter Zezel power play goal that put the game out of reach for the Sabres. The next night the Flyers were at home against the Penguins and young John Stevens was in the lineup again, and again he earned an assist on a third period goal that helped put the game in the bag. Known mainly as a defensive defenseman it was a bit surprising that Stevens had earned two apples in his first two NHL games.
But in the next game the Flyers fell to the Rangers 4-1, and Stevens was a minus 2.
The NHL in the mid-80’s was a different environment. Hell, all of sports was. Being sent to the minors now versus then was an entirely different story. It meant a lot less money, a lot of long bus trips, and way fewer babes at the bar. Some time between that Rangers loss and the beginning of a game two days later in the historic Maple Leaf Gardens young John Stevens decided to go what the kids call “buck wild.”
Now, in half a season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears Stevens had been in five altercations. On February 2nd, 1987 John Stevens would not only get in two fights, but also earn himself an instigator penalty and an ejection from the game. Stevens fought the same guy twice, Brad Smith. If you watch the clips below you can see Smith’s teammates treat him like a grandfather who just made it down the stairs by himself at Thanksgiving after both fights – way to go Brad. This season would prove to be Smith’s last, as 29 was a little older then and Smith was battling some serious mustache growth, as you’ll hear the announcers mention.
Round 1
Those fights earned J.S. 3 more games at the NHL level but that would be all the orange he’d wear that season. By mid February he was back in the Kiss capital of the world.
So next time you see John Stevens seemingly showing no emotion behind the bench or trying to intimidate Andreas Nodl with stories of how large his penis is, as he seems to be doing in the picture above, just know that inside that Van Heusen suit-shirt combo there’s a wild jaguar that, if necessary, will show its spots. And I suppose its penis.
