SEATTLE — Chandler Stephenson may be new to Seattle, but he's not new to hockey. Stephenson recently played in his 500th game.
"I can't really put it into words, because I never expected that, I just wanted to play in the NHL, never thought about how many games, I would play, just wanted to be in the NHL, so to be living out and fulfilling a childhood dream is very special," Stephenson said.
Stephenson grew up in Saskatchewan in a hockey family and said he was pretty much on the ice every single day with his big brother.
"It was something that we loved doing, we were always competitive, always having fun, something we spent all of our time doing," said Stephenson.
In 2012 Stephenson was drafted by the Washington Capitals. In 2018 he helped the Caps win a Stanley Cup Title.
One Stanley Cup is nice, but Stephenson won a 2nd with Vegas in 2023.
"I had no expectations in the first one, to be able to win a second one and to understand and know how hard it was, was really cool to get to experience," Stephenson said.
The season is young, but Stephenson said this Kraken team has all the right ingredients to make a push towards their first title.
"The biggest thing I found was the culture, and it seems we have that here, a good culture, everyone gets along, everyone competes, I think it's having confidence for everyone, swagger, you need it all, I think the make-up is there," Stephenson said.
And it doesn't hurt having players like Stephenson, who not only know what it takes to win, but also know what it takes to survive a long season.
"You know, you need to bring your best every day, I think figuring out the mental side helped a lot, you have to try and get better than you were the night before, don't let emotions get to high and the grind of it, too low," Stephenson said.