Philip Stein Junior Review

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DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

Philip Stein has been playing hockey since he could walk. He has always dreamed of making it to the VHL. People around him started to realize his talent when he was 7 as he was a better skater than some players older than him. Skating has always been one of his main skills along with passing. He was a smaller kid compared to the other hockey players even while he was in bantam hockey.

 

He first gained recognition as a part of the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite AAA team. In his two years there at the ages of 13 and 14 he got 135 points (45 Goals and 90 Assists) in 90 games. He was in the local newspaper and was ranked as a top 50 US player under the age of 16 by many hockey sources. While many people locally saw his potential no one knew who he was outside of Pittsburgh. After his success in bantam hockey, he made the decision to go to Canada and play in the OHL. This was viewed by many as a controversial decision as he wasn't viewed as an elite player so people questioned if he could keep up with players in the OHL. That being said, most of those people hadn't seen him play and were just going based on the fact that he had been playing in the US bantam division and that he wasn't even the best player there.

 

He was then drafted in the 5th round of the OHL Draft by the Sarnia Sting. Sarnia was criticized for this pick as he was viewed as a 7th or 8th round pick at best. He proved the doubters wrong by being the leading point getter in both of his seasons in Sarnia. Over his two years in Sarnia at the ages of 15 and 16 he got 204 points (68 goals and 134 assists) in 136 games and led Sarnia to their first OHL Championship and first Memorial Cup win. The Sting became the first team in OHL history to win every OHL Playoff series in 7 games. Stein had assists on all 4 game winning goals in each of the series. Because of the difference in league schedules between the OHL and the VHLM he missed eligibility for the draft and had to join a team via the waivers. 5 of the 12 VHLM teams made him an offer. He chose to join the Ottawa Lynx of the VHLM.