Steeves is starting to answer the question of whether he can make an impact in NHL games in the same way he has in the AHL.

Alex Steeves, on what he’ll do with his first goal puck: “I don't really know. I'm not really one to display all that stuff. Like, I don't even have a house. I live in my parents' basement in the summer. I'm sure my mom maybe will have a little shrine in my room or something.”

There are few players in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ system who have been played like a yo-yo quite like Alex Steeves. The Leafs signed him to an entry-level contract in March 2021, and since then, it feels like he’s gotten more tastes of the NHL without ever getting a proper bite.