By Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Dubuque Fighting Saints' locker room was buzzing. Arizona State’s Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson had just announced that the Sun Devils were elevating their club hockey program to Division I status and a host of players were ready to rescind the commitments they had given to other schools.
Ryan Stevens was the most persistent. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound forward marched into coach Mike Field's office.
"He said: 'Coach I want to go to ASU' and I said, 'relax Ryan. Everybody does.'" Field said, laughing. "But he wouldn't let it go. He said, 'you don't get it. Both of my parents went there and I'm from Texas. I really want to play there.'"
Field was certain Arizona State coach Greg Powers had plenty of other concerns on his plate after the news broke, but he still sent an email from his phone the following day while heading out on a scouting trip.
Within five minutes, Powers called Field.
"I thought that was really impressive with everything he had going on, starting a new program," Field said. "It kind of changed the way I was thinking about the opportunity."
It also changed the course of a career for both the player and his coach. Field accepted a job as an assistant coach with the Sun Devils in June, six months after Stevens committed to the program.
Excited to announce my commitment to play D1 hockey at Arizona State University, thanks to all who helped me get to this point! #GoDevils
— Ryan Stevens (@RyanStevens9) December 20, 2014
"It was the only place I felt comfortable going," said Stevens, who grew up in the Dallas-Forth Worth area. "It was close to home, I'm not a fan of colder weather and Arizona is a lot like Texas. Knowing that both my parents came here and know the area well really made me comfortable with the decision."
Stevens suffered a torn labrum for the second time in a calendar year, limiting him to 20 games last season with Dubuque of the United States Hockey League. The surgery for the second injury was more involved, and as he faced the prospect of a seven-month recovery, Stevens wondered if his hockey career was over.
At the time of the injury, Stevens was still talking to other schools such as Robert Morris, Minnesota State, Lake Superior State and Connecticut.
"Most of those schools, when he got hurt last year, we didn't hear from them again," Stevens father, Scott said. "Coach Powers continued to show interest despite the injury and that commitment really impressed us. It was a classy move."
Powers still saw potential.
"Being a new program and having room for elite players, we were willing to take a risk on somebody we knew had an injury," Powers said. "We did our due diligence, too. We knew he would have a full recovery and we knew his character was there by the way he was doing what he had to do to make a full recovery."
After a preseason physical, Stevens was given a clean bill of health. The potential Powers saw was on display on Saturday in the Sun Devils' season-opening rout of Arizona at Gila River Arena in Glendale. The freshman scored one of eight Sun Devil goals on a play that dropped Field's jaw.
"To be able to put the puck out on your backhand and slide it though a defender and then one-touch it off the (cross)bar and in was pretty impressive," Field said. "When he's at his best he's hunting pucks, he's being heavy, and he's being physical. That allows him to get the puck, but he's underrated in terms of his puck skills. That goal he scored was a big-time play."
Stevens' parents, Scott and Lori, attended the game, but neither knew if Ryan would be in the lineup.
"To walk around that corner and see him warming up before the game was quite an emotional moment," Scott Stevens said. "There's no better way to start off his collegiate career than the game he had -- and burying the U of A in the process. I took some personal satisfaction in that."
Like most of ASU's players, Stevens will have to adjust to the speed of the Division I game, beginning with this weekend's long road trip against Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks.
Stevens is excited for the road ahead, however -- the actual one and the metaphorical one.
"It's one of those things where you can look back and tell your kids and grandkids you were part of the very first hockey team at ASU," he said. "Guys go to Boston College and to Michigan - teams that have been around for decades. To be honest, those guys are just another stat in those programs. I'm part of the very first team that ever played hockey at ASU.
"I know success isn't guaranteed but I think we're going to be very good and I know this place will be a powerhouse one day."