The first trade of the Bob Murray era is complete.
And it's a little one, sending Joakim Lindstrom to the Phoenix Coyotes for defenseman Logan Stephenson. As trades involving two AHL players go, this is notable if only for the fact that Lindstrom was the Iowa Chops' leading scorer (7 goals, 21 points in 21 games). Stephenson is a defensive-minded former second-round draft pick, and he might not have been targeted were it not for Francois Beauchemin's injury that forced Brett Festerling up the ladder into the NHL.
Lindstrom has a good chance of reaching the NHL with the offensively-challenged Coyotes.
From the Ducks:
Stephenson, 22, appeared in 19 contests with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL) this season, collecting 1-1=2 points with 40 penalty minutes (PIM). The 6-3, 205-pound blueliner collected 3-5=8 points with 90 PIM in 2006-07. His three goals that season were a career high.
Selected by Phoenix in the second round (35th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Stephenson played in 249 career Western Hockey League (WHL) games from 2002-06, earning 19-66=85 points with 481 PIM. He was named to the WHL Western Conference Second All-Star Team in 2005-06, setting career highs in all major statistical categories. He finished that season ranked tied for third among WHL defensemen in assists (43) and tied for fifth in points (53) and PIM (162). Stephenson also represented Team WHL in both the 2004 and 2005 ADT Canada-Russia Challenges.
About J.P.
J.P. Hoornstra has been covering the Anaheim Ducks since 2007. Eight months after the University of Wisconsin won its third NCAA hockey championship, he was born in a frigid Madison winter. He betrayed his blue-blooded beginnings by graduating from UCLA in 2003, and welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
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