Mark Stone (ice hockey)

Mark Stone (born May 13, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). A right winger, he was selected by the Senators in the sixth round, 178th overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He tied Johnny Gaudreau to lead all NHL rookies in scoring during the 2014–15 season with 64 points and received a nomination for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie.

Playing career

Junior

After a season WITH the Winnipeg Thrashers of the Manitoba Midget 'AAA' Hockey League, in which he competed in the 2008 Telus Cup,^[1] Stone began his major junior career with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2008–09. He recorded 39 points (17 goals and 22 assists) over 56 games, tying for 12th in WHL rookie scoring.^[2] During the 2009 playoffs, he added four points (one goal and three assists) over 12 games. The following season began with Stone ranked in the top 50 on several major scouting lists for the upcoming 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Suffering a concussion and thumb injury during the season, he was limited to 28 points (11 goals and 17 assists) over 39 games, hindering his final draft ranking among scouts.^[3] Healthy during the playoffs, he competed in all the Wheat Kings' 15 contests, recording a goal and three assists. Although the Wheat Kings were eliminated in the WHL Conference Finals, they advanced to the 2010 Memorial Cup by way of having been chosen as the host team at the beginning of the year. Playing in the semi-final against the Calgary Hitmen, Stone competed opposite his older brother, Michael.^[4] The Wheat Kings beat the Hitmen in dramatic fashion to advance to the Memorial Cup Final, which they lost to the Windsor Spitfires; Stone had no points in five tournament games. During the off-season, he was selected in the sixth round, 178th overall, by the Ottawa Senators in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Stone was scouted as a power forward with weak skating.^[3]

Stone appeared in his first NHL training camp in September 2010 and was returned to junior for the subsequent season. Playing in his third WHL campaign, Stone emerged with 106 points (37 goals and 69 assists) over 71 games, first on his team and third in League scoring.^[5] His performance earned him a spot on the WHL East First All-Star Team at the end of the year.^[6] During the post-season, Stone recorded 10 points over six games as the Wheat Kings were eliminated in the first round. Returning to the Senators' training camp for the second year, he was signed to a three-year, entry level contract before being sent back to the Wheat Kings for the 2011–12 season. Back in junior, Stone was named Brandon's new team captain,^[3] replacing Shayne Wiebe,^[7] who had turned professional.^[8] Cory Clouston, the Senators' head coach from Stone's first training camp with the team, had been fired and became the Wheat Kings' new coach. He praised Stone as an intelligent hockey player and for improving his core strength from the previous year. During the season, he was selected to compete for Team WHL against the Russian under-20 select squad in the 2011 Subway Super Series. He recorded a goal and an assist in one of the contests on November 17, 2011, to be named the player of the game.^[3] In December 2011, Stone was chosen as one of 16 nominees for the 54th annual H. L. (Krug) Crawford Memorial Award for sporting excellence in southwestern Manitoba.^[9]

Stone concluded his junior career following the 2011–12 season by being named the winner of the Brad Hornung Trophy as the WHL's most sportsmanlike player, after finishing the season as the League's second-leading scorer with 123 points and being named an Eastern Conference First Team All-Star.^[10]

Professional

On 20 April 2012 the Ottawa Senators announced that Stone would be joining the team and would likely make his NHL debut for the Senators on 21 April in Game 5 of their first round playoff series against the New York Rangers.^[11] Stone did indeed play, recording an assist on the winning goal scored by Jason Spezza.^[12] Stone made his NHL regular season debut nearly a year later, on 6 March 2013, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He scored his first NHL goal on 4 January 2014 against Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens. Stone split the 2013–14 season between Ottawa and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, recording four goals and eight points in 19 NHL games.

Stone made the Senators' opening night lineup for the 2014–15 season and subsequently enjoyed success on the all-rookie "Kid Line" along with Mike Hoffman and Curtis Lazar. That offensive success resulted in the Senators announcing on 7 November 2014 that Stone would be staying with the NHL club for the remainder of the season.^[13] As the season progressed, Stone became one of Ottawa's top-six forwards, scoring 16 goals and 43 points in his first 62 games and receiving mention as a Calder Memorial Trophy candidate as the NHL's top rookie. He led all NHL players in scoring after the 2015 all-star break. Stone ended the 2014–15 season tied for the rookie scoring lead with the Calgary Flames' Johnny Gaudreau, with 64 points (26 goals, 38 assists) in 80 games, along with leading the league in takeaways (95).^[14] However, on 15 April Stone suffered a fractured wrist from a slash by Montreal player P.K. Subban. Subban was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct as a result.^[15] Despite the injury, Stone appeared in all of the Senators' post-season games against the Canadiens, achieving four assists in six games, although the Senators ultimately lost the series.

On 23 April 2015 Stone was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy, though he ultimately finished second in voting to Florida Panthers' defenseman Aaron Ekblad.^[16] On 25 June 2015 Stone signed a three-year contract with the Senators worth an average annual value of $3.5 million, with former Senators general manager Bryan Murray calling Stone "one of [the team's] better players, if not one of the best."^[17]

Stone appeared in most of the Senators' games during the 2015–16 season, amassing 61 points across 75 games. Stone lead the league in takeaways for the second straight season and was one of the best-performing players after the All-Star Game break.^[18] On a 30 March game against the Winnipeg Jets, Dustin Byfuglien delivered a devastating bodycheck to Stone that forced Stone to immediately leave the ice for concussion tests.^[19] Though Stone returned to the ice later that game, he would not appear in the remaining games of the season and expressed disappointment at allowing himself to get hit in the first place.^[20] Stone's performance during the season resulted in Team Canada contacting him regarding a possible spot on both the 2016 World Championship and 2016 World Cup of Hockey rosters.^[21]

International play

Medal record
Representing Canada
Ice hockey
IIHF World Championship
	2016 Russia
World Junior Championships
	2012 Canada

Stone was selected to Canada's junior team for the 2012 World Junior Championships, held in Alberta. He began the tournament with a hat trick and an assist in the first contest, an 8–1 win against Finland, and consequently was named Canada's player of the game.^[22] After losing their semi-final against Russia, Canada beat Finland to win the bronze medal.^[23] Finishing the tournament with a team-leading seven goals and ten points,^[24] Stone was named one of Canada's three best players, as selected by the coaches.

Stone was named to Team Canada at the 2016 World Championships, where he won a gold medal.

Personal life

Stone was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to parents Rob and Jackie. He attended Westwood Collegiate High School.^[25] His older brother, Michael, also plays in the NHL as a defenceman with the Arizona Coyotes. The two have competed against each other in the WHL as well as in the 2010 Memorial Cup, as Michael played for the Calgary Hitmen.^[4] The two played against each other at the NHL level for the first time on 31 January 2015 as the Senators defeated the Coyotes 7–2.^[26]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2012	Canada	WJC	03 !		6	7	3	10	2
2016	Canada	WC	01 !		10	4	6	10	6
Senior totals					10	4	6	10	6
Junior totals					6	7	3	10	2

Awards and honours

• 2010–11 WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team^[6]
• 2011–12 WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team^[27]
• 2011–12 Brad Hornung Trophy recipient — WHL

References

External links

• Mark Stone's WHL Profile
• Mark Stone's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Mark Stone's EliteProspects.com Profile