It can be a terrifying proposition for a defenseman retreating deep into the zone to retrieve a puck, knowing Vegas’ Mark Stone is on his heels.
The defenseman makes his routine shoulder check with a quick twist of the head, glancing behind him to survey where Stone is, before turning back toward the boards to gather the puck. That’s when Stone makes his move.
By the time the defenseman looks up again, Stone isn’t where he anticipated he’d be. It’s like walking through a haunted funhouse filled with mirrors, and before you know what’s happening, Stone has already stolen the puck and it’s in the back of your net.
“He’s a bit of a ghost that way, when it comes to his forecheck ability,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said of Stone. “It’s almost like he’s inside the head of the defenseman going back on the puck. He’s angling one way, and then all of a sudden he’s in the right spot when the puck moves and that’s why he’s able to pick them off.”
Stone’s rigid, abbreviated skating stride is the biggest reason he wasn’t drafted until the sixth round in 2010, but his brilliant hockey mind processes situations on the ice fast enough to more than make up for it.
“He doesn’t always look the flashiest out there, or the fastest, but he plays fast,” said Sharks star defenseman Erik Karlsson, who played with Stone for six seasons in Ottawa.
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