Quick Facts
Biography
Steven Michael Santini (born March 7, 1995) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing for the Milwaukee Admirals in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the Nashville Predators in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey team of the NCAA Hockey East conference. Santini was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the 2nd round (42nd overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Amateur
As a youth, Santini played in the 2008 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the New York Rangers minor ice hockey team.
Santini was rated as a top prospect who had been projected as a first round selection of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He trained with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program team from 2011 to 2013, and won a Silver Medal with Team USA at the 2013 IIHF World U18 Championships where he was named the tournament's best defenseman.
In his first season at Boston College, Santini earned his role as a top-4 defensemen with the Eagles, garnering a reputation as a hard-hitting, shut-down defenseman, while also producing 3 goals and 11 points on the season. He was named to Hockey East's All-Rookie team. He also played at the 2014 World Juniors for the United States.
Santini started his sophomore campaign paired with freshman Noah Hanifin as the top-2 defenseman for the Eagles, however, he only played in four games to start the season before being shut down due to a wrist injury. He underwent surgery, missed 16 games and returned to the lineup after the New Year's break.
He scored one goal and assisted on 19 as a junior, while helping the BC Eagles to a Frozen Four appearance where they fell short to Quinnipiac.
Professional
He signed a three-year entry level deal with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League on April 9, 2016. He played his first NHL game later that night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Santini scored his first NHL point in his 2016–17 NHL debut, during a 3-0 win over the Boston Bruins on January 2, 2017. He scored his first NHL goal on January 12, 2017, against the Edmonton Oilers, due to a puck deflecting off his elbow. The Devils ended up losing in overtime 3–2.
As a restricted free agent, Santini signed a three-year, $4.25 million contract with the Devils on August 14, 2018.
On June 22, 2019, Santini was traded by the Devils along with prospect Jeremy Davies and draft picks to the Nashville Predators in exchange for P. K. Subban.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2009–10 | Brewster Bulldogs | EmJHL | 17 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | New York Apple Core | EJHL | 44 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 36 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | U.S. National Development Team | USHL | 25 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Boston College | HE | 35 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Boston College | HE | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Boston College | HE | 41 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 38 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Albany Devils | AHL | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 35 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 36 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Binghamton Devils | AHL | 27 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 39 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Binghamton Devils | AHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 54 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||
| NHL totals | 116 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | United States | U17 |  | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | |
| 2013 | United States | WJC18 | | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014 | United States | WJC | 5th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2016 | United States | WC | 4th | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 17 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 20 | ||||
| Senior totals | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-Hockey East Rookie Team | 2013–14 | |
| Hockey East Best Defensive Defenseman | 2015–16 | |
| International | ||
| IIHF World U18 Championship Best Defenseman | 2013 | |