Graves raves about Rangers center Stepan

Graves raves about Rangers center Stepan

Mel Evans/AP

The Rangers' Derek Stepan takes a shot against Brad Mills.

Adam Graves played junior hockey in the mid-’80s with a Minnesotan named Brad Stepan, and in the summer of 2008, Brad’s 18-year-old son entered the Rangers’ development camp.

Graves, whose No. 9 jersey hangs in the Garden rafters, watched Derek Stepan closely as a team adviser, especially curious since the organization had drafted his friend’s son 51st overall out of Shattuck-St. Mary’s High in Faribault, Minn.

He wasn’t sure at first what he saw.

“He was maybe 5-10 or 5-11, 150-160 pounds . . . and he kind of fit in but didn’t stand out at all,” Graves recalled Thursday in a phone interview. “He looked a little bit younger and not as strong or developed as some of the other young men at the camp.”

Then, as Graves put it, “the puck dropped.”

“After the first half of the first scrimmage, (Stepan) had scored a goal, had an assist and was in on every play, and it just hit you: He has excellent hockey skills, understands the game at both ends,” Graves said. “It was certainly an ‘I get it’ moment. Wow, this kid has a real hockey sense to him.”

Thursday night there stood Stepan, 22, in the Philadelphia visitors’ locker room, six-feet tall, 196 pounds, averaging more ice time per game this season than Marian Gaborik.

When the Rangers traded for Rick Nash, they refused to part with Stepan, shipping Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov to Columbus instead. Stepan may be the 10th highest-paid forward on the roster ($ 875,000), but he’ll be due a raise when his entry-level deal expires this summer.

In Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Flyers, John Tortorella played Stepan on the power play, five-on-three and penalty-kill units, all on top of his centering New York’s second line with wings Taylor Pyatt and Ryan Callahan. Only Nash (24:54) played more minutes than Stepan (21:42) at forward.

“It’s the next step in my development to make sure that I’m ready each night and I’m prepared to step into this role,” Stepan said, acknowledging the trust the Rangers ha ve placed in him and the pressure that accompanies it. “I can be successful at it. I’ve just got to make sure that each night I bring what got me here.”

What got him here is his play-making ability and his intelligence, and despite early inconsistency, Stepan still has three assists in four games. But that won’t be good enough this season with Tortorella shortening his bench due to a lack of depth and the Blueshirts (1-3-0) floundering early.

“The biggest thing is now that I’m getting these minutes, I’ve got to make sure I score a goal and try to help out in a positive way rather than just play the big minutes,” Stepan said.

Stepan had the Rangers’ best even-strength scoring chance against Philly in the second period and had a good look at Ilya Bryzgalov’s net again with 10:07 to play on the two-man advantage but couldn’t finish either time. Starting with Saturday night’s home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he’ll need to con vert some of those if he wants to continue playing heavy minutes.

Stepan’s father, Brad, was also a Rangers draft pick, 91st overall in the fifth round of the 1985 NHL draft. They are the first father-son combination to be Blueshirt draft picks, but Brad never made it to the show. Interestingly enough, however, Graves said there’s one thing he’ll never forget about Brad’s game while playing for the Windsor Spitfires from 1986 to ’88.

“The thing I remember about his dad is he could shoot a puck,” Graves said.

For the younger Stepan, then, maybe it’s a matter, of a quick call home.