Inviting Kevin Stevens to Penguins development camp this week was hardly a last-minute decision. It had been in the works for months.
Late in the regular season, Penguins director of player development Mark Recchi had taken notice of Stevens’ turnaround in life and began kicking the idea around with hockey operations assistant Erik Heasley.
The two figured that Stevens, if he was willing, would add a lot. Not only with hockey, but also with what Stevens has experienced during a large chunk of his life when he was addicted to painkillers.
“He’s obviously been through a lot,” Recchi explained.