| Stephen Halliday | Dubuque Fighting Saints | USHL | L | F | 6’3″ | 220 | North Dakota | 2021 | Glenwood, MD | 2002 | 2020-2021: F/A |
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, January 2021: Stephen is a highly skilled forward with the body of a power forward and the mind of a deft play maker. He sees plays developing early and has the touch to put passes into very tight areas. Honestly, skill wise he has every thing it will take to be an NHLer. To earn a pay check he’s going to have to continue developing his explosiveness and consistency away from the puck. I feel that’s happening more this year and I think North Dakota will be a phenomenal place for him. The daily competition from his teammates will make him better.
USHL: Dubuque vs Muskegon, January 2, 2021: Halliday is a big body forward that has good hands and offensive instincts. He uses his size and strength well in the offensive zone, winning puck battles and doing a great job of shielding the puck from defenders. He displayed some good offensive instincts in this game, creating chances and scoring a goal for the Fighting Saints. On his goal Halliday ripped a hard, accurate shot from the top of the circles. He was able to shoot the puck just past an oncoming shotblocker and through traffic in front to pick the top corner on the far side of the net. It was a really nice shot from Halliday that helped establish Dubuque’s dominance on the powerplay for the rest of the net. Halliday also had some nice passes in the offensive zone, showing off his vision as well. Overall, he has solid offensive instincts and abilities, which he used well in this game for Dubuque. Grade: A-
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, July 2020: (1) Brain – Gifted offensively. He feels pressure and moves easily to create space for himself or his teammates. He has excellent anticipation and consistently moves to where the puck is going rather than where it was. (2) Vision & Poise – Very high end. Patience and no panic point. Sometimes it can get him in trouble, but the positives out weigh the negatives. (3) Feet – Stephen will need to continue developing foot speed and explosiveness. This area is a weakness, but at 6’3 220lbs we feel his explosiveness will develop while at the University of North Dakota. (4) Compete & Effort – We’ve noted that as the year has gone on his compete and willingness to extend wall play as improved. (5) Contact or Physicality – Is strong along the wall and can be a force while cycling. Has no issues being the net front presence on the power play. (6) Release – Quick, accurate and in stride. His first touch is elite and he handles poor passes with ease. (7) One Timer Ability – Again, Stephen has very good hands and his one timer is a weapon. He has an expanded shooting zone and hits the net on any type of pass. (8) Body Language – We have seen him slam a few sticks after plays have not gone his way, but that really doesn’t bother us. (9) Special Teams Potential – He has power play written all over him. He is big enough to be a net front, skilled and smart enough to run the goal line or mid-wall. (10) Intangibles – We love that he is going to North Dakota. He will be around highly motivated draft picks who want to play at the highest level.
OHL Gold Cup: Top 40, May 2018: Halliday played a quiet up and down the wing game most of the tournament and busted out in the finals. Halliday was dominant in the finals and a key offensive catalyst enabling Blue’s top offensive players. Halliday showed good play along the boards and a better forecheck this tournament. There were times this season the big framed forward looked slow off the mark. In the finals of the Gold Cup and he was in our view one of the top forwards in the game.
Marlies Holiday Classic, February 2018: High end power forward with skill, power, size and a great shot and an excellent reach. We have no doubt about the skills package and hockey IQ with Halliday. Would like to see him continue to develop an ability to use his size and strength on the forecheck and in the corners. We continue to enjoy Halliday’s unselfish play – he has a nice ability to find his linemates in good spots all over the ice.
GTHL 2017 Prospects All-Star Game, December 2017: Stephen used his reach and body well to create havoc on the forecheck and played on a dominant Marlies line in the game with Cam Peters and Riley Piercy. Halliday plays a very unselfish game and does a number of small things well to create space for his linemates. He created or helped develop good scoring chances in the good areas of the ice on most shifts.
Wendy Dufton, October 2017: No doubt about his skillset and smooth skating ability. We really liked how he limited the turnovers and played a smarter puck possession game. Halliday was unselfish setting up a back door tap ins and finding linemates when they were open. He moves well for big winger and was very difficult to knock off the puck.