Leipsic named WHL Player of the Week, Stepan named USHL Forward of the Week

Nashville Predators 2012 draft picks Brendan Leipsic and Zach Stepan earned player of the week honors in their respective leagues on Monday after each posting nine points in three games during the period which ended Nov. 25.

Leipsic, selected 89th overall (third round) in the draft last June, scored three goals and added six assists as his Portland Winterhawks went a perfect 3-0-0 to improve to 20-4-1 – tops in the WHL’s U.S. Division. Last Wednesday, the Winnipeg native assisted on all three Winterhawk goals in a 3-0 win over Vancouver, then Friday, he notched a pair of points (1g-1a) in a 4-2 victory against Kootenay. He finished the week off with his best offensive performance on the season – a four-point (2g-2a) effort in an 8-2 rout of Seattle.

Thanks to a 13-game point streak (12g-20a-32pts) – which includes a staggering 11 straight multi-point efforts – Leipsic is now tied for fourth among all WHL skaters in points and assists (15g-23a-38pts) and is tied for ninth in power-play goals (6).

Stepan, selected 112th overall (fourth round) last summer, shared USHL Forward of the Week honors with teammate Taylor Cammarata after amassing four goals and five assists for the Waterloo Black Hawks last week, who are now 14-5-0 and atop the USHL’s Western Conference. The Hastings, Minn., native started the week by posting three assists at Des Moines last Wednesday. He then notched his first career hat trick and assisted on Waterloo’s other goal in a 4-3 win over Cedar Rapids on Friday. On the back-end of a home-and-home with the RoughRiders, he extended his current point streak to nine games with a goal and an assist in a 7-3 win.

In 15 games this season, Stepan has been held off the scoresheet just once, ranking fourth in league goals, points and assists (12g-15a-27pts), as well as first in game-winning goals (5).