Dallas Star's Steve Begin and His Hockey Career

Steve Begin is one of the Dallas Star's newest players, but he has had quite a career before the Stars. Steve Begin was born in Trois-Riviere in Quebec, Canada on June 14, 1978 making him a very new thirty-one years old. Steve Begin's road to the NHL starts in the 1995-1996 hockey season, when he played with the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League), which is one of the three leagues that makes up the CHL (Canadian Hockey League). Begin was drafted by the Calgary Flames in 1996, 40th overall, but remained with the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the QMJHL for the 1996-1997 season.

Steve Begin moved too the Saint John Flames in the AHL (American Hockey League), which is the Calgary Flames affiliate AHL team, during the 1996-1997 season but did not actually play any games with them. During the 1997-1998 season, Steve Begin returned to the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the QJMHL and played most of the season with them, until he was called up by the Calgary Flames to play in the NHL. He only played five games with the Flames that season. After his debut in the NHL, Steve Begin was placed back with the Saint John Flames in the AHL for the 1998-1999. He played the majority of the 1999-2000 season with the Saint John Flames but was called up to play for Calgary for thirteen games. At the beginning of the 2000-2001 season, Begin was again playing the the Saint John Flames and was once again called up by the Calgary Flames to play in the NHL towards the end of the season. This time, he only got to play four games with the Calgary Flames before the season ended. During his 2000-2001 season in the AHL, his team won the Calder Cup, which is the equivalent to the Stanley Cup in the AHL. Begin was also awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy which is given to the most valuable player of the playoffs.

In the 2001-2002 season, Steve Begin finally got to play a full season in the NHL with the Calgary Flames. Steve Begin also spent the next season with the Calgary Flames. In the 2003-2004 season, Steve Begin moved on to the Montreal Canadiens. After spending one season with the Montreal Canadiens, Steve Begin was moved down to the Canadien's affiliate AHL team, the Hamilton Bulldogs for the entire 2004-2005 season. That was Begin's last season in the AHL. In the 2005-2006 season, the Montreal Canadiens called him back up and he played a full season with them. Steve Begin remained with the Montreal Canadiens for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons, and part of the 2008-2009 season. Steve Begin was traded to the Dallas Stars in the 2008-2009 season before the trade deadline.

ref-www.nhl.com