Game On Magazine 2017 Nov Game On low res | Page 43

THERE’S
NO PLACE
LIKE
BY CARTER BROOKS
Photos by Jeff Miller and James Carey Lauder
There is no place like home for Michael Stone.
But where is home? If you look at his birth
certificate, it will tell you that Winnipeg
is his hometown. After playing his minor
hockey within the city limits, Stone was
drafted in the fourth round of the 2005
Western Hockey League Bantam Draft by the
Calgary Hitmen. After bantam and midget
hockey with the St. James Canadians and
the Winnipeg Hawks came to an end, the
defenseman made the jump to junior hockey.
It was in Calgary – as a member of the
WHL’s Hitmen – where Stone really found
his game. Never playing less than 55 games
a season, Stone’s point and penalty minute
totals grew progressively over the course of
his four-year WHL career. He quietly captured
the eyes of NHL scouts with his strong and
rugged offensively defensive styled game.
In 2008, the then Phoenix Coyotes took a
shot at the Winnipegger and drafted him in
the third round of that year’s NHL Entry Draft.
By the time the 2009-10 WHL season came
to a close, the ‘Yotes knew that they would
be getting a very well-rounded defenseman.
While playing with the Hitmen, Stone had
a reliable goaltender behind h