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Of all the important lessons Steven Stamkos learned during his rookie season in the NHL, there is one that stands out most for the Tampa Bay Lightning centre.
“It was the ability to deal with adversity, especially early in the season,” Stamkos said yesterday at the MTS Centre, before signing autographs to promote an NHL pre-season game between the Lightning and Edmonton Oilers that will take place Sept. 24 at the MTS Centre. “I really hadn’t had to deal with much adversity and I’d been fortunate to play with teams where I got a chance and an opportunity and things well right away.
“Last year was a true character test for myself and showed I really want to be a good player in this league in how hard I worked. It was real tough, I’m not going to lie and say it was easy. You start to have doubts in your mind about whether you should be here (the NHL) and whether you’re a good enough player.”
Things didn’t exactly start smoothly for the first overall selection in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
In the early stages of the campaign, Stamkos was used sparingly by head coach Barry Melrose, who was fired after just 16 games.
Enduring those struggles helped him as the season wore on and Stamkos finished strong, putting up 19 points over his final 20 games to finish with 23 goals and 23 assists for 46 points.
Stamkos’ finish was rewarded with an invitation to represent Canada at the IIHF World Championship and he continued his improved play, putting up seven goals and 11 points in nine games while playing on a line with Lightning teammate Martin St. Louis.
Those experiences give his confidence an obvious boost heading into his sophomore season.
“That was big, I got an opportunity to play a lot of minutes toward the end of the season and proved I can be a point producer in this league,” said Stamkos, who has added about eight pounds of muscle this summer while training with Gary Roberts. “(The season) ended on the right foot and hopefully I can continue on that same (path).”
There’s no guarantee Stamkos will be in the lineup on Sept. 24, but he’d love the chance to strut his stuff in Winnipeg.
“Any chance to play in Canada, I’ll jump right on it and I’ll be the first one to volunteer if it’s up in the air like that,” said Stamkos. “Obviously, there’s a rich hockey tradition here and hopefully we can put on a good show for the fans. The Winnipeg Jets were a little before my time, but seeing highlights and being a pretty big hockey fan, I know there were some pretty good players here.
“You never know, maybe one day a team will be back in the NHL here.”
Tickets for the NHL pre-season are on sale to the general public beginning today at all TicketMaster locations.