Steven Stamkos: Hoping to Sting the Opposition

If irony could be defined in the OHL there would be no better example than Steven Stamkos being a member of the Sarnia Sting. Stamkos won the Jack Ferguson award this season given annually to the first overall pick in the OHL.

However it actually took the help of last year's "Fergie" award winner John Tavares to secure his draft position and destiny with the Sting.

It was only a year ago that John Tavares a member of the Oshawa Generals was given exceptional status and allowed to join the OHL earlier than his fellow peers, including Stamkos of players born in 1990. It was a stellar season for Tavares in which he took home Rookie-of-the-Year honours in both the OHL and the CHL on the strength of 45 goals and 77 points.

Tavares managed to score his 45th goal in the final game of the season with a mere three seconds left to tie the game before a Dale Mitchell shootout winner gave the Generals one more victory than the Sting thus securing the Sting with the first overall pick.

The Sting, desperate for offense wasted no time selecting Stamkos. They finished the season with 197 goals and only the lowly Mississauga Ice Dogs scored less with 192.

Stamkos was an offensive dynamo for the OHL Cup winning Markham Waxers scoring 109 goals and notching 208 points in 72 games this season.

"I wanted to have a great season personally and with the team and I think we accomplished that" says the right handed center Stamkos. "Winning the OHL Cup was great and it was a definite bonus to go first overall."

His accolades were worthy of the selection. He managed to secure top player honours in two of the major minor midget tournaments, the Marlie Showcase and the OHL Cup. Traditionally most if not all OHL scouts and GM's are in attendance for these events and players know how important it is to make a positive impression. Stamkos gave them plenty to talk about with his sheer dominance in the Marlie Showcase. He led the tournament in scoring with 21 points and was the only player to register double digit goal figures with 12 in eight games solidifying his status as the top prospect of his age group. His follow up performance a few months later at the OHL Cup where he took home MVP honours leading the tournament in scoring with 11 points in five games was also impressive. Helping his team win the OHL Cup put an exclamation point on a tremendously successful season that saw the Waxers go undefeated in the both the regular season and the playoffs.

That was all the assurance Sting GM Alan Millar needed to make him a player for the organization to build around.

"I really didn't expect all this" admits Stamkos. "I trained really hard in the off season and I think it paid off for myself. My teammates played a huge role and I can't stress how effective our coaching staff was for us to accomplish such team goals."

Stamkos next goal is to rescue a team that has not made the playoffs in two seasons. The Sting did manage to add many pieces to their rebuilding program as they had three picks in the top two rounds this season. Along with Stamkos the Sting added hulking blueliner Dalton Prout and goalie of the future Peter DiSalvo, both players management feel will have an immediate impact. Add to the mix quality young players such as Mark Katic, Jared Gomes and Harrison Reed and the Sting seem to be heading in the right direction.

"The whole thing is new for me, I recently went down there for the mini camps" says Stamkos who looked impressive playing alongside Gomes. "It has been a dream to play in the OHL and Sarnia has a great organization that is blessed with many young players. Hopefully next year one of our goals is to make the playoffs and I am really looking forward to it."

Stamkos is a natural! His patience with the puck, puck handling and finishing skills will be a welcome addition to the Sting line up and he will be a player newly named coach Dave MacQueen will rely heavily on. Simply put Stamkos has done everything at this point to prove that he belongs to play in the OHL and should see plenty of ice time come next season.

"Obviously if I am going to be successful I am going to have to bulk up over the summer and add some good lower body strength" states the 5'11, 160 pound Stamkos. "Another area of concern for me is to play effective defence because I feel you can't be a liability in that area of the ice."

While Stamkos concentrates on achieving his OHL dreams those are not his only goals he has set for the upcoming season. He is currently competing along with 84 other Ontario born players for a roster spot on the Under 17 Ontario Team. The final roster will be selected in mid November for the Canada Winter games being held in Whitehorse from February 24th to March 3rd and Stamkos eagerly wants to make the team. Making this team Stamkos understands is an essential stepping stone for Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence and could lead to representing his country in future events such as the Under 18 Team and possibly the World Juniors.

"I feel that I have played well this week" comments Stamkos of his performance of the three day evaluation camps. "It is a great opportunity to meet and play with the best in the province and I am hoping I impressed the coaching staff enough with my play to make the final cuts."

Stamkos has always been able to produce at any age level he has played at. He faces his biggest challenge in trying to turn around the fortunes of a team that not too long ago sat on top of the Western Division standings but has since fallen to the basement of the league. Fans will look to Stamkos to be the saviour of their once proud organization. Stamkos has managed to keep things into prospective and not get too swept up by the media hype and pressure that surrounds him.

"I wouldn't say I am a saviour" says a modest Stamkos. "I am thrilled that I am the number one pick and that I might be able to step in and help an organization. As far as putting pressure on myself to succeed that is not something I have ever done. I know what I have to do and what I am capable off and if I play a strong team game hopefully all goes well."

For Sting management and fans hopefully all goes well like it did for last year's "Fergie" award winner and maybe the Sting may be in a position next season to better some other team's draft position by improving their record in the process.