Stamkos' Continuing Development

The Continuation of the Development of Steven Stamkos

It’s been a while since I sat down and watched a full Tampa Bay match…mostly due to the completely bland performances I had seen this season thus far. There was something, however, that lured me to watch them play Florida on Saturday. That ‘something’ of course was the hope that somehow and some way Tampa could lay a severe beating on a Horton and McCabe-less team.

As with most Tampa Bay games I watched through my partially opened fingers…fearing mostly Ramo and his historically average performance between the pipes.

After watching the game enter overtime and a subsequent shootout I couldn’t help but think about Steven Stamkos. Only a few weeks ago I was denouncing him and stating he would never be a ‘face of franchise’ player. Something certainly changed my opinion on Saturday night.

Back in May 2004 I distinctly remember, following an out-of-character fight with Iginla, that this was merely the “continuation of the development of Vincent Lecavalier.” How true that statement was. It is one, I think, that Steven Stamkos will also receive for as long as Vinny did.

While Stamkos has always been upbeat and positive about his rookie year, the numbers don’t lie. Look back to All-Star break Stamkos had 6G and 12A, that is now 14G and 20A. He had been approaching dangerous territory and running the risk of been tarnished with the same draft-bust brush as current Tampa Bay GM Brian Lawton.

So where did the change come? What has made his development come on in leaps and bounds? Before we look forward, let’s look back a little.

You certainly can’t ignore Barry Melrose in affecting Stamkos’ start in a negative way. In his first seven games Stamkos played an average of 11.10 minutes of ice time and produced nil points! While he never let on that he had a problem with his ice time, it was clearly Melrose’s prerogative to play Stamkos as little as possible. He later said that the team had been guilty of subjecting Stamkos to the rigours of the NHL before he was ready. His belief being that Stamkos should have remained in Sarnia in the safety of the Juniors.

The promotion of Tocchet, after a 16 game stint as coach by Melrose, certainly played a meaningful role in a turn around. Stamkos said back in December that Tocchet had a lot of confidence in him, even when Melrose was running the show. The increase in ice time and the opportunity to get out on the point on the powerplay in an ‘actions speak louder than words’ decision by Tocchet must have inspired a great deal of confidence in Stamkos.

Similarly on hearing of Stamkos been a healthy scratch in January for the first time, you can’t help but think that this was also an attempt to inspirea bit of confidence in him. It was (sensibly) suggested that Stamkos needed to get stronger, particularly in his lower body so as to increase his speed and strength. Was this the way Tampa or Stamkos anticipated his rookie season going? Absolutely not! Is it a necessary element of his development? Absolutely! Tampa Bay has assured the he will be given games off sporadically through what is left of the season. A sensible move for his improving rookie season.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is this…Stamkos’ NHL career started off a rocky one. He was dealt a sore deal with the turmoil in Tampa Bay, what with the over-hyped PR campaign and the coaching change. I for one, rather shamefully, was ready to write Stamkos off as another draft bust far too prematurely. In light of his recent swift progress, he clearly just needed the right balance of elements.

Let us not forget a very young Lecavalier having an equally tumultuous pass into the NHL, along with the added pressure of the ‘C’ being slapped on him at 19 years of age and his early problems with Tortorella. Vinny was still being described as being in development at 24 years old, and he turned into a world class player. Development of rookies in the NHL, by it’s very nature, is marked by it’s unpredictability. We do not, therefore, need to worry about this rookies’ turbulent road to proficient NHL star.