2008 potential #1 pick, Steve Stamkos, all but forgotten

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/08/06/meet-stamkos/

Meet Steve Stamkos. He was a week from his 17th birthday when he scored this goal, a nifty little dangle in the OHL all-star game skills competition back in January.

We certainly heard enough predraft talk about super prospects like Alex Ovechkin, Sid Crosby and John Tavares, all seen as No. 1-overall locks for years leading up to the 2004, 2005 and 2009 drafts. The 2008 draft, to this point, hasn't received a ton of coverage, but it's on record as being a deep pool of talent.

[boomer 0]

That was a sick goal. I tried to do that once in practice but instead of me scoring i went crashing into the boards.

[cammerz12 0]

i thnk robbie schremp might have satrted that one

[mik3 1]

i thnk robbie schremp might have satrted that one

Doubt it, since it's something that's been around for a while. It's still great to see at regular speed though.

[TCsnipes9 0]

While I have no clue who "started" that move, it is associated with Robbie because most people have seen the video of HIM doing it.

[hawks19 0]

Steven's a great guy too, I played against him back in pee-wee, in Quebec, and again when he was playing midget AAA in Markham. And that goal is pretty sick, doesn't really matter who "did it" first, whoever has the skill, and guts to pull that off, is quite talented to me.

[Patrick67 1]

I saw a Bruins prospect do that move, actually think it was in the same (AHL all-star??) shootout competition Shremp did some moves in.

[Cavs019 708]

Any idiot draft pick can do these moves, why do people see a video of a guy doing a through the legs behind the back no-look shot and assume he's the next Gretzky. Give me a video of the guy ripping a snapper crossbar and in on a two on one and I'll be impressed.

[trevor13478 1]

Any idiot draft pick can do these moves, why do people see a video of a guy doing a through the legs behind the back no-look shot and assume he's the next Gretzky. Give me a video of the guy ripping a snapper crossbar and in on a two on one and I'll be impressed.

did anybody say this kid was the next gretzky? people are just saying he is a potential number one, and i'm sure that this one dangle is not the only reason.

[Cavs019 708]

I'm generalizing. Robbie Schremp is "good" because he can do lacrosse moves on the ice, when in reality he is looking like a bust in-game.

[Jason 65]

I agree with Cavs. This stuff impresses me less than it used too. If guys can use this stuff effectively in a game situation then it interests me more. I appreciate the skill it takes to pull moves like this off, but it says nothing about where a player will go in the draft or how good a player will turn out to be. I bet Tavares goes higher than Stamkos.

[Wayne 0]

Why aren't David Leadbetter or Butch Harmon winning major championships left and right? Or why arnt the Harlem Globetrotters players in the NBA? Its the same sort of thing.

[LkptTiger 1]

Any idiot draft pick can do these moves

Why limit it to draft picks? I see a lot of kids (most of whom aren't very good hockey players) doing this kind of stuff on the ice every day.

I bet Tavares goes higher than Stamkos.

They're not in the same draft class - we'll see Steve on the board next summer, but Johnny won't be drafted until 2009.

[chippa13 1844]

I saw a Bruins prospect do that move, actually think it was in the same (AHL all-star??) shootout competition Shremp did some moves in.

The B's prospect was Matt Lashoff during the AHL skills competition.

[ThePurpleCobra 0]

Just picked to Captain team Canada U-18's

http://tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/news_story/?...13&hubname=

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Any idiot draft pick can do these moves, why do people see a video of a guy doing a through the legs behind the back no-look shot and assume he's the next Gretzky. Give me a video of the guy ripping a snapper crossbar and in on a two on one and I'll be impressed.

I just posted it, there is a fairly lengthy article in the link, because he has been completely overlooked

Look at the previous drafts

04-Ovechkin - hype

05-Crosby - mega hype

06-Johnson - USA born pronger type D-man hype

07-Kane/Van Riemsdyk - US #1/2 for the first time ever hype

08-Oh, the tavares draft is next year hype

09-Tavares hype

I for one, in the dead of hockey season, enjoy reading about prospects, and thought I would put up the story about next years probable #1 pick.

The goal is nice, but it's not why I made the link

[Jarick 5]

04-Ovechkin - hype

Let's be honest, he's a great power forward on a terrible team who hit a sophomore slump. We'll see what happens this season.

05-Crosby - mega hype

Yeah but he's got the hardware to back it up. An argument can be made that he saved his hockey team at the age of 19.

06-Johnson - USA born pronger type D-man hype

I don't know much about defensemen, but this looked to be a safe pick. He looked okay with the U but I think he needs a couple years before he's ready.

07-Kane/Van Riemsdyk - US #1/2 for the first time ever hype

08-Oh, the tavares draft is next year hype

09-Tavares hype

Too early to tell and the Tavares hype is limited only to the hard-core hockey fans.

I think the Robbie Schremp video fiasco showed that being a stunt man and being a great NHL player are two different things. Otherwise Sean Skinner would be winning trophies left and right.

[trevor13478 1]

My lacrosse skill is a prime example of stunt man and good player are totaly different. I can beat anybody on our varsity team in a stick trick off, however i'm still playing JV my junior year.

[Cavs019 708]

92 points is a sophomore slump Jarick?

[Patrick67 1]

Yeah I had the same thought... if 92points is a Ovechkin slump things are looking pretty good for the Caps in the coming seasons.

[Jarick 5]

Well compared to Crosby. If you were expecting both of them to build off their first season...although his goals, assists, and +/- all dropped off.

Admittedly I don't really watch the East so I didn't hear much about Ovie except for his cold streak last season.

So his sophomore mini-slump I guess.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

Well compared to Crosby. If you were expecting both of them to build off their first season...although his goals, assists, and +/- all dropped off.

Admittedly I don't really watch the East so I didn't hear much about Ovie except for his cold streak last season.

So his sophomore mini-slump I guess.

You can't really compare the two, though god knows the media tries.

They play completely different styles of game, different position, and Pittsburgh were about 2 years ahead of the caps in the rebuild process.

Ovechkin got 106 points and 92 points in his first two seasons, playing with a RW at center (zubrus) and a 3rd liner (clark) on his RW.

This year he has a playmaker and a big body who can finish, when he plays hard (nylander and kozlov, although I would keep clark on the top line, he developed his scoring touch in close and is defensively respoinsible, I'm a big clark fan).

I would expect ovechkin to top 50 goals and 100 points this year.

I don't think he will outscore crosby in terms of points anytime in the next 10 years, because crosby has the vision and the skill to be a great playmaking center. Ovechkin will always be a finisher.

Anyway, the purpose of this thread was just to post a bit about next years top pick, not the 09 perhaps top pick

[TBLfan 25]

I've said it before, it's not the hands, not the stick skills and not the skating ability that makes a great NHLer. The only difference between most pros throughout the various leagues is how quick they can read the play and make adjustments in-game. Gretsky wasn't the fastest, he didn't have the best shot, he wasn't the best puckhandler but he anticipated the play better than anyone else. Give any pro player a few minutes and I'll bet that 90% of them can make the move. Give them 50 years of playing hockey and maybe 1% will ever anticipate as well as Gretsky did as a twenty something.

Of course there is the elite part of the NHL that have better overall skills than other leagues but there are players that have the skills but never manage to reach that elite level. Kovalev for example, is extremely talented but hasn't shown the ability to be as elite as his overall skill level would suggest he could.