Fan In Van

Stamkos Bolting For T-Bay

Tampa Bay has drafted the highly touted Steven Stamkos two months before the NHL Entry Draft.

Yahoo! Sports has indicated that Tampa Bay has begun marketing Stamkos as if he has been drafted. They have created a website, “Seen Stamkos”, pretty much acting as if he is drafted and will make the team by next season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have already created a quasi-viral Web site titled “Seen Stamkos?” that pimps the credentials of the newbie while offering fans a chance to purchase tickets to “Meet the NHL’s No. 1 Draft Pick, Coming Soon to Hockey Bay, USA!”

A WHOIS search on the domain Seenstamkos.com reveals the Tampa Bay Lightning as the registrant, and April 17, 2008 as the registration date — 10 days after the team won the draft lottery and the chance to select Stamkos first overall this summer. Wow, they were able to find all of those YouTube videos and that link to an ESPN story that quickly?

I found this to be a little interesting and at the same time a little curious. Stamkos is a quality talent, there’s no doubt about that, and if I had the #1 pick, whether I was stacked on forwards or in desperate need of a talented defenceman, I would still take the Sarnia Sting’s pride and joy. Stamkos, while not of the Crosby/Ovechkin ilk, is still a franchise player you can build your team around.

But what’s got me curious is the fact that the Tampa Bay Lightning have already begun marketing this young star, and the guy hasn’t even put on a jersey yet. I don’t want to be a jinx, but I wouldn’t want to be marketing anyone (ala Fabian Brunnstrom with the Canucks) until I know for certain that player will be wearing that jersey come fall.

And let me tell you what irks me about all this. When Vincent Lecavalier became the #1 draft pick in 1997, he had a similar build-up to that of Stamkos. People hailed him as the saviour of Tampa Bay hockey, and 7 years later he helped them win the Stanley Cup. Tampa Bay’s previous owner Art Williams announced when Lecavalier was drafted that Lecavalier was going to become “the Michael Jordan of hockey”. This statement came from an owner who had never even seen a full-length hockey game.

So let’s get back to Stamkos. Do you see a similarity here? Lecavalier had to deal with that statement for the first five years of his life before he developed into one of the elite players of the game today. Those expectations, those requirements and demands of Tampa hockey fans could come crashing down on Stamkos if they market him similar to that of Lecavalier.

I’m hoping that Tampa Bay doesn’t market Stamkos like he’s the second coming of Sidney Crosby. Those expectations can turn Stamkos from a franchise talent to the next Alexandre Daigle.