Steven Stamkos (born February 7, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a forward and alternate captain for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Stamkos was selected first overall in the 2008 NHL entry draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stamkos holds the Lightning franchise record for most goals and points scored and captained the Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021 as well as appearances in the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 and 2022.
He is a two-time Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner as the NHL's leading goal-scorer (2010 and 2012), while also the runner-up three other times (in 2011, 2013 and 2015), a Mark Messier Leadership Award winner (2023), a two-time NHL second team All-Star (2011, 2012), and has been named to seven NHL All-Star Games. Nicknamed "Stammer", he has scored the most goals and the most points of any player born in the 1990s. He was also a Hart Memorial Trophy finalist in 2012 as the most valuable player to his team as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, a two-time Ted Lindsay Award finalist (2011 and 2012) as the best player judged by the National Hockey League Players' Association. In addition, he was the runner-up for the Art Ross Trophy as the leading point-scorer two consecutive times (2012 and 2013).
Early life Stamkos is of Macedonian and Scottish descent.The Hockey News Magazine – Draft Preview 08 Special Issue – Article "Believe in Steven" page 8 He grew up in Unionville, Ontario, and played for the Markham Waxers in the Eastern AAA Hockey League of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA). During one of his seasons with the North York Canadiens, he was teammates with NHLer P. K. Subban. Stamkos won eight OMHA titles in a row in minor hockey and led his Waxers club to the OHL Cup title in March 2006. He played in the 2003 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Markham Waxers.
Stamkos attended Central Park Public School and St. Brother André Catholic High School in Markham, Ontario. After being drafted by the OHL's Sarnia Sting, he attended Northern Collegiate Institute and Vocational School in Sarnia.
Playing career
Junior Following a season with the minor Waxers in which he scored 197 points over 66 games, Stamkos was selected first overall in the 2006 OHL Draft by the Sarnia Sting. Stamkos played with other notable current and former NHLers in his minor and junior hockey career, including Logan Couture, John Tavares, Michael Del Zotto, Cameron Gaunce, Cody Hodgson, and P. K. Subban during his minor hockey career in the Greater Toronto Area. Joining the Sting in 2006–07, he recorded 92 points (42 goals and 50 assists) over 63 games as a junior rookie. He was named to the OHL Second All-Rookie Team, ranking behind Sam Gagner at the center position. Stamkos also won the Bobby Smith Trophy as the OHL's scholastic player of the year for his academic efforts off the ice.
The following season, Stamkos improved to 58 goals and 105 points over 61 games. He was named to the OHL second All-Star team, but was later selected to the CHL first All-Star team, which encompasses all three national major junior leagues. Playing in his NHL draft-eligible season in 2007–08, Stamkos was top-ranked throughout the campaign by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and International Scouting Services. He also won the CHL's Top Draft Prospect Award.
Professional (2008–present) Tampa Bay Lightning (2008–2024) As the 2008 NHL entry draft approached, Stamkos was largely seen as the best available center. His primary competition for the top overall pick was top prospect defencemen Drew Doughty and Zach Bogosian, as well as Russian winger Nikita Filatov. The Tampa Bay Lightning, by virtue of their previous season in which they won an NHL-worst 31 games, owned the first pick. As expected, Stamkos was selected first overall by Tampa Bay. On July 29, 2008, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Lightning in which he could earn as much as $8.55 million in performance bonuses. Leading up to the start of the upcoming 2008–09 season, the Lightning centered their promotional efforts around Stamkos, including a website with the slogan "Seen Stamkos?"
Stamkos played in his first NHL game on October 4, 2008, in Prague, Czech Republic, the first game of the 2008–09 season. The Lightning fell to the New York Rangers 2–1 and were eventually swept in Prague. He recorded his first point – a secondary assist – in his eighth game, on a goal scored by Vincent Lecavalier which was against his hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Following the game, Stamkos commented that his hometown support was "louder than when the Leafs scored". He scored his first goal the next game against Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres. After 54 games, Stamkos recorded the first NHL hat-trick of his career, on February 17, 2009. The Lightning held a 3–1 lead midway through the second period on the strength of Stamkos' natural hat-trick, but were still beaten by the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, 5–3. The three goals enabled Stamkos to become the first rookie in Lightning history to score three goals in a game. He also became the second-youngest player in NHL history to record a natural hat-trick; current record-holder Bobby Carpenter was 18 when he scored three on February 25, 1982. Though Stamkos was heavily criticized for his lack of production during the first half of the season, in which he was limited to less than ten minutes of ice time some games (largely due to a dispute amongst then-head coach Barry Melrose and upper management, mainly co-owner Len Barrie on how to approach the development of Stamkos in the NHL), he finished the season with 19 points in his final 20 games. In his rookie season, Stamkos totaled 23 goals, 23 assists and 46 points, as well as a −13 plus-minus rating in 79 games.
In the 2009 off-season, Stamkos spent the summer training extensively with newly retired NHL player Gary Roberts, working on adding strength and endurance. Roberts got to know Stamkos as a teammate on the Lightning in the 2008–09 season, his last season in the NHL. He oversaw Stamkos' off-season workouts north of Toronto in Roberts' in-house gym, which is a quick drive from Stamkos' family home in Unionville. Stamkos spoke highly regarding the workouts: "It helped me a lot," Stamkos said. "I learned a lot about what I needed to improve on. There are certain aspects of my game that have improved because of that, and I'll be there again this summer working hard. It definitely gave me that extra jump for this season." In the 2009–10 season, his second year in the NHL, Stamkos began to find his range as an NHL sharpshooter and had a breakout season. Playing the bulk of the season on the first line with Martin St. Louis and Steve Downie, Stamkos started the campaign with 10 goals and five assists for 15 points in his first 11 games. Through mid-January, the entirety of February and mid-March, Stamkos had an 18-game point streak (17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points in all 18 games between January 19, 2010, in a 8–2 loss to the New York Rangers and March 11, in a 4–3 OT loss to his hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs). By the time he turned 20 in February 2010, he was in the top five in the NHL in scoring (with 32 goals and 29 assists for 61 points in every game up to that point in the season), challenging the likes of the generational talents of Washington Capitals forward and captain Alexander Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins forward and captain Sidney Crosby. On April 10, the second-to-last day of the season, Stamkos reached the 50-goal mark for the season when he scored two goals against Tampa Bay's inner-state rival, the Florida Panthers. He also recorded an assist on a Martin St. Louis goal in the same game as the Lighting would go on to win the game 4–3 in a shootout. He ended the season with 51 goals, tied for most in the NHL with Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins; the two shared the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's goal-scoring leaders; he tied Crosby in the final minute of the last game of the season with an empty-net goal. Stamkos became the third-youngest player to score 50 goals in a season, after Wayne Gretzky and Jimmy Carson. His number of goals (51) was five more than his total points amount in the previous season (46). Additionally, Stamkos' 44 assists gave him 95 points within the season, good for fifth in the NHL behind Henrik Sedin, Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Nicklas Bäckström, respectively. Despite Stamkos’ rise to stardom individually, however, Tampa Bay as a team finished the year 12th in the East with 34 wins and 80 points, eight points out of a playoff spot. After the season, the team's poor record prompted new team owner Jeffrey Vinik to terminate Brian Lawton and Rick Tocchet's contracts as general manager and head coach, respectively.