Excerpt from NHL.com article by Adam Kimelman on Steven Stamkos:
“We’ve interviewed a lot of the top-rated defenseman,” said Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Jay Feaster, “and if you ask them who is the toughest guy to play against, the answer is Steve Stamkos.”
It’s impossible to stop him,” said Zach Bogosian, the Peterborough Petes defenseman ranked second to Stamkos. “When he has the puck, you can’t get it away from him. He protects it so well, and he’s such a great skater, it’s hard to defend a guy like that. Definitely his stickhandling and his skating set him apart from everyone else in the draft.”
“His speed and his smarts,” added Drew Doughty, the Guelph Storm defenseman ranked third by Central Scouting. “He’s very fast and he’s got great hands. He pretty much has every offensive tool that you need. He has the great shot. That’s why he put so many points up in our league and why he’ll probably go first overall.”
Habster:
Steven Stamkos is head and shoulders beyond any of the other draft eligible forwards. Then again, this year’s prospect pool is very top heavy with quality defenseman which isn’t a slander towards Mr. Stamkos or the remaining forwards.
Stamkos nearest competitor for the best available forward award would be Nikita Filatov who is also a world class prospect/talent in his own right but some scouts are concerned that Filatov hasn’t played enough quality games against high end talent like Stamkos has in the OHL.
Either way, the teams which will draft these two players will have very talented young men who could be impact players for years to come.
