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Lightning Win Lottery, Likely To Take Stamkos

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 8, 2008

Updated: 04/08/2008 01:12 am

TAMPA - In a season full of hovering storm clouds, complete with drenching rain and frequent lightning strikes, some sunshine could finally be breaking through for Tampa Bay.

The Lightning hit the jackpot Monday, winning the NHL draft lottery and retaining the No. 1 overall selection in the June entry draft. The prize is expected to be Sarnia Sting center Steven Stamkos, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound potential star who is the consensus top prospect in a draft considered to be among the best in recent seasons.

Stamkos is the type of player believed to be NHL-ready and someone who could immediately step into the Lightning's second line and make an impact next season.

"To have the opportunity to have the No. 1 pick in this draft, to have the player we think is NHL-ready be a forward, that's a real nice position for our franchise to be in to be able to look at that player at this stage," Lightning general manager Jay Feaster said.

In two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, Stamkos has scored 100 goals and amassed 197 points in 124 games. He is competing in the second round of the playoffs for Sarnia and has 11 goals in seven postseason games. For Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in January, Stamkos tied for the team lead with six points and five assists in five games, helping Canada win a gold medal.

And while Feaster didn't come right out and say selecting Stamkos with the first pick will be a stone-cold lock when the first round of the draft is held June 20, it would take an awful lucrative deal to persuade him to trade the opportunity to select a franchise player.

Stamkos, who was part of the live telecast on TSN, said he hasn't given much thought to the draft, instead trying to focus on his playoff series, but he gave the indication he thinks he can be a part of the Lightning next season.

"For me, I feel that I am ready to make the jump, I look at guys like Edmonton's Sam Gagner and Chicago's Patrick Kane and how they have done in the NHL, it gives me hope," Stamkos said. "Nothing is set in stone, but if Tampa Bay is the team that wants me, then I will definitely be excited."

Seemingly since before the start of the season, Tampa Bay has followed Murphy's Law, from a failed first attempt to sell the franchise, to a falling skate landing on Dan Boyle's wrist, to the team dropping to the bottom of the standings four years removed from a Stanley Cup title and Vinny Lecavalier's separated shoulder in the next-to-last game of the season that will require surgery and three months of rehab.

So, in an attempt to help change the team's luck this season, Feaster sent former team captain Dave Andreychuk to Toronto to represent the franchise during the nationwide telecast where the first five picks were revealed. Whether it was Andreychuk's good karma or just a coincidence, as the Lightning had a 48.2 percent chance of retaining their draft position, the move paid off.

Feaster said he was giving all the credit to Andreychuk for delivering the top pick to Tampa Bay for the fourth time in franchise history (1992, 1998 and a pick that was traded in 1999). It also represented the fourth time the last-place team has retained the top pick since the lottery was instituted in 1995.

"Dave Andreychuk is the man, he continues to come through for the Tampa Bay Lightning," Feaster said. "That was a great job by Andy, Mr. Clutch as he was for us when we won the Cup in 2004."

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com.

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