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Home Meal Key To Scoring

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 2, 2008

Lightning center and No. 1 overall draft pick Steven Stamkos is making the transition this season from junior star to NHL regular. Throughout the season, the 18-year-old from Markham, Ontario, will share his experiences with Tribune writer Erik Erlendsson and provide a weekly diary to provide Tribune readers an insight to a new way of life along his rookie journey.

Heading back home this week to Toronto I was definitely excited. I had that date marked on the calendar even before the season. To be playing back home in Toronto, I was getting tons of text messages and e-mails from friends and family that had been waiting for me to come home. It definitely was exciting when we arrived there. I got to go to my parents' house and have a nice home-cooked meal. My dad came and picked me up from the hotel, so it was nice to see my parents and my sister. It was nice to have a quiet family meal. I guess that's all it took to get that first point out of the way was a little home cooking.

And just to play the game in Toronto was unbelievable. I grew up idolizing the Leafs, and to have the chance to step on the ice and play against them. I think I had about 50 or 60 people who waited for me after the game. So it was nice to see support that I had. Things couldn't have gone better to get my first point in my hometown and we got a big road win for the team, so it was a perfect night, I thought.

After I got through meeting the 50 or 60 people after the game, I had 14 or 15 close friends and we went out to dinner, had a couple of laughs, told some good stories. My parents told me just to go have some fun with my friends and it was a great time. It's something that I'll always remember.

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