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Keep It Simple On Road

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 9, 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 offer Tribune readers an insight to a new way of life along his rookie journey.
Heading out on the road for a long trip you try to pack the least amount of clothes possible you can get away with. For me, I've learned from some of those big overseas trips that overpacking is the worst. If you have too many clothes for the trip, then you are stuck trying to shove it all back in the suitcase at the end of it. So for me it's two suits, three shirts, a pair of jeans, and a couple of shirts you can wear with a sports jacket when you go out. Obviously you have to make sure you have enough underwear; other than that it's pretty simple.

It's usually pretty easy to get into a road routine even for long trips. The night before a game we usually go out to dinner with the guys.

We usually try to get as many guys as we can for dinner. My roommate is Ryan Craig so we are generally together. Friday, we had Marty St. Louis, Grats Chris Gratton, Lundy Mike Lundin, Wardo Jason Ward, myself and Craiger Craig. We had a little game at the end to see who paid the bill, and I was in the finals but I beat Lundy so it was a good free meal.

Sometimes we play the credit card game, this time it was called Birds in the Bush. We have sugar packets in our hand, each guy has three, and you have to put zero to three on the table and guess how many are on the table; whoever gets it right is out.

It's a great experience for me coming to cities that I've never been to before. It's a cool experience for me to see all the different fans around the league and all the different buildings I've never seen before. It's definitely eye-opening.

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