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First Trade Deadline Day

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 8, 2009

Lightning center and No. 1 overall pick Steven Stamkos is making the transition this season from junior star to NHL regular. Throughout the season, the 19-year-old from Markham, Ontario, will share his experiences with Tribune writer Erik Erlendsson to give readers an insight into a new way of life during his rookie journey.

I took advantage of our day off on Wednesday, slept in a little bit on trade deadline day because you know that most of the deals that happen are going to be late in the day. So there weren't too many deals made before I got to the computer. But for most of the day I tried to pay attention to it as I went about my day, keeping my blackberry updated trying to find out what happened.

As a fan you are always interested to see if there are any blockbuster deals. To me, when I was playing junior it was always a big day. Obviously TSN, the whole day is the deadline day special, commentators, ex-coaches, ex-players on there talking about potential deals and who's available.

I remember last year we had the TV on in the dressing room before practice, and guys were late getting out on the ice because they were trying to see if there was anything else going on and the rushing back in after practice to see what went on, so it's a pretty big deal when you are in junior and still a fan wanting to see what goes on.

A big part of this team heading into trade deadline day was all the rumors. You knew guys like Robs Gary Roberts and Rex Mark Recchi were going to get some interest, and those were probably the two guys we knew were going to be on the way out. But guys are a little bit on edge when you hear rumors. I even heard some about myself about a month ago. You try not to let it bother you but it's tough when your name comes up.

We had the day off so I had the computer open and watched the TSN trade deadline special. It was kind of a slow day but then all those trades happened at the end.

We had heard all the rumors about Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis, but we kind of knew those weren't going to happen. But all in all it was an interesting first trade deadline day for me being part of a team in which guys were traded. It's the tough part of the business but at the same time it's nice to see some new faces around that I'm looking forward to playing with. Hopefully this is the start of something to build on.

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