Steve Stamkos was born on February 7, 1990 in Markham, Ontario and was a scoring sensation from an early age. As a member of the Markham Waxers of the OMHA, Stamkos would record an amazing 208 points in just 72 games. His scoring prowess continued to draw attention in the OHL, where, in his draft year, he was considered by many to be one of the best prospects in years.
As expected, at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning used their first overall draft choice to select the highly touted centreman.
The Lightning would begin the 2008-09 season in Prague of the Czech Republic and Stamkos' NHL career would get off to a slow start, but Steven would eventually find his stride and finish the season strongly, recording 19 points in the final 20 games, finishing the year in the top five rookie scorers.
A strong second half of his rookie season would only be a small sample of what was to come. In his second season with the Lightning (2009-10) Stamkos would establish himself as one of the premier offensive players in the game. His 51 goals tied him with Sidney Crosby for the league lead and the two young stars shared the Rocket Richard Trophy.
Stamkos would continue to light the lamp at a torrid paced in 2010-11. His 45 goals were second best in the NHL behind only Corey Perry of Anaheim. Stamkos also got his first taste of the NHL playoffs in 2011. Along with his Lightning teammates, he came within a game of the Stanley Cup final before losing to the eventual champion Boston Bruins in a seven game conference final.
In 2011-12, Stamkos became just the 20th player in NHL history to reach the 60 goal mark and just the second player to accomplish the feat since 1996. In winning his second Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, Stamkos was a full 10 goals ahead of his nearest competitor and set a new Tampa Bay Lightning goal-scoring record.
Injuries and illness would limit Stamkos to just 48 games in 2012-13 and 37 games the following year, though when in the lineup, he still notched 29 and 25 goals respectively. Returning to health in 2014-15, Stamkos appeared in all 82 games for the Lightning, scoring 43 times and adding 29 assists for 72 points. He followed that up with a 27 goal output in 2017-18.
The night of December 10, 2018 proved to be a special one for Stamkos. He recorded career point number 700, while scoring a hat trick in a 6-3 Lightning victory over the New York Rangers.
On the international stage, Stamkos has represented Canada numerous times. This is highlighted by a gold medal performance at the 2008 World Junior Championship and three appearances at the World Chapionships (2009, 2010, 2013). Stamkos was also named to the 2014 Winter Olympic Team but could not play due to injury. In the summer of 2016, Stamkos helped his homeland to the World Cup of Hockey title.
