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by Paul on 08/13/08 at 06:01 PM ET
Comments (6)
“He’s cut,” Melrose said. “He’d be a male model if he wasn’t a hockey player. But he’s slim. He’s 18 years old. He’s not a man yet. Vinny (Lecavalier) looked like a beanpole with shoulder pads on, too. Matter of fact, Stamkos is thicker than Vinny when Vinny came in.”
Still, Melrose continued, “He’s got to realize that’s his biggest weakness right now is his size. He’s going to be playing against men now, and that’s his biggest adjustment, playing against guys who are as fast as he is and bigger than he is. That’s what he’s got to work on. We’ve got people talking to him every week, got him on nutritional programs, and we have strength and conditioning coaches talking to him every week, so he’s going to get bigger fast and heavier fast, but he’s sill a boy right now, so it’s going to take time.”
-Barry Melrose on Steven Stamkos. Read more at Lightning Strikes…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Tampa Bay Lightning | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Steven+Stamkos,
Comments
Stamkos isn’t even that small. At 185 and with the wheels he has, I don’t know that he needs to be that much larger.
Posted by James Mirtle from Toronto on 08/13/08 at 08:43 PM ET
He might do a bit better if he doesn’t have coaches nagging him about his weight and diet every week. That would make me look forward to work every day!
Or just feed him steroids if you want him to get bigger faster. j/k
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 08/13/08 at 09:49 PM ET
Oh Barry, you tease...Steve’s blushing already…
He’s not wrong about the “bigger and stronger” mantra per se, but the concept that a guy needs to “bulk up” as opposed to working on developing those “hockey muscles” in his core, that he needs to learn how to eat like an NHL’er and understand that maintaining fitness is a daily task, even when you’re playing, and that he just needs to get out there and understand that he’s gonna be over his head in terms of the pace of the game and the intensity thereof…
Let the kid learn. Pavel Brendl, Patrik Stefan, Alexandre Daigle, and Daniel Tkaczuk, among others, can come over from the European leagues they’re employed by to talk to Barry and Oren about the fact that rushing prospects, especially if they’re top draft picks, to be something that they aren’t is just plain old dumb.
I really hope that the Bolts don’t screw this kid up. He seems like a genuinely nice kid, and that’s what he is--a kid.
Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 08/14/08 at 12:20 AM ET
Yeah that is an odd little statement. Stamkos really isn’t that small, and its not like he is going to be doing the front of the net job, thats why they stole Robs and Bugsy from the Pens. He is 6’ 1” 196 according to the Lighting site. He isn’t exactly Joe Thorton size yet, but i mean Evgeni Malkin is only 6’3” 195, but then again we did see him getting beat up a bit more than Sid who is 5’11” 200.
Posted by Kevin from Pittsburgh on 08/14/08 at 08:22 AM ET
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Jeezus, Barry. Just lay off the kid already and let him grow at his pace.
Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 08/13/08 at 06:20 PM ET