Steven Stamkos on Connor McDavid: 'I think he's better than me now'
Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos believes Connor McDavid may already be better than Stamkos himself now. That's some seriously high praise.
By
Chris Peters
•
2 min read
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is, at worst, one of the 10 best players in the NHL, probably closer to the top-five. He’s two points away from 500 in his career at just 25 years old and has essentially averaged a goal every other game over his career. Yet he had some ridiculously high praise for the next phenom to enter the league: Edmonton Oilers’ top pick Connor McDavid.
While meeting with the media at the NHL’s media tour in Toronto Tuesday, Stamkos dropped this line on Craig Custance of ESPN.com:
"This guy is a special kid," Stamkos told ESPN.com. "I think he's better than me right now. I wouldn't have a second thought on saying that."
Stamkos, 25, also said McDavid is better than he was at 18 years old.
"Oh, he's way better," Stamkos said. "He is good. The best I've seen for a player that age."
So whether at age 18 or age 25, Stamkos views McDavid as a better player before ever playing a shift in the league. Now, some hockey players are humble to a fault, but they’re also not just going to throw out compliments to non-teammates just because they’re nice guys. Leave it to Stamkos to throw a little gasoline on the already white-hot hype surrounding the 18-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ontario.
The expectations put on McDavid coming into the league are extraordinarily high. They’ve been high since McDavid was about 14 years old and have intensified with each passing year.
In just 47 games last season, McDavid was within striking distance of the OHL’s scoring title with 44 goals and 120 points. Had he not broken his hand in a November fight, he probably would have approached league scoring records.
Now he’s going into Edmonton with the hopes of an entire city on him. Some say he’s the best prospect since Crosby, but others – including Wayne Gretzky – say he’s the best in 30 years (i.e. when Mario Lemieux was coming into the league).
I don’t know if McDavid is going to be as good as Stamkos is now the second he steps into the league. He’s still got to get stronger and there’s going to have to be at least some sort of adjustment period. He’s also got a lot of teammates that are also pretty young. That said, the excitement for McDavid’s arrival is warranted, especially if opposing players are even looking forward to it.
