Taking The Next Step

from Larry Wigge of NHL.com, Call it the next step.It’s the difference between playing against boys in junior hockey or in college and playing against men in the National Hockey League. It’s a daunting task. It’s a physical drain of growing into your body more quickly than ever before. It’s wanting it more than anything else you’ve ever done.And with the most recent draft being considered in quality and depth right up there with the 1979 and 2003 drafts, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear Tampa Bay talking about where Steven Stamkos will fit in the Lightning lineup.Another handful of players from the first round—including defensemen Drew Doughty (No. 2 by Los Angeles), Zach Bogosian (No. 3 by Atlanta) Alex Pietrangelo (No. 4 by St. Louis) and Luke Schenn (No. 5 by Toronto), plus forwards like left winger Nikita Filatov (No. 6 by Columbus), right winger Mikkel Boedker and left winger Viktor Tikhonov (Nos. 8 and 28 by Phoenix) and left winger Kyle Beach (No. 11 by Chicago)—are in the same situation as Stamkos.continued