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Lightning Nuts & Bolts: Slater Koekkoek keeps old car

 
TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 18:  Slater Koekkoek of the Tampa Bay Lightning poses for his official headshot for the 2014-2015 season on September 18, 2014 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 18: Slater Koekkoek of the Tampa Bay Lightning poses for his official headshot for the 2014-2015 season on September 18, 2014 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)
Published Feb. 14, 2016

Short shift w/D Slater Koekkoek

Your first car: I still have it. A (black) Chevy Silverado, 2008.

How many miles? 100,000 kilometers (62,000 miles), which is not a lot for an '08. My grandparents got it for me when I was 16.

You never upgraded after draft? We'll see how long I stay up here (in NHL). Maybe I'll upgrade it. I don't know if the guys would accept me driving the truck I have around here.

Your first job? I did hay for a guy when I was growing up in the summers. I was 12-13, just threw the little bales of hay. It helps build some upper body strength.

First concert? I have to say Shania (Twain) when I was young, and I ended up going back last summer. I was probably only 10 (at the first) in Ottawa.

First movie? My parents took my sister (Madison) and I — they're going to hate me for saying this — to a movie that ended up being too much PG-13 and we ended up going over to Hitch with Will Smith. Wasn't my first, but a memory that sticks out.

Most prized memorabilia: I have my stick from my first game last year in Toronto. That'd be up there. My draft jersey.

Stamkos stalker

Captain Steven Stamkos is used to getting attention in public, especially in Canada.

But Stamkos never experienced anything like Tuesday in Montreal.

Stamkos was walking to an Apple store that afternoon with teammate Valtteri Filppula, who had lost his phone charger and needed a replacement. The stealth Stamkos noticed someone wearing a hooded black sweatshirt following him and taking photos. Having caught what turned out to be a professional photographer, Stamkos tweeted a photo of his follower. Later, the pursuer tweeted a photo of his "point of view," Stamkos looking out the second story window of the store.

"I did see that," Stamkos said, laughing. "It was kind of creepy. But I'm here today, alive. That was kind of weird."

Puck luck

Center Vladislav Namestnikov insists it's not a good luck charm.

But Namestnikov still carries the milestone puck from the third goal in his Jan. 15 hat trick in his equipment bag. It goes on the road with Namestnikov and the Lightning.

"I just put it in there after the game and haven't taken it out," Namestnikov said. "I will take it out eventually."

Namestnikov will likely put the puck with his other prized souvenirs, like the puck from his first career goal, etc. But the memory always sticks with him.

"It was a big moment in my career," he said. "Special moment for me and my family."

Did you know?

When Stamkos forced overtime with his power-play goal with 26 seconds left in Friday's game, it was just his second career tying goal in the final minute of regulation, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The first came March 6, 2009 against the Blues, who the Lightning hosts today.