The first round of a fantasy hockey draft is one of the toughest decisions a fantasy team owner will face throughout the fantasy hockey season. When it comes down to choosing between players like Evgeni Malkin and Steven Stamkos, it may seem like a toss-up to the casual fantasy player.

This, however, is not the case.

While Stamkos may end up being the top goal scorer in the NHL for the foreseeable future (barring injury, of course), just about every other category that most fantasy leagues use is led by Malkin head-to-head.

Using last year's statistics, Evgeni Malkin has the edge over Steven Stamkos in assists, points, player rating (known by some as plus-minus), shots on goal, blocked shots, powerplay points and faceoff wins.

Stamkos on the other hand only leads Malkin in goals, hits and game-winning-goals.

That should make your choice fairly easy.

Even with Sidney Crosby coming back and Malkin likely being pushed to the second line this year, he will be playing with the first powerplay unit and will still be surrounded by an incredible amount of talent. Not to mention, in years that Crosby played full seasons (2008-09 and 2009-10), Malkin still managed to average 1.28 points per game.

Now that he is also a full year removed from a torn ACL, injury problems shouldn't be all that much of a concern for fantasy owners when selecting Evgeni Malkin.

In other words, if you are faced with the choice of Evgeni Malkin or Steven Stamkos in your league's draft this year, don't hesitate in choosing the Russian sniper. It will pay dividends in the long run.