Tampa Bay Lightning: Top 10 prospects entering 2019 season
The Tampa Bay Lightning are one of the most stable organizations in the NHL. Their prospects are a huge reason why. Here’s a look at their top 10 prospects after the 2019 NHL Draft.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a very successful organization. It seems like every year, they’re at least in the playoff conversation. You don’t get to that level without being able to develop from within.
Though the Lightning’s prospect pipeline has taken a toll over the years, the organization has proven they don’t necessarily need top prospects in order to develop them. They rely heavily on undrafted free agents.
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Before I begin, I should clarify what my definition of a “prospect” is. To qualify as a prospect, a player must be under 25 years old as of the end of 2019. Also, they can’t have played in more than 40 NHL games over two consecutive seasons, or more than 25 in any single season. For example, Danick Martel is not a prospect because he turns 25 in December.
I like to separate the goalies from the skaters because, frankly, I’m not good at evaluating goalies. Pretty much nobody is. At least I’m willing to admit it. Also, they’re much harder to project then skaters. So let’s start with the Lightning’s goaltending prospects.
Goaltenders
1. Hugo Alnefelt
Acquired: 2019 third-round pick
Age: 18
Stats: 24 games, 2.59 GAA, .905% save percentage; 3 playoff games, 3.09 GAA, .894% save percentage (HV71 J20 SuperElit)
Losing Connor Ingram did a number of the Lightning’s goaltending depth. Most of their prospects are long-term projects. Hugo Alnefelt is a great example of this. He’s very raw. I love his size (6-foot-2) and athleticism. It jumps out at you. However, Alnefelt needs to drastically improve his rebound control and needs to be more compact in the net. He tends to flop around a bit too much for my liking.
He’ll be playing in the SHL next season, hopefully. That should give Alnefelt resources to better goalie coaches. He’s raw, but I think there’s an NHL goaltender hiding in him somewhere.
2. Magnus Chrona
Acquired: 2018 fifth-round pick
Age: 18 (turns 19 in August)
Stats: 26 games, 4.00 GAA, .889% save percentage (Skellefteå AIK J20)
Magnus Chrona will be heading to the NCAA next season, as he’ll be attending the University of Denver. He’s a long-term project and didn’t take the step forward I expected him to take during the 2018-19 season.
His size (6-foot-4) is intriguing, but I haven’t seen too much of him. Chrona needs time to develop and Denver has a pretty darn good history of developing goalies.
Honorable Mentions: Ty Taylor, Kristian Oldham