Tampa Bay Lightning: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about
These are the eight Tampa Bay Lightning prospects worth getting excited about.
After many years of regular season success followed by Stanley Cup Playoff disappointment, the Tampa Bay Lightning were finally able to put it all together and win their first Stanley Cup since 2004. They possess what many currently view as the most dominant roster in the entire NHL, and will be heavy favorites yet again for the 2020-21 NHL season.
Of course, having a team that has had as much regular season success as they have for a number of years means that the Lightning are getting lower end picks at Drafts and, as a result, do not have nearly as deep of a prospect pool as other teams around the league.
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They have also traded some of their prospects and picks over the years for players who would immediately benefit their NHL lineup. Still, while their prospect pipeline is one of the weaker ones throughout the league, Lightning fans aren’t worried as they have a team that should continue being one of the best in the NHL for a number of seasons to come.
As mentioned in every other Top 8 Prospects articles throughout this series, any player who has played in more NHL games than any other league in a season, regardless of the season, will not be included.
With that being said, here are the Top 8 Prospects in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization.
8. Maxim Cajkovic
The first player to appear on this list is forward Maxim Cajkovic, who the Tampa Bay Lightning selected in the Third Round (No.89 overall) of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. At the time he was drafted, he had just wrapped up his rookie season in the QMJHL with the Saint John Sea Dogs in which he had 22 goals and 46 points in 60 games. He followed that up with a 18 goal, 42 point performance despite playing in a much lower 36 contests.
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Last year, Lightning fans were able to tune in and watch Cajkovic at the World Juniors as he represented Team Slovakia. He was a lock to make the team again this year, but was surprisingly removed from the team’s roster for disciplinary reasons following dirty hits during team scrimmages.
This is obviously very alarming and sets off plenty of red flags for the recently turned 20-year-old prospect, but there is no denying his talent. If Cajikovic is able to mature and move past this, he has a chance to turn into an NHLer in the future.
7. Samuel Walker
The only college player appearing on this list is forward Samuel Walker. The 21-year-old appears to be a nice find by the Bolts, as he was taken in the Seventh Round (No.200 overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
The American born forward has recently begun his third season with the University of Minnesota, and will look to build off of his 11 goals and 30 points in 39 contests last season.
Those totals may not jump off the page, but they were good enough to lead his team in scoring, which is very impressive for a player who was just 20-years-old for the entirety of the season. Almost equally impressive was that he was able to post 26 points the year prior at the age of 19.
Size is a slight concern for Walker, as he is listed at just five-foot-ten, 179 pounds. However, he has been able to produce at every level to this point in his career. General manager Julien BriseBois will have to do his best to get Walker signed to an Entry-Level Contract this year.
6. Boris Katchouk
Boris Katchouk, who was taken in the Second Round (No.44 overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, has had somewhat of a difficult transition to professional hockey so far. The 22-year-old was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning after his rookie season in the OHL with the Soo Greyhounds, where he posted 24 goals and 51 points in 63 games.
After being drafted, he played two more seasons with the Greyhounds, scoring 77 goals and 149 points in 124 games. Thanks to his big numbers, Katchouk was able to represent Team Canada at the 2018 World Juniors, where he impressed with six points in seven games.
After his junior career, it looked like Katchouk would soon be a contributing piece for the Lightning. However, that hasn’t happened yet as he has spent the entirety of the last two seasons in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch. His scoring has yet to translate from the junior level, as he has just 55 points in a combined 135 games.
His 2019-20 season wasn’t terrible by any means, as he had 14 goals and 32 points in 60 games. Boris Katchouk is still young and has a chance to improve on those numbers and become a regular NHLer, though the clock is slowly beginning to tick.
5. Taylor Raddysh
A player who has had a very similar career to Boris Katchouk thus far is Taylor Raddysh. Not only is Raddysh the same age as Katchouk, but he was also taken in the Second Round (No.58 overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft after a 73-point season in the OHL with the Erie Otters.
Raddysh became a very talked about prospect soon after being drafted, as he put up a 42 goal, 109-point 2016-17 season. As a result of the big year, he was able to participate for Team Canada in the World Juniors in 2017, where he had five goals and six points in seven games. He returned to the OHL in 2017-18 for his final season of junior hockey where, despite being traded midway through the year, was able to still put up big totals and was once again selected to represent Team Canada, this time posting two goals and five points in seven contests.
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Raddysh, again like Katchouk, has spent the last two seasons in the AHL with the Crunch. His rookie year was very promising as he tallied 18 goals and 46 points in 70 games. Unfortunately, he regressed this past season with 19 goals and 35 points in 62 games. The reason he sits above Katchouk on this list currently is because he has been able to put pucks in the back of the net at a slightly better rate, but there isn’t a ton that separates these two at the moment.
4. Alexander Volkov
Yet another Second Round player appearing on this list is forward Alexander Volkov, who was taken with the 48th pick at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old has spent the majority of the last three seasons with the Crunch. His first two seasons were eerily identical, as he recorded 23 goals in each, and improved ever so slightly with 48 points in his second campaign compared to 45 in his first. His 2019-20 season was on track for similar totals, as he had 30 points in 46 games.
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The Tampa Bay Lightning clearly like what they seen from Volkov as a prospect, as he was able to make his NHL debut this past season. The Russian forward suited up for nine regular season games and was able to chip in with an assist. He also played in one Playoff game but was held pointless. Given how stacked the Lightning’s roster is, it could be tough to make the team out of Training Camp this season, but a big AHL season could go a long way in helping him earning a spot during the 2021-22 campaign.
3. Hugo Alnefelt
The Lightning are an organization that has been blessed with fantastic goalies over the years. They had Ben Bishop who is regarded as one of the NHL’s best, but traded him in 2017 to make room for who many consider the NHL’s number one goaltender in Andrei Vasilevskiy. As if having arguably the best goalie in the league weren’t enough, the Bolts have another in the pipeline who has a chance to be great in Hugo Alnefelt.
The 19-year-old was selected by Tampa in the Third Round (No.71 overall) at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. After being drafted, he played for HV71 Jopping in the SHL as an 18-year-old which is not at all common, and is back with them again this season.
Bolts fans were able to watch him just days ago compete for Team Sweden at the 2021 World Juniors, which marked his second straight year participating. While he didn’t play his best hockey, it is a short tournament and not indicative of him as a player. He is an extremely promising prospect and Lightning fans should be excited at having another high-end goalie in the pipeline.
2. Alex Barre-Boulet
23-year-old forward Alex Barre-Boulet has made a lot of NHL General Managers look silly for passing on him in multiple Drafts. Despite a four season QMJHL career that resulted in 337 points in just 263 games, no one took a chance on the talented forward. A big reason for this was likely due to his size, as he is currently listed at just five-foot-nine, 172 pounds. However, in today’s game, small players are proving more and more they can play, and so far Barre-Boulet is doing just that.
To this point, he has yet to play in an NHL game, but that may very well change in the near future. He has played in two professional seasons with the Crunch to this point, registering 68 and 56-point seasons, the latter of which came in just 60 games played. He is without a doubt the best scoring prospect Tampa has at this point, and he may have a chance to stick with the team out of Training Camp this season.
1. Cal Foote
The top prospect the Tampa Bay Lightning have in their system is defenseman Cal Foote, who they selected 14th overall at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The now 22-year-old was taken in the Draft after his second season with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL in which he put up 57 points in 71 games. After being drafted, he played one more season with the Rockets and increased his totals to 70 points in just 60 games.
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Since then, he has played two seasons with the Syracuse Crunch. While he hasn’t been able to produce offence at the elite levels he did in the WHL, he has played solid two-way hockey and is a very exciting prospect for the organization and its fans.
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He will more than likely become a regular NHL defenseman this 2020-21 season. It remains to be seen whether or not he can have as good of a career as his dad, Adam but, regardless, he appears to be a solid upcoming NHLer and is the best talent in the Tampa Bay Lightning farm system.