General Manager Steve Yzerman, in his 2nd NHL draft as GM, selected London Knights center Vladislav Namestnikov  with the #27 overall selection in the 2011 NHL Draft.

Namestnikov is son of former NHL'er Yevgeny Namestnikov.

There had been much speculation before the selection that the Bolts might (should?) go after diminutive center Rocco Grimaldi, but Yzerman opted for the nephew of former team mate Slava Kozlov instead.

MyNHLDraft.com points out something that should be seen as a reason why the BOlts would take a chance on Namestnikov:  Because he will need time to develop:

Namenstnikov's downfall is that he needs to continue to bulk up before making the jump to the NHL. He has the tools to one day play in the NHL but the team that drafts Namenstnikov should let him play under Dale Hunter and his great staff of coaches before thinking of rushing him to the next level.

And from The Scouting Report to close out their review of the Russian center:

There have been those who compare Namestnikov to a Pavel Datsyuk type player, and while that comparison seems quite lofty, his playing style is somewhat similar. In addition to his dazzling puck skills and fluid skating, Namestnikov is a pretty good stick-checker and can be a solid defensive center when he wants to be. There’s obviously a lot of work for him to do if he ever wants to come close to the level that Datsyuk is on, but he does appear to have the drive to play in the NHL and seems like a kid that has good character off the ice. Namestnikov certainly has a unique skill-set, and with some time to develop, an NHL team could have a very nice prospect in their system with the Voskresensk native.

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WHERE: Excel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
WHEN: 7 PM EDT
MEDIA: Versus (day one), NHL Network (day two)

The Tampa Bay Lightning will not be selecting until late in teh 1st round -- unless there is player movement involved.  Regardless, we are live here tonight for the Raw Charge NHL draft open thread.

For the past few weeks, the SB Nation hockey blog community has been staging a mock draft of the 2011 NHL Entry draft. It's all fantasy, of course, just like the 2010 NHL mock draft that we did, where we had the Tampa Bay Lightning selecting Vladimir Tarasenko with the #6 overall selection (that was used for Brett Connolly instead).

There were 26 selections up until this point, and I doubt the rest of my blogger brethren expects every selection to go exactly as we're guessing with. Some of the picks that have been made are out of personal preference, others are based on franchise needs, while others are pure guesswork. That's what most mock drafts are anyway, right? Guesswork.

With all that being said: With the #27 selection of the SB Nation NHL Mock Draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning select Oscar Klefbom, Defensiveman, Färjestads BK, Swedish Elite League.

In several different mock-drafts that you can come across on the web, Klefbom doesn't drop this far in the draft order. You can find him selected top-20 in some instances... So seeing him on the board this late gave weight to his selection.

Yes, it's another Swedish defenseman. No, I'm not the one here at Raw Charge who has the Swedish Fish craze, that's Cassie. The reason Klefbom is the selection is his size (6'4") and the fact he's another offensive defensiveman who can be groomed to play in the 1-3-1.

But Klefbom also fits into another mold for Steve Yzerman's Lightning: He's a raw talent that will develop more over time. There is no need to rush him to the NHL, or North America for that matter. Oh, it's important that the 17-year-old get to North America to learn the game here, but you don't need to rush him into the lineup. That's important with developing any prospect taken this late in the 1^st round -- actually do what you can to develop them.

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Well, the 2010-2011 NHL season is officially over, and the summer begins.  A summer full of more questions than answers.  Especially for the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

As you likely know by now, the Lightning have 12 contracts expiring this July 1st, most notably Steven Stamkos (RFA) and Eric Brewer (UFA).  In fact, those two contracts in particular were mentioned by GM Steve Yzerman as his two top priorities in the free agency race. 

After a surprisingly successful first campaign by Yzerman and crew, the pressure to maintain that success from fans of the team might actually approach the overwhelming pressure Stevie puts on himself.  One way to relieve some of that pressure -albeit moreso down the road than the present - is to have a successful 2011 NHL Entry Draft, which leads us to our question of the week: 

With so many free agency questions looming, how would you like the Lightning to handle the 2011 NHL Entry Draft?  What position should the Bolts draft with their 27th overall pick?

Answers from the staff after the jump.  Let's hear yours in the comments.  And in case you missed it, here is last week's question.

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He dominated the blue line for the Everett Silvertips of the WHL last season, delivering so many bone-crunching hits, they were regularly selected as "Central Body Works' Hit of the Night" at Comcast Arena. The 6', 205lb defenseman also put up some respective numbers (7 goals, 30 assists for 37 points) and a team-high +/- rating of +45 during his one and only season with the Silvertips.

The Tampa Bay Lightning recognized Radko's potential, taking him 66^th overall at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles in June, and then signing him to a 3 year, entry level contract in August. On September 11 - 15, he and other Tampa Bay prospects will take part in the Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan.

Radko took a few minutes to chat with Raw Charge about all the developments of the past few months.

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Teh Tampa Bay Lightning have signed former Everett Silvertips defenseman Radko Gudas to a standard entry-level contract on Monday.  

One interesting note about Gudas, a native of the Czech Republic, is his hobby:  Ballroom dancing.  He told Su Ring in an interview earlier this summer:

"It’s actually pretty fun," he laughs. "It’s something different than hockey. Your moves have to be controlled. I fell into it and I really like it." 

For more from Gudas, check out this interview form Dan Sallows.

The full press release formt eh team is below the jump.

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New Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick Brett Connolly answering questions during his initial press conference at the NHL Draft:

With the Sixth overall selection in the 2010 NHL entry draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning select Brett Connolly from the Prince George Cougars.

The Prince George BC native plays right wing, and has had questions tied to him ovewr his hip situation, after missing lengthy amounts of time while injured this past season.

Our Southest division friends at Bird Watchers Anonymous had a lengthy talk with Brett yesterday.