Quick Strikes: Nolan gets his Foote wet in today’s 2019 Lightning development camp

The Bolts and Prospects

The Tampa Bay Lightning development camp begins TODAY and we’ve got you with a roster. This year, the 3-on-3 tournaments will be streamed, meaning we can watch these kids play shinny in real time! It’s one last gasp of hockey before the long summer months, and I hope everyone who watches enjoys it.

Tampa Bay Lightning announce 2019 Development Camp roster [Us folk]

The five-day camp will take place at the Brandon Ice Sports Forum and will include on-ice and off-ice training and drills for the players. Friday, June 28th and Saturday, June 29th will primarily include a 3v3 tournament that will be free and open to the public. The tournament will also be streamed on the team’s website. These games are a great opportunity for kids and fans of all ages to see some high-level hockey so spaces fill up fast.

You’ll note that a certain kid brother of a Bolts player will attend camp. Nolan Foote is still basking in the joy of getting to play in his brother’s system, or so he said in this article — 2019 NHL Draft Recap with BC Tree Fruits: Talent begins to blossom as 28 WHL players selected [WHL.ca]

“We’ve mentioned it, playing junior together,” Nolan said of the two ending up with the same NHL team. “We thought it’d be cool, but now it’s real and I can’t wait to celebrate with him.”

Foote’s season in Kelowna saw him led the team with 36 goals while finishing in a tie for second in team scoring. Foote also rose from NHL Central Scouting’s Final Ranking in April to June’s draft. Ranked 37th among North American skaters in April, Foote found himself a part of the elite talent taken in the first round.

And we’ve got a profile of Younger Foote too — Tampa Bay Lightning 2019 NHL Draft Profiles: Nolan Foote joins his brother Cal as a Bolt [Us folk]

To summarize what we read from all the scouting services, Foote is a player with some good tools but some obvious flaws. To start, most scouts don’t like his skating. He doesn’t have good top-end speed and he’s not particularly quick in small spaces. With the speed at which the game is played now, Foote will have to improve in that area to be able to make use of the rest of his tools.

My mascara smudged a bit for this one — Mishkin’s Musings: On pets, hockey, and goodbyes [Tampa Bay Lightning]

Second, the Lightning’s mission statement includes the phrase “connecting the community through the power of Lightning hockey”. Doc and I connected through the animals, but also through hockey. He loved hockey and he loved the Lightning. Carol told me that during a break in his treatment, he took her to a game in February (she was down from Pennsylvania to help when he was diagnosed). “The section where he sat was like a family,” she said. “They were all so happy to see him!”

...So here’s something light-hearted as an antidote:

Congrats to Josh Chapman for graduating to the AHL! May the Griffins enjoy him.

Syracuse Crunch’s Kevin Lynch OKs offer from Tampa Bay [Syracuse.com]

Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said on Monday that the organization and Lynch have agreed to a tryout deal that will bring Lynch to the team’s preseason camp in September. From there, BriseBois can evaluate whether Lynch has fully recovered from a string of groin injuries that cost him all of last season.

Syracuse Crunch sign forward Peter Abbandonato [More from Us Folk, with no photo this time because it’s hard to find a picture of this guy!]

Abbandonato did not show enough in his draft season and went undrafted in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He followed up his rookie season with 19 goals and 56 points in 64 games and 14 more points in the playoffs. Once again, he went undrafted. Going back to Rouyn-Noranda - and now wearing an A on his jersey - he put up 27 goals and 48 assists for 75 points in 58 games. He added another nine points in seven playoff games.

Has Tampa Bay mined another free-agent star for Syracuse Crunch? [Syracuse.com]

Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois praised Abbandonato’s shot and playmaking skills, as evidenced by his assists totals.

“I know people like to put them all in the same category, but they are all different,” BriseBois said of the forward diamonds in the rough. “I like Peter’s game as built around hockey sense and compete (level), and in that area he might be comparable to ABB. I want Peter to come in and forge his own identity.”

The Game

Who makes the 2019 Hockey Hall of Fame class? [ESPN]

25-1: Dan Boyle, defenseman (first year), Patrik Elias, forward (first year), Vincent Lecavalier, center (first year)

He had 949 points, including 421 goals, putting him 16th in goals-per-game average during his career. He won the goal-scoring title in 2006-07 with 52 tallies, as well as the Stanley Cup in 2004. A star player, and a consistent one, but a first-ballot Hall of Famer he is not.

This was a necessary article — The Good, The Bad, and The Plaid: Draft Day Fashion Debrief [Japer’s Rink]

Now, let me just list out some names for you: Henrik Lundqvist, PK Subban, David Pastrnak, Mat Barzal.

All of these men match strong performances on the ice with exceptional fits off the ice. Mat Barzal’s velvet suit on draft day was the kind of risk we expect from a Calder winner (though I still hate the skinny tie).

These poor ECHL players are going to die of exhaustion — Annual ECHL Board of Governors Meeting Decides Stuff [ECHL]

The Board approved extending the length of overtime during the regular season from five minutes to seven minutes. Overtime will continue to be contested as “sudden death” in a 3-on-3 format. If neither team scores during the overtime period, the game will proceed to a shootout.

Last but not least (much like this guy), this article is well worth reading — After waiting for two days and over 200 picks, the jubilation of finally hearing your name called at the NHL Draft [The Athletic]

“Awful,” Dustin’s mother, Michelle Wolf, said when asked about how the day had unfolded. “Awful until the end because it wasn’t looking like it was happening. But somebody had to take a chance on a goalie that’s not 6-foot-4. And he’s going to beat everybody that’s out there. I promise you.”