Lightning Round: Scouting Report on Jake Boltmann

The Tampa Bay Lightning have eight picks heading into the 2020 NHL Draft (wherever and whenever it’s going to be). Five of their own from the second to seventh rounds, and three mid-round picks from the Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators.

The Lightning don’t have a first round pick, nor a fifth round pick, but that shouldn’t bother them if they want to come out of the draft with the only prospect that they could possibly need:

Jake Boltmann.

We introduced him to you yesterday in our discussion of the new Central Scouting Rankings but let’s try to put together a real scouting report.

A high school senior playing in Minnesota, the right-shooting defenseman is committed to the University of Minnesota for the next four years starting in the fall of 2020. Standing somewhere within an inch of six feet tall and in the neighbourhood of 180-190lbs, the captain of the Edina High School Hornets was ranked 113th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. Presumably that means he’ll slot in somewhere in the seventh round if selected this year. If he misses getting selected this year then, hey, maybe we’ll see him be one of those college free agent signings in four years.

On Boltmann the player, from the limited amount of video I was able to find on him, he is a defenseman that likes to jump up into the rush a lot. This indicates to me that he both wants to be a leader on the ice and go where the puck is offensively, but also that he’s probably playing at a level too low for his skillset right now in Minnesota high school. On the good side, he’s already committed to Minnesota of the NCAA, which will be a great place to develop for up to four years.

Looking at the two video clips I was able to find (Boltmann is #2), I don’t think he has an especially strong shot, but he’s got confidence and a good eye for the offensive side of the game.

A total of 99 seconds of video isn’t anything to go on. This goal was interesting because he jumped down low and took the puck behind the net himself where he essentially played quarterback with the net acting as his defensive line. Fun fact, Boltmann played football for Edina last season and was a WR and backup QB.

I had to double check that Boltmann is a defenseman because on this goal he was standing in front of the net.

Lightning Links

Stay home. Stay safe. Order delivery from your local eatery that’s struggling right now. And thank every essential worker you see fighting this pandemic on the front lines.

Mikhail, your children are adorable!

Lauren is close to the top-10 in the 21 Day of 2021 Draft Prospects series. Yesterday was Ryder Korczak of the WHL Moose Jaw Warriors who was over a point per game this season.

“Originally a second round draft pick of the Calgary Hitmen, Ryder Korczak’s late-2002 birthday (the same as mine, heh) pushes his NHL draft eligibility to 2021. The younger brother of recent 2019 Vegas draft pick Kaedan, Korczak registered just 15 points in 50 games in his WHL rookie season and was one of the key pieces dealt in the blockbuster trade that saw Calgary acquire defenseman Jett Woo last May.” - Lauren, Raw Charge

Radio station 620 WDAE has been broadcasting memorable playoff games in recent nights. After re-enjoying the 2015 playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings, Dave Mishkin wrote about those good memories in this blog post.

“On Wednesday, I recorded an interview with Greg Linnelli that will air during the pregame of tonight’s broadcast. We reminisced about Game Six specifically and the series as a whole. The conversation brought back plenty of memories.” - NHL dot com

Head Coach Jon Cooper was a chatty guy yesterday, speaking to both FOX and Sportsnet about normalcy before and after this era-defining pandemic and some of his favourite hockey memories.

This was really cool to see. Bring BritBolt next season!

“The same machines that disinfect hockey locker rooms and gear can apparently be used to sanitize masks worn by medical professionals fighting the coronavirus pandemic.”

Other Hockey Links

On Wednesday, hockey legend Florence Schelling was named GM of SC Bern of the Swiss League. Cat Silverman has the story of Schelling at sister site Mile High Hockey.

“Schelling, one of the most decorated female goaltenders in the last generation, was tapped to sit at the helm of the Swiss club SC Bern on Wednesday morning. With the announcement, she became the first woman to earn the post for a top-level men’s club anywhere worldwide, doing so at the impressive age of 31 and just two years removed from her retirement from professional hockey.” - Mile High Hockey

A lot of teams are hoping for compliance buyouts (last used in 2013) following the resumption of the NHL season in order for teams to shed some tough contracts and get under the salary cap ceiling.

Washington, DC, deserves a NWHL hockey team for the name alone. Seriously.