We have our first repeat member of the countdown! After his first full season in the pros Gabriel Szturc moves up two spots from his 2024 ranking.
| Name | Gabriel Szturc |
| Position | Forward |
| Age (as of October 1) | 22 |
| Height/Weight | 5’11”, 189 lbs. |
| Expected 2024-25 Team | Syracuse Crunch |
| Draft – Year, Round | Undrafted |
| Previous Rankings | 21 (2024) |
| Justin G.’s Ranking | 18 |
| Final Rank | 19 |
Stats:
Our Thoughts:
When a team trades away a majority of their picks, they have to find talent from unlikely sources. For the Lightning, junior hockey remains one of those wells they like to tap into. To be more specific, junior hockey players that went undrafted. Going back to the days of Tyler Johnson and Alex Barre-Boulet and continuing with more recent pick-ups like Milo Roelens and Bennett MacArthur, they’ve targeted players that have slipped through the draft cracks. The same goes for Gabriel Szturc.
After three seasons with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL in which he totaled 203 points (73 goals, 130 assists) in 185 games Szturc never heard his name called by a NHL team on draft day. That didn’t stop him though. He accepted an invitation to the Lightning’s development and training campain 2023 and impressed them enough that they offered him a contract in the spring of 2024.
Last season he had a solid first season with the Crunch, posting 7 goals and 12 assists in 54 games. It wasn’t quite the offense we saw from him in junior hockey, but with the bottom-six role he had with Syracuse it wasn’t a bad showing. One thing that stood out while watching his games is that he is noticeable on the ice. Whether it’s forechecking in the offensive zone or defending in his own zone, Szturc’s work-rate is top notch and he is a pest to play against.
A mid-season injury interrupted his season a bit. Through the first 29 games he had 13 points, but missed action from December 29 until February 12. He would post just 6 points the rest of the season. He did receive a fair amount of power play time and some time killing penalties.
Skills-wise nothing really stands out, but he does everything fairly well. His wrist shot is a little better than expected, and he should unleash it a little more. In his 54 games he only had 58 shots. Again, that could be due to his role last season, but it would be nice to see him direct a few more pucks to the net.
Like a lot of players on this countdown, his ceiling is as a bottom-six forward. With the way the Crunch’s roster is coming together this summer, there should be a lot of opportunity for a player like Szturc to play his way up the line-up. There aren’t many set spots taken in Syracuse and top-line spots should be up for grabs. If Szturc can find some of that offense he displayed in his last two seasons at Kelowna, he might find himself with a top-six role.
Highlight Videos:
👊🚨 Gabriel Szturc (#95) one times it home on the rush for his 5th goal of the AHL season! Declan Carlile (#72) and Reece Newkirk (#18) pick up the assists.#GoBolts
— Future Bolts (@LightningProsp1) March 15, 2025
pic.twitter.com/2xPfjys6v8
Here is an example of his shot. It’s a quick release and right on target to the far post. It’s really nice how he drifted into the slot behind the initial rush. He found the soft spot and didn’t slide too deep, which gave Declan Carlile a nice lane for the pass.
Ylonen sets up Szturc to light the lamp! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/jXFFCMvNNh
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) December 28, 2024
Again, there is nothing really fancy with this goal. He settles into a scoring spot and presents a nice target. The pucks is on his stick for a nano-second and he’s targeting the far post. He has the goal-scorer’s knack for getting in the right spot.
🚨 1ST AHL GOAL FOR GABRIEL SZTURC!
— Future Bolts (@LightningProsp1) December 7, 2024
👊 Szturc (#95) puts home the loose puck in the slot for his 1st goal in the AHL! Niko Huuhtanen (#88) and Dylan Duke (#25) pick up the assists.#GoBolts
pic.twitter.com/RafezTRL20
He’s going to score his share of greasy goals as well. While he’s not a mountain of a man, he is stout on his skates and tough to move when he plants himself in front of the net.
👊🚨 MAX CROZIER OVERTIME WINNER!
— Future Bolts (@LightningProsp1) November 2, 2024
Crozier (#24) fires it home into the wide open net for his 1st goal of the AHL season, and the overtime winning goal for the Crunch! Gabriel Szturc (#95) and Gage Goncalves (#39) pick up the assists.#GoBolts
pic.twitter.com/5CaELFBQww
With his style of play he’s going to cause some chaos in front of the net. Here he gets the initial shot on net which starts the scramble and draws all the attention, but doesn’t stop there. He retrieves the rebound and gets enough on the wraparound pass to force it back to Max Crozier who has a pretty open net to shoot into.
