It’s the end of June and that means one thing, and one thing only. The busiest two-week stretch of the NHL season is here. First up is the draft. Then it’s the deadline for qualifying offers to restricted free agents. And finally, Hockey Christmas in July – Free Agency! We plan to cover it all starting with the draft.
Thanks to last week’s trade, the Tampa Bay Lightning now hold seven picks in the 2026 NHL Draft. They are as follows:
Round 2 – 58th overall
Round 3 – 90th overall
Round 5 – 133rd overall (from Toronto)
Round 5 – 134th overall (from Seattle)
Round 5 – 154th overall
Round 6 – 186th overall
Round 7 – 218th overall
Not a bad collection of picks considering all of the wheeling-and-dealing that Julien BriseBois does on a yearly basis. There is a chance for the Lightning to add some talent to their prospect pool, especially if they are able to bundle some selections and move up in the various rounds.
Trading at least one of the picks is almost a given. With three fifth-round picks, including two back-to-back, they could package those together to move up and target a player on their list. They may also pull one of their few picks from 2027 to pick up another selection in this year’s draft. We’ve seen them do that a couple of years in a row. One of the reasons they don’t have a fourth-round pick this season is because they traded it to Boston last year for a fourth-round pick in 2025 that they used to select Benjamin Rautiainen.
What else can we assume about their plan for this year’s annual hockey boy auction? They will draft at least one over-age player. They will probably select at least one European player, and there is a better than average chance it will be a Finnish player. There will be at least one or two players that are a pain the neck to find stats on because they aren’t in any of the draft guides.
Other than that, it is going to be an interesting two days, not only for the Lightning, but for the entire league. Gavin McKenna is most likely getting drafted first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs. After that, it will get interesting. Ivar Stenberg, the versatile winger from Sweden, and Chase Reid, a potential first-pairing defenseman, are probably the next two best prospects, but Caleb Malhotra is pretty good, and is almost a lock to join his dad in Vancouver with the Canucks holding the third-overall pick. After that, the talent level dips a bit, and it will be a free-for-all.
By the time the Lightning are on the clock with the 58th pick overall, who knows what the draft board will look like? Last year, they were able to pick Ethan Czata in about the same spot (56th), a physical forward that was garnering some late first-round talk in the days prior to the draft. With the overall draft pretty even in terms of talent level, it’s possible that they could be in the same situation this year.
It is in their best interest to draft the best player available with their late second-round pick. By the time this player is NHL ready, there is a good chance that spots in the line-up will be available as the Lightning’s current core ages out of their best years. That being said, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they skew towards a defenseman with this selection.
During Mr. BriseBois’ rein atop the franchise, they’ve drafted a defenseman once in the top three rounds, and that was Roman Schmidt in 2021 (yes, they picked Max Groshev with the 85th pick in 2020, but that’s when he was a forward). While they’ve added some intriguing blueline prospects with their middle- and lower-round picks, perhaps it’s time they added a player with a bit more of a pedigree to the back end.
Looking into the crystal ball, here are three players that could still be available in the early afternoon hours on Saturday:
Alexander Bilecki
Left-shot defenseman, Kitchener Rangers, 6’1, 181 lbs.
Regular Season: 69 games, 9 goals, 20 assists
Playoffs: 18 games, 2 goals, 9 assists
Hey, the Kitchener collection has already been pretty good for the Lightning prospect pool, so why not dive into it one more time? Bilecki, who won the Memorial Cup with Sam O’Reilly and Jack Pridham, didn’t have the biggest role with the Rangers as he was mostly on the third pairing. While a lot of earlier draft guides had him pegged as a third-round selection, it seems he might be quietly moving up some draft boards based on his skill set.
There is a lot to like about the 18-year-old from Mississauga. First off, he can skate, and not just in a straight line. He is elusive with the puck with an ability to accelerate or slow down to keep opponents off-stride. He has some size to him already with the potential to add some weight, but would need to work on his strength a bit.
Along with having the skating ability to be a one-person breakout machine, Bilecki is also a talented passer that can set up his teammates for scoring chances on the power play and at 5v5. Not being a one-dimensional player should help him as the level of competition against him rises. There are many prospects that were able to skate their way out of trouble at the junior level that weren’t able to do so when they advanced to the AHL and NHL levels. His passing ability and awareness on the ice should transfer well as he progresses.
Bilecki’s shot isn’t overwhelming, but he does get it on net to create rebound opportunities. Defenders who have to be wary of his passing ability, especially on the power play, will give him space to get his shot off.
He should have a bigger role with the Rangers this season and the increased ice time will test his decision-making skills and ability to play up to better competition. If he can continue to develop, he has a pretty decent ceiling as a player and could be a middle-pairing defender who leads a power play unit.
Ben MacBeath
Left-shot defenseman, University of Denver, 6’2, 196 lbs.
Regular Season (with Calgary Hitmen): 67 games, 7 goals, 44 assists
Playoffs (with Calgary Hitmen): 7 games, 0 goals, 2 assists
A powerful, effortless skating stride allows him to join the rush on breakouts (think a young Victor Hedman gliding down the ice) and he has the offensive instincts to help out the puck in the back of the net. Like Bilecki, his game leans more towards offense than defense right now, but joining the University of Denver program will help him round out his game.
His passing might not be as sharp as Bilecki’s, but his shot is a little heavier. His skating ability allows him to not only jump on the rush with his forwards, but also to pinch in and find those soft spots for second-chance/rebound opportunities. It’s a style of play that should mesh well with what the Lightning like to do on the ice.
Several scouting reports mention his calmness on the ice, but also are quick to point out that he could use a little more aggressiveness in his game. MacBeath does well to close out attacking forwards and keep them on the perimeter, but there is some inconsistency in his own zone that has to be ironed out. even if that doesn’t get 100% corrected any defensive faults could be outweighed by abilities at the other end of the ice.
Vladimir Dravecky
Right-shot defenseman, Guelph Storm, 6’0″, 192 lbs.
Regular Season (with Brantford Bulldogs): 58 games, 9 goals, 19 assists
Playoffs (with Brantford Bulldogs): 11 games, 0 goals, 3 assists
Another defenseman who should see his playing time increase this season, Dravecky is a little more well-rounded than the other two players on this list. Despite being only 18, he has seen time in both the Slovakian professional league (16 games) and the Swedish Hockey League (3 games). After a strong debut season with Brantford, he was acquired by Guelph as the Storm load up in anticipation of hosting the Memorial Cup (the same reason they picked up Lightning prospect Grant Spada).
He is a pretty solid playmaker, but needs to work on his defensive game, especially when it comes to handling forecheck pressure. Of the three prospects on the list, Dravecky probably has the most question marks, but with the right development could be a solid 4-6 defenseman at the NHL level. His offensive upside isn’t quite as high as some of the other prospects, but there is still a lot things to like.
There might be some concern that, as Brantford worked their way into the playoffs, Dravecky found himself further down the defensive rotation. Perhaps his European pedigree elevated expectations a bit, and that might drop him a little further in the draft, but it seems the raw tools are there to justify a lower-second round selection.
[Editor’s note: Due to powers beyond our control, actual draft day coverage might be sparse. If anything happens on Friday we can cover it. Saturday will be a bit iffy. Our plan is to have a running thread for the selections and then delve further into the picks Saturday night and Sunday morning.]
