It’s very difficult for an organization to hit on even a majority of their draft picks. Further, it’s rare to find a class of at least six players where every single one makes it to the NHL at some point in their career. The 2011 Draft Class for the Lightning may end up being one of those classes and may be one of the few that has multiple players that have highly successful careers. Let’s take a look at the Bolts 2011 draft class and where those players have gone since being selected.
C Vladislav Namestnikov – 1st round, 27th overall
Selected from the OHL’s London Knights, Namestnikov was a small Russian center that had been a point per game player in his first year in North America. Namestnikov comes from a hockey family. His father Evgeny Namestnikov played 43 games in the NHL in addition to 437 games between the AHL and IHL as well as having played professionally in Russia. The elder Namestnikov also played for the Syracuse Crunch during Vladislav’s childhood. Vladdy is also the nephew of Slava Kozlov, a two time Stanley Cup winner with the Detroit Red Wings. To say hockey runs in his veins would be an understatement.
Namestnikov has a high hockey IQ and is a gifted passer. He is highly skilled and fast, but undersized (5’11”, 180 Lbs). Because of his late birth date (his birthday is in November), he was able to play in the OHL for another year before making his debut with the Syracuse Crunch during the 2012-13 (44 games, 7 goals, 14 assists).
In 2013-14, Vladislav started the season with Nikita Kucherov on his left and J.T. Brown on his right, forming a formidable top line for the Crunch (it’s why you see Brown refer to himself as J.T. Brownov on Twitter). The line was broken up after Steven Stamkos‘ broken leg,which led to Kucherov and Brown’s NHL debuts shortly after. Namestnikov was also slowed down by a broken hand towards the end of November. He put up 21 points in 44 games with the Crunch that season. Namestnikov made his NHL debut late that season, appearing in four games.
Namestnikov made the Lightning roster out of training camp for the 2014-15 season, but struggled at times and only contributed 16 points (9 goals, 7 assists) in 43 games. He also appeared in 34 games for the Crunch with 14 goals and 21 assists during the middle of the season before returning to the NHL club.
Namestnikov made the club out of training camp again this season and has stuck around for good. He started out mostly on the third line but with the extraordinary number of injuries to forwards, he’s spent a good chunk of time in the top six, including playing with Stamkos and Kucherov. His production still isn’t where you want to see him, but he has been sitting close to a half-point per game pace.
His natural position is center and he is good in the faceoff circle. His ceiling is as a second line, play-making center, though we’re seeing now he’s perfectly capable of contributing on the wing. He is closing in on 100 NHL games and has all the tools to have a long career ahead of him in the NHL.
W Nikita Kucherov – 2nd round, 58th overall
Kucherov had first-round-worthy status, but as happens too often, teams were scared off by the Russian Factor. In his first draft fully in command with Al Murray, GM Steve Yzerman was quickly showing he was not afraid of the Russian Factor. It was certainly a risk to take, but Yzerman had a plan: to quickly add top-end skill to the organization as the prospect cupboard was bare at the time.
Kucherov, unlike Namestnikov, had not come to North America yet and was playing in Russia, splitting time between the MHL (Russian junior league) and the KHL. After his draft selection, Kucherov remained in Russia with CSKA Moscow through 2011-12 before getting his release from his contract to go to North America and play in the CHL, being drafted by the Quebec Remparts in the CHL Import Draft.
The 2012-13 NHL lockout created problems for the Remparts: they had 3 import players after Mikhail Grigerenko was returned to the team. In the CHL, teams could only dress 2 import players and Kucherov was on the short-end much of the time, playing in six total games with the Remparts and contributed 3 goals and 7 assists. He ended up traded to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies where he went on a tear, putting up 53 points(26 goals and 27 assists) in 27 games. He’d top it off with 24 points in 14 playoff games. It was already looking like Yzerman had a steal.
Kuch made his North American professional debut in 2013-14 with the Syracuse Crunch alongside the aforementioned Namestnikov. Searching for answers after Stamkos went down with injury, Kucherov was promoted to the NHL and joined the Lightning. He would score a goal on his first shift on his first shot in his NHL debut.
Oh yes, Rick Peckham calls him Dmitri as Dmitri Korobov had also just been called up and was playing in the game as well.
Kucherov’s early success turned to struggle; he played limited minutes mostly next to his less-offensively talented linemates Nate Thompson and Brown. he did drive possession even with those two players and had good advanced statistics. Challenged to develop a better defensive game as well as cut the communication barrier with teammates.
Kucherov was on the bubble to make the team going into 2014-15. The team had a bit of a logjam at forward and as one of the few waiver eligible players he was a candidate to be sent down. Instead, the team kept him and placed Richard Panik on waivers losing him to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The rest is history as Kucherov joined Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson several weeks into the season and form The Triplets, one of the most lethal five on five lines all of last season.
This season has been a struggle as The Triplets struggled to re-discover their chemistry. Injuries to Palat and Johnson have made it difficult as well and caused Kucherov to be passed around to different linemates but has settled in with Namestnikov and Stamkos on the first line. As of this writing he leads the team in scoring (13 goals, 16 assists).
He is a bona fide top line scoring winger and is solidifying himself as a player that Yzerman will want to keep in the organization for a long time to come.
D Nikita Nesterov – 5th round, 148th overall
Having used up the 3rd and 4th round picks in trades for Eric Brewer and Simon Gagne respectively, Yzerman and Murray did not get to pick again until the 5th round. They again drew from the Russian well, selecting offensive defenseman Nikita Nesterov. There is a running joke on Twitter that Nesterov begins shooting as soon as he gets to the arena and that’s not far from true. Never afraid to shoot, he has a knack for getting the puck through traffic and on net. Unlike Namestnikov and Kucherov, Nesterov remained in Russia for two more years after his selection before signing an Entry Level Contract and moving to North America to play for Syracuse starting in 2013-14.
Nesterov struggled mightily to adjust to the smaller rinks and the more physical style of play, often looking lost while his offensive skills dimmed as he only putt up 16 points in 54 games.
In 2014-15 though, he came out flying, looking much more comfortable and playing well in both ends of the rink. He played in 32 games with the Crunch and also made his NHL debut, appeared in 27 regular season games and 17 playoff games. Due to his shortcomings on the defensive side, head coach Jon Cooper often went to a 11 forward, 7 defenseman lineup split to allow him to mix and match Nesterov and put him in the best position to succeed.
This season, he has taken a little bit of a step back but looks to be righting the ship with his latest call-up to Tampa.
His defensive shortcomings have kept him from really solidifying himself as a full time defenseman in the NHL and his offensive talents have yet to fully blossom either because of his limited ice time. The jury is still out on how much time Nesterov will get in the NHL, but right now he looks like he’s just about topped out as a 6/7 fringe defenseman.
G Adam Wilcox – 6th round, 178th overall
Wilcox was a draft and follow NCAA prospect. He had played well in the USHL and was a commit to the University of Minnesota. He played another year in the USHL before making the move to college where had three seasons with the Golden Gophers. His first two seasons were stellar as he backstopped a very good Golden Gophers team. His Junior year however was a bit of a struggle as Minnesota had lost many talented players. Following the conclusion of his Junior collegiate season, Wilcox elected to forego his last year of collegiate eligibility and signed an Entry Level Contract with the Lightning, making his professional debut for the Syracuse Crunch.
He’s had a shaky start in making the adjustment to the professional game . Every one is a little bigger and a little faster whenever you step up a level. He is settling in as the gbackup goalie in Syracuse this seasonr and will have a couple seasons to develop in the AHL. His projection is that of a back-up NHL goalie and we could see him in that role in as little as two seasons time. He hasn’t made it to the NHL yet, but he’s got the talent to make it happen.
C Matthew Peca – 7th round, 201st overall
Another draft-and-follow, Peca turned into a two-way force for Quinnipiac University putting in a four year career where he was just under a point per game player. He played up and down the lineup throughout his career and proved to be more of a play-maker than a scorer. After finishing his college eligibility he signed an Entry Level Contract and debuted with the Syracuse Crunch last spring.
This is his full year in the professional ranks and he is being expected to provide offense as one of the top center options for the Crunch (he has 4 goals and 11 assists in 30 games). He still has a ways to go before he makes it to the NHL but he has the tools on both sides of the puck to make it. He projects to be a third line center and could also play the wing there if needed.
LW Ondrej Palat – 7th round, 207th overall
The fourth-from-final selection from the 2011 draft, Palat was an overage choice and had just finished his second year in the QMJHL. He was likely headed back to his native Czech Republic and looking at the possibility of a very successful professional career in his homeland. Instead, he got the call near the end of the draft and joined the Norfolk Admirals in 2011-12 where they won a Calder Cup.
While he only produced a half point per game that season (9 goals, 21 assists in 61 games played), he did a lot of the little things away from the puck and found chemistry with Tyler Johnson and Richard Panik. 2012-13 saw the trio back in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch during the NHL lockout. In the spring, all three had the NHL debuts and a brief stint with the Bolts before returning to the Crunch and making it to the Calder Cup Finals for the second consecutive year.
At the beginning of the 2013-14 season, that trio would make the Lightning out of training camp and were expected to provide scoring punch as the team’s third line. Panik got off to a rough start and Steven Stamkos soon went down with a broken leg. After some initial line juggling, Palat and Johnson were joined by Martin St. Louis and formed a very potent first line. St. Louis was traded to the Rangers at the deadline and Stamkos joined the duo. That performance lead to Johnson and Palat finishing 2nd and 3rd in the Calder Trophy voting.
2014-15 saw Palat and Johnson finding a new right winger in Kucherov after initially starting the year on separate lines. The Triplets as they became known went on to become one of the best five-on-five lines in the NHL. While Palat has put up lower point totals than the other two, he is the best defensively and is a strong player on the boards digging pucks out. He is such a good example, that it was recently reported that Syracuse Crunch head coach Rob Zettler showed a number of prospects tape of Palat as an example of how to play the game. While this year has been marred by injury, Palat is still on an upward trajectory and should have a long lasting career in the NHL.
