After a nice relaxing weekend, we edge a little closer to the start of the season. Now that we’re more than halfway through August and kids are returning to school in some parts of the county, it really does feel like we’re not that far away from hockey. In fact, we’re probably less than a month away from training camps opening up and players hitting the ice. The Tampa Bay Lightning opened last year’s camp on September 21, so expect them to do it around the same time this season.
After that it won’t take long before there is actual game action with the Bolts first preseason game taking place on the 26th in Carolina. A few days prior to that, the Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes kick things off with a Global Series match-up in Melbourne, Australia. Unlike most preseason games going on at that time, these two meetings will likely feature a few more superstars (and apparently the “top prospect in the world“, Logan Cooley) as the NHL tries to sell the game to a new market.
One nice thing for the Lightning this year is that it seems like just about everyone is healthy. As far as we know, no one needed offseason surgery and with a couple of months of extra rest, they should all be ready to go once the puck drops.
As for us at Raw Charge, we’re looking forward to getting back into the swing of things as well. September will feature the return of the Top 25 Under 25 as we rank the youngsters in the organization and hope that they outperform the rather tepid expectations the national media has bestowed upon them as a group. After that we’ll break down the division and make a prediction or three about the upcoming season. Make sure you bookmark that post so that you can come back and laugh at how bad we (by that I mean, me) are at seeing into the future.
Hopefully, y’all have had a nice, relaxing (albeit extremely hot) summer and are looking forward to watching a Lightning team that may be a little hungrier than the one we saw last season. A spirited, but disappointing first round exit should provide a little motivation for the veterans on the team. The window might not be closed, but for some of the older players on the team, the kicks at the can are starting to diminish.
Now, let’s see what happened over the weekend in this wonderful sport of ours.
Lightning / NHL News
The Stamkos’ visit Monster Jam [Lightning Instagram]
Carter Stamkos upgraded his ride. A Zamboni probably seems a bit lame after climbing into the driver’s seat of Gravedigger.
Goalies are weird (even when they’re kids) [Lightning Twitter]
Goaltender Beckham Bush was mic’d up at a recent Lightning hockey camp and he proved that the weirdness starts early with netminders. “Roar. I’m making the Andrei Vasilevskiy sound” was great. We now need the Big Cat to actually do that in a game.
Top 20 Defensemen in the NHL [NHL.com]
Hey look, it’s another one of those lists created to generate discussion and online outrage! For the record they have Mikhail Sergachev at 17 and Victor Hedman at 4. I’m okay with that. Cale Makar and Adam Fox are pretty good. So is Miro Heiskanen.
Tampa Bay Lightning tickets are on sale [Tampa Bay Lightning]
Single game tickets have been released. Go forth and book them for your favorite opponent and or special occasion.
TRRRRAAAAAADDDEEEE [The Buffalo News]
The Buffalo Sabres have a bunch of defensemen on their roster. The Anaheim Ducks would be happy to have some NHL-caliber blueliners on their roster. The two got together on Friday night to rectify their respective problems as the Sabres sent Ilya Lyubushkin (heretofore best known for his goal song, “I’m a Gummy Bear”) to Anaheim in exchange for fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft.
Robert Mastrosimone signs with Toronto Marlies [Toronto Marlies]
Mastrosimone was one of a handful of college players whose draft rights expired earlier this month. The forward from Arizona State was a second-round pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2019 who put up 42 points (11 goals, 31 assists) in 38 games for the Sun Devils last season. There was some speculation he would sign a two-way deal with a team as an unrestricted free agent, but it looks like he’ll have to prove it at the AHL level first. Based on a quick reading of some of his scouting reports, he would have been an intriguing signing for the Crunch, a team that could probably use a little injection of speed and tenacity on the forward lines.
I’m not saying that the reason we are moving to Savannah this fall has to do with the Savannah Bananas, but I’m not, not saying that either.
