Believe it or not, the 2026 NHL Draft is right around the corner. Soon, all of the top prospects will be gathered in Buffalo, hoping to hear their names called on night one of the draft. There will be hugs and hats. Fans will put too much expectations on their shoulders, and in the end, if even a handful of them have a productive NHL career, it will be considered a successful draft.
The Lightning are not drafting on night one. To be fair, that’s par for the course as 2026 will be the fourth consecutive year that they’ve surrendered their first-round pick. That’s the price a team plays when the general manager is aggressively active at trying to improve the on-ice team as opposed to moving up the “best prospects” rankings.
We’ll get to some prospects that might interest the Lightning with their pick in the middle of the second round this season. Today, however, we’re going to take a look back at last summer and see how that class fared over the last twelve months.
Immediately after the draft, the grades were pretty consistent. Daily FaceOff gave them a C+, but they did like the Czata pick. Bleacher Report also liked that pick and gave them a B+. The Worldwide Leader also handed them a C+ as ESPN compared Czata to Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli. One more C+ from The Athletic, who called the draft “respectable”.
Second Round (56) Ethan Czata
The first player added to the organization last June was Ethan Czata, a big forward with offensive skills and a bit of edge to his game. Fans apparently liked what they saw as he made his Top 25 Under 25 debut in the eleventh spot. He didn’t do much to dull the shine as he posted 53 points, including a career-high 25 goals, in 63 games. A quick exit for Niagara allowed Czata, who has already signed his entry-level deal, to join the Syracuse Crunch on a try-out deal.
The rambunctious forward didn’t record a point in his brief three-game stint, but he did rack up 17 penalty minutes. It looks like he’ll head back to junior hockey for one more season, but it will be for a different team as the IceDogs traded his rights to Guelph a few weeks ago. The Storm are loading up their roster as they prepare to host the 2027 Memorial Cup.
Fourth Round (108) Benjamin Rautiainen
No prospect in the system added to their value more than Benjamin Rautiainen. An overage selection that the Bolts traded up to select, he rewarded their faith with a 77-point season, helping Tappara win a Liiga title. He’s sparked some interest as he’s signed his entry-level deal and is heading over for training camp. If he doesn’t make the team, it’s probably another year in Finland, which isn’t the worst thing in the world for a player who just turned 21 a few days ago.
Fourth Round (127) Aiden Foster
The 6’2″ forward checked off another 100 penalty-minute season, so he hasn’t lost the physical nature of his game, but he’s added a little more refinement to his game. Foster finished the season with 14 goals for Prince George. He’s likely headed back to the Cougars for one more season. If he can keep improving the non-physical aspects of his game he’ll move up the prospect rankings. He did get a few days with the Crunch following the season, but didn’t get into any action.
Fifth Round (151) Everett Baldwin
Baldwin is taking full advantage of the mobility allowed to prospects with the new CHL-NCAA agreement. He spent some time in the USHL in 2024-25, then put up 44 points with Saint John in the QMJHL last year. Despite setting a Sea Dogs rookie defenseman record with 15 goals, he’s taking his talents to Providence College next season. There is still a lot of development needed, but a mobile, offensively-minded blueliner could fill a big need for the Lightning.
Seventh Round (193) Caleb Heil
Lost in the solid play of Rautiainen and Marco Mignosa, was a really good season for goaltender Caleb Heil. He made the Under-20 World Junior team for USA, appearing in two games during the tournament. For his day job, posted a .905 SV% and 2.34 GAA for Madison in the USHL. Heil was even better in the playoffs as he went 7-4-0 with a .944 SV% and 1.95 GAA.
The strong play earned him the Dave Peterson Award, awarded by USA Hockey to the top goaltender. Next up is college hockey as he will be between the pipes for University of North Dakota this season.
Seventh Round (206) Roman Luttsev
An injury sidelined the rugged center from November to April, limiting him to just 16 regular season games. He returned in time to help Loko Yaroslavl to the MHL title recording 5 goals and 4 assists in 15 post-season games.
Luttsev is the very definition of a long shot to make it in the NHL. He’ll likely be in Russia for the near future, and if he does make it over, a lot of work has to be done to make it to the top level. But, hey, that’s what seventh round picks are for.
Seventh Round (212) Grant Spada
Spada made an impression in the Lightning’s prospect showcase last summer. His size is noticeable, and he didn’t let the fact that he was one of the younger players out there prevent him from using that size to his advantage. There will be some more focus on him this year as Guelph tries to move up the standings. There was a big improvement in his offense, but he’ll have to keep getting better to move past the long-term project stage of his development.
Seventh Round (215) Marco Mignosa
The top scoring prospect in the Lightning system last season, Mignosa put up 89 points (35 goal, 54 assists) for the Soo Greyhounds in 2025-26. Yes, Jack Pridham had 90 points, but he wasn’t a Lightning prospect until a few weeks ago. Like Pridham, Mignosa isn’t leveraging a strong season at the junior hockey level into a professional career. He’ll be heading to Penn State University to give NCAA Hockey a shot.
It’s always nice to see a prospect putting up points, but the fact that he did it as a 20-year-old is also worth noting. Can he repeat the success at Penn State? If he can, his collegiate career could be short.
It was a really good season for the Lightning’s 2025 draft class. A vast majority of the class exceeded expectations. No one is knocking on the NHL door just yet (well Rautiainen might be lightly tapping) but there is potential there. The Bolts will be looking to duplicate the results in a couple of weeks when they make their six selections.
