Jack Finley probably won’t be on the ice until December, but once he’s back, expect big things from the third-year center.
| Name | Jack Finley |
| Position | Center |
| Age (as of October 1) | 22 |
| Height/Weight | 6’6″, 224 lbs. |
| Expected 2024-25 Team | Syracuse Crunch |
| Draft – Year, Round | 2020 Round Two (#57) |
| Previous Rankings | #10 (2023), #13 (2022), #20 (2021) |
| Writer’s Ranking | #12 |
| Reader’s Ranking | #9 |
| Final Rank | #11 |
Stats
Our Thoughts
It would have been an interesting training camp for Jack Finley if he wasn’t recovering from an injury. With the injuries to Luke Glendening and Mikey Eyssimont, Finley could have been a nice fit for a few games in the NHL to begin the season. Instead, he’ll be focusing on rehabbing his undisclosed injury with a targeted return date of early December.
That’s pretty much been the story of Finley’s career since being drafted by the Lightning back in 2020.He missed just about all of the 2020-21 season and was limited to 52 games last year. The good news is that when he was on the ice last year, he was extremely effective. He set career highs in goals (13), assists (19), and points (32) despite being in and out of the line-up throughout the year.
His skills on the ice are undeniable. At 6’6″, he uses his size to occupy a large amount of space in front of the opposing goaltender and he has the hands to redirect pucks or jam home rebounds. With goaltenders trying to look around him, Finley can also distribute the puck pretty well, becoming a two-way threat, especially on power plays.
Since he usually plays so close to the net, we don’t see his wrist shot too often, but it plays pretty well at the AHL level and should translate well at the NHL level as well. His skating is okay, but he’s not going to be blazing down the ice on breakaways on a consistent basis.
Defensively, his size is his biggest weapon as he can use his long reach to deflect passes and break up plays. While not overly physical in the sense that he lays out opponents with huge hits, he does use his height and weight effectively to push players off the puck or into the boards.
Had he been healthy for camp, Finley would likely be battling for a spot on the Lightning’s bottom-six with the fallback of being one of the Crunch’s top centers if he didn’t make the cut. When he does return later in the year, his focus should be on continuing the improvement he’s shown over the last two years in Syracuse with an overarching goal of making the Lightning team in the 2025-26 season.
The St. Louis-born forward projects out to be a bottom-six center who can kill penalties and help out with the power play. His size and style of play immediately draw comparisons to Brian Boyle, with Finley being a better skater.
When he is on the ice, Finley has improved every year. His biggest struggle has just been staying on the ice. He’s still young enough (he just turned 22 earlier this month) that he can put these injuries in the past and still have a successful career.
Highlight Videos
This play showed a couple of things that are underrated in Finley’s game. The quick little movement after he received the puck to get inside the defender. Then he unleashed a nice, heavy shot from distance. Since he’s usually in tight to the netminder, we don’t see that shot too often.
This is more along the lines of what we are used to seeing from Finley. He eclipsed the goaltender in front of the net, used his size to stay in position, and then was strong on the stick to put home the rebound.
Sometimes secondary assists have little to do with the goal actually being scored. Not in this case. Finley is able to settle down a bouncing pass quickly. That is key to the timing of the pay as he snapped a pass to Alex Barre-Boulet down low.
Watch the final angle of the replay to see how hard it is for goaltenders to deal with a large body in front. Devon Levi had to move up, down and all around as he tried to track the puck. That much movement often leaves a goalie out of position to stop deflections or rebounds.
Long arms are a benefit when you’re trying a wraparound.
