Stop us if you’ve heard this before. The Chicago Blackhawks are up against a deadline to sign one of their prospects and somehow that prospect ends up with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Last year it was Dominic James, and this year it is Jack Pridham. Chicago’s third-round selection (92 overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft was set to have his contract rights expire if he didn’t sign his entry-level contract or commit to a college program by 5:00 PM EST on June 1. Had he done neither, the 20-year-old would have been able to re-enter the NHL draft.
Instead, the Tampa Bay Lightning traded a 2027 third-round pick to Chicago for his rights and announced that Pridham had chosen a collegiate program that would be announced in the future. It appears that the right-shot winger will be joining Hagen Burrows at the University of Denver, one of the true college powerhouse programs led by former Lightning draft pick David Carle.
It’s been a back-and-forth journey for Pridham as his original path had him spending a few seasons in a lower-tier Canadian junior hockey league (the BCHL) before heading to Boston University. When the NCAA changed their eligibility rules to allow CHL players into college, Pridham decided to give the OHL a shot and joined the Kitchener Rangers, who had drafted him in the ninth round of the OHL draft. It turned out to be a pretty good decision as he put up 54 points in 48 games during the 2024-25 season.
He de-committed from BU and stayed with Kitchener this past season. As a 20-year-old he put up 90 points (46 goals, 44 assists) in 65 regular season games before adding another 17 points (2 goals, 15 assists) in the playoffs. Riding with Sam O’Reilly, Pridham added an OHL title as well as a Memorial Cup Championship to his resume.
Now, expectations should be tempered a bit considering last season was his 20-year-old season in the OHL. Still, he’s put up points in every league he’s played in, and he did have 27 goals in 48 games as a 19-year-old the prior season. It will be interesting to see how he does as a 21-year-old in college next season.
With a stacked roster of prospects in Chicago, it seemed Pridham was looking for another opportunity, and he got it when the Lightning traded for him. How deep are things in The Windy City? Pridham didn’t make Second City Hockey’s Top 25 Under 25 last summer. He did crack their mid-season update in the 22nd spot, but that would still be a lot of players to leapfrog in order to earn consistent playing time.
He goes from a mid-tier prospect in the ‘Hawks organization to a probably top-10 in the Lightning. How long will it be before Pridham joins O’Reilly in the professional leagues? That’s hard to say. He’ll be 21 at the start of the season, so it’s unlikely he’ll spend all four seasons with the Pioneers, but even if it’s just a year or two, he should benefit from Carle’s tutelage.
What type of player did the Lightning just add to their organization? Checking the scouting reports from his draft year and in subsequent prospect updates, Jack Pridham is not just a solid skater, but might be one of the best ones in Tampa Bay’s prospect pool. Not only that, but at 6’2″ and 185 lbs. he also has decent size. His shot plays well at the OHL level (as evident by his 46 goals) and he can score from range.
Pridham has all of the tools to succeed, but he does need to work on his decision making skills a bit. It seems to be the case that less may be more with the Ontario native. In the past, he has shown a tendency to try for the more complicated, highlight-reel play as opposed to keeping things simple. That will be harder for him to do as the quality of competition increases.
He works hard on the ice, has the speed to beat defenders wide or down the middle of the ice, and the skill to finish off the play. Those ingredients make for a promising prospect, and acquiring a player with his potential for a future draft pick is a pretty good use of assets by Julien BriseBois. It might be a season or two before it pays off at the professional level, but Pridham will be a fun prospect to watch over the next few seasons.
