The Tampa Bay Lightning announced this morning that they have reassigned three juniors-bound players from the training camp roster. Forward Boris Katchouk and defensemen Cal Foote and Libor Hajek return to their respective teams.
Boris Katchouk played 13:11 in the preseason opener and 12:52 in the second game. He scored a goal and was a plus-one, and had five shots on goal and two hits. He’ll return to the OHL with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Katchouk was drafted 44th overall in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Lightning. He’ll be eligible to play in the AHL for the 2018-19 season.
Cal Foote played a game-high 21:56 in the preseason opener, and 18:36 in the second game. He was pointless and a minus-one in a solid debut with the Lightning. Foote returns to the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. He was selected 14th overall in the first round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and will be eligible for the AHL in the 2018-19 season.
Libor Hajek also played in both games, with 19:57 TOI in the opener and 17:47 in the second game. He was held pointless and had an even plus-minus rating with four shots on goal. Hajek was selected 37th overall in the 2nd round of the 2016 NHL entry draft. The pick used to select him was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for former first-round pick Anthony DeAngelo. Hajek will return to the Sasakatoon Blades of the WHL and will be eligible for the AHL in the 2018-19 season.
The only juniors players left in training camp now are the injured Otto Somppi and Jonne Tammela. The next round of cuts is likely to come over the weekend or early next week as the AHL bound players head off to the Syracuse Crunch training camp.
