The Bolts
“The Tampa Bay Lightning will officially be picking 14th in this summer’s NHL draft. It would have taken some incredible luck for the Lightning to land one of the top three picks and as expected, that didn’t happen… While the Lightning won’t have a chance at the players ranked at the very top of this year’s draft class, they will still have a chance to get a very good prospect at number 14.” [Raw Charge]
“Since taking over as General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010, Steve Yzerman has shown a fondness for drafting players out of the Ontario Hockey League – especially with his early picks. In the seven drafts under Yzerman, the Bolts have selected 16 OHLers, including 11 in the first three rounds of the draft. Not only are they selecting OHLers early, but they’re being successful while doing so. As of now, the Bolts hold two second round picks – their own and one acquired from the Maple Leafs in the Brian Boyle trade. With that in mind, here are the names of a few OHLers to keep in the back of your head when those picks come around.” [Raw Charge]
The Worlds
With nine members of the Tampa Bay Lightning participating across three teams at the IIHF World Championship, we’ll be keeping a close eye on Canada (Jon Cooper, Alex Killorn, and Brayden Point), Russia (Nikita Kucherov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and prospect Nikita Gusev) and Sweden (Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman).
The Worlds officially begin next week, but both Russia and Sweden are currently taking part in a series of pre-tournament matches known as the Carlson Hockey Games.
Despite out-shooting their opponent 33-16, Russia lost 1-0 to Finland. The lone goal was scored by former Bolt Valtteri Filppula.
Hedman and Stralman were held off the score sheet as Sweden lost 8-4 to the Czech Republic.
Jon Cooper talks about how Team Canada plans to approach the Worlds. “You have to adapt to the kind of players you have, and there’s a lot of speed and a lot of skill in that [locker] room. So we’ve got take advantage of our speed, take advantage of our skill, and play with pace.” [TSN]
The Game
“The 2017 NHL draft lottery offered some high drama on Saturday night, as the New Jersey Devils jumped from fifth overall to claim the first overall pick. The Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers also made huge leaps. The Flyers jumped from 13th overall to second overall and the Stars jumped from eighth overall to third overall.” [SB Nation]
Taylor Hall’s teams have won four out of seven possible NHL entry draft lotteries since he joined the NHL. “Hall seems to be that one person who needs a single ticket at the raffle to walk away with the flat-screen television. That is, if the last eight NHL Draft lotteries are any indication. Previously the prize at the event, Hall’s luck at the draft lottery evidently transferred to the New Jersey Devils, who acquired him in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers last summer.” [Puck Daddy]
Officially adding “NHL lottery ball specialist” to my hockey resume.
— Taylor Hall (@hallsy09) April 30, 2017
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored four goals, the last of which was the double-overtime winner, to get the Senators a 6-5 win over the Rangers.
