The Lightning pull out a few tricks to make their trip to Nashville worthwhile

As we wait for the opening bell to ring for free agency, here is a quick review of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2023 draft class. When the brass left Tampa for the Nashville honkey tonks early in the week, it didn’t seem like there would be much to write home about. They had three picks with the first coming in the sixth round after 178 prospects had been selected. Things changed fairly rapidly in Music City. Julien BriseBois’ first move was to trade restricted free agent Ross Colton to Colorado for a second-round pick prior to the draft starting. On Thursday he traded a fourth-round pick in 2024 to Nashville for the 115th pick, a pick they originally owned before including it in the Tanner Jeannot deal. To finish things off, Mr. BriseBois acquired a 2024 seventh-round pick for the rights to Corey Perry. Not a bad bit of asset management. He then went on to use all five picks at his disposal. With the picks he selected a fairly safe forward in Ethan Gauthier, who projects to be a middle-six winger that isn’t flashy but gets the job done. With his other four picks he took some forward with high upside, and a defensive prospect that could be a bit of a project. There were no sure-fire home runs, but a solid crop of players that the Lightning will be able to watch develop over the next few years before deciding on their futures with the organization. They did pretty good with the resources that they had, but will have to hope that the kids outplay their projections. Overall an average-to-okay draft that grades out as a “C+”. The Picks Round 2 (37) Ethan Gauthier - RW - Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL) 5’11” 175 lbs. Round 4 (115) Jayson Shaugabay - RW - Warrod (Minnesota High School) 5’9’ 168 lbs. Round 6 (179) Warren Clark - D - Steinbach Pistons (MJHL) 6’3” 195 lbs. Round 7 (193) Jack Harvey - C - Chicago Steel (USHL) 5’10” 175 lbs. Round 7 (211) Ethan Hay - C - Flint Firebirds (OHL) 6’1” 189 lbs. The Breakdown 4 Forwards 1 Defenseman 0 Goaltenders With a lack of picks, even after acquiring two at the draft, the Lightning focused on what is probably their deepest need in the prospect pool - forwards. While none of the players they drafted are dynamic offensive threats, they do play “The Lightning Way” - smart, 200 ft hockey. For the second time in the last three drafts they did not select a goaltender. With Andrei Vasilevskiy signed through the 2027-28 season, it’s not seen as a priority. Hugo Alnefelt is set to take over the net full time in Syracuse so, barring injuries, they can afford to bypass goalies for a couple of drafts. They do still have Nick Malik, drafted in 2022, in the system (as well as the rights to Ty Taylor who is currently playing in Scotland). 3 players born in the United States (although Gauthier has Canadian citizenship) 2 Canadians (both from Ontario) 0 Europeans 0 Russians This is the only Al Murray-led draft in Lightning history not to feature a player drafted from either a European league or a Russian league. One has to go all the way back to 2010 to find a Tampa Bay draft class composed of players that played exclusively in North America (although they did draft Radko Gudas who had moved from the Czech league to the WHL the year they drafted him). Had the Lightning had their full complement of choices (or even half of them) they likely would have brought in a player from across the pond. It seems that with just three picks, all late round selections, prior to Wednesday night, they focused on more local prospects. The unrest caused by Russia’s war in the Ukraine likely cut down on their scouting in the region as well. Average size of the forwards: 5’ 10” 177 lbs. Size matters not to the Lightning. This isn’t the 1990’s any more when general managers salivate over physical specimens like Chris Gratton or Eric Lindros. While it might knock them down a few spots, smaller players still have the chance to be drafted and given a chance to develop. For the most part the players were right around average with Shaugabay the exception. These kids, except for Harvey, are all 18 so they still have time to grow a bit. Speaking of Harvey, it is interesting that he was the only overager the Bolts picked on Thursday. The last few years they have used their later round picks on players that were a little older with the chance to develop a little quicker. Player to most likely make it to the NHL the fastest Ethan Gauthier. While he’s not going to be strapping on a Lightning sweater this fall, he likely has the quickest path to the NHL (even with Harvey being two years older). Gauthier has the best skill set of the draft and the other players are very much projects that will take some time to develop. Player most likely to lead Bolts fans to gloat about how good the scouting staff is Shaugabay. Before putting up 96 points in 31 games in his final year in high school, Shaugabay put up 16 points (3 goals, 13 assists) with the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL. He is a playmaker, and they usually make for the most intriguing prospects. A scout told Elite Prospects, “Not exaggerating when I say he has the top half of the first-round puck skills. He’s one of the most purely skilled players and best playmakers in this class.” The one knock on him is his size and tendency to play on the periphery. If he can show that, despite his size, he’s willing to get into the dirty areas and fight for the puck, he could be one of those diamonds in the rough that the Lightning have become known for. College hockey, he’s committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, should be a good testing ground to see if he can elevate his game to the next level. Player most likely to be thrown into a deal at next year’s deadline Trick question, it’ll be Isaac Howard from the 2022 draft. After all, that’s what first round picks are for, right? What did others say about the Lightning’s 2023 draft class? Corey Pronman - The Athletic He graded the Lightning draft a “C” mostly due to the lack of picks. He does consider Gauthier a top-nine winger and believes an argument could be made that the Phoenix-native could be the best prospect in the system. He also provided a player-by-player review . Scott Wheeler - The Athletic Scott rated them as “overtime winners” which he defined as teams that did well with their picks even if they chose players he wouldn’t have for them. He ranked Gauthier as a late first-round prospect, referred to Shaugabay as a “star” on the high school circuit, and enjoyed watching Harvey and acknowledged that some look at Harvey as underrated. ennedy - Yahoo Sports Another “C” (hey, C’s make degrees). He feels that Tampa Bay’s tendency to “over pay” at the trade deadline caught up with them. Kennedy calls Gauthier the “top pick from a class that lacks star power”. Adam Herman - Bleacher Report Grade A! Alright, Adam is our new favorite writer. Herman foresees Gauthier as a Colton replacement in a few years and notes that Hay scored 17 goals for the Firebirds despite being 10 in ice time on the team. More ice time next season could lead to more goals. Alfred Ezman - Bolts By the Bay A B- minus from our fellow Lightning bloggers seems like a fair grade. They state that the Lightning salvaged what they could based on the picks they had.

Raw Charge

The Lightning pull out a few tricks to make their trip to Nashville worthwhile

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