Who will the Lightning bring to training camp? - Tampa Bay Times

Training camp starts Monday for teams around the NHL. Teams are allowed up to 30 skaters and infinite goalies for camp, then have to narrow that down to 31 total players to bring to Toronto on July 26.

The Lightning will have 33 players in camp. The coaches came up with their breakdown of 18 forwards, 10 defensemen, four goalies with dual purpose: determine their final roster but also prepare the regular lineup for playoffs.

Forwards

Alex Barre-Boulet

Last year’s AHL Rookie of the Year, Barre-Boulet was highly-touted but did not have a great showing in 2019 training camp. He returned to Syracuse for the year and again led the Crunch in scoring with 27 goals and 56 points. Barre-Boulet got the final spot on the roster created by Steven Stamkos’ injury.

Anthony Cirelli

In his second full season, Cirelli was on his way to a 20-goal season. He also took on top defensive assignments, making a name for himself in the league and essentially leading the way on the team’s focus on defensive responsibility.

Blake Coleman

The winger joined the Lightning just before the trade deadline. Coleman only recorded one assist in nine games, but he was brought in to be a physical presence and played a pest role, sticking on players like Toronto’s John Tavares.

Barclay Goodrow

The final player acquired right at the trade deadline, Goodrow immediately clicked with Coleman on the penalty kill — maybe there’s something to the idea of bonding over being new.

Yanni Gourde

The season pause has dragged on so much that the 36 games Gourde went without a goal doesn’t even seem that long ago anymore. Gourde demonstrated how much of an impact he can make without points.

Tyler Johnson

The center/winger moved throughout the lineup this season. Johnson spent time on each of the first, second and third lines. His 14 goals are down from 29 last year (.2 per game vs. .3), but his assist rate went up.

Mathieu Joseph

The second-year winger was unable to pick up where he left off with a great season last year. Joseph returned to the AHL in December. He bounced back and forth a couple of times, but largely stayed in Syracuse after that. Joseph was one of the most likely next recalls as of the season pause.

Alex Killorn

After coming within five goals of the mark five different times, the winger finally hit the 20-goal milestone this year. Killorn might have flirted with 30 had the season continued. He played a bigger role on the second line and on the power play, while also taking on more leadership in the dressing room.

Nikita Kucherov

The defending Hart Trophy winner wasn’t on the same historic pace from last year, but he was still heading for another 100-point season. Kucherov had some issues transitioning to the more defensively-responsible system and was benched mid-game in December. He then finished the season with points in 22 of 23 games.

Pat Maroon

The nine-year veteran joined the Lightning fresh off a Stanley Cup win to add some physicality. He also took on a leadership role, calling out the team about making stupid mistakes, even after winning 4-0 against the Canadiens just before the pause, and stressing the need for focus down the stretch.

Ondrej Palat

The winger came into training camp looking stronger and faster, then quickly got on pace for a near-career year in goals. Palat’s 17 goals doubled last season’s production in five more games. Scoring is great but not the Lightning’s biggest need for Palat, who played a strong defensive game.

Cedric Paquette

The center was another player on pace for career numbers — nearly everyone who didn’t set a new high last year would have done so this season. He finished the shortened season one point below his career high. He and Pat Maroon clicked well together and were a force with Gourde on the other wing.

Brayden Point

The Lightning’s top center helped set a tone for the team’s focus on defensive responsibility. Point didn’t put up the flashy numbers of last year (25 goals, 64 points), but he maintained a high shooting percentage at 17.7 percent.

Gemel Smith

The forward played only three games at the very start of the season when Paquette was hurt, but Smith clicked with Maroon and Luke Witkowski. Facing off against that physical play, and his strength with puck protection and extending shifts in the offensive zone, will help the Lightning prepare for the playoffs.

Steven Stamkos

The NHL took a break just in time for Stamkos to recover from his surgery, then he got hurt again during Phase 2. General manager Julien BriseBois expects Stamkos to be ready to play. He had shifted to wing full-time, playing with Point and making space for Cirelli at second-line center.

Mitchell Stephens

On watchlists but not expected to make the team, Stephens was recalled Dec. 9. He bounced back and forth a couple of times but eventually stuck in the NHL. He stood out at the faceoff dot, particularly as a penalty-kill specialist (which Stamkos was early in the season).

Carter Verhaeghe

The 24-year-old rookie impressed in training camp after leading the AHL in scoring last season. He finally scored his first goal — and got his first multi-point game — on Dec. 7 and landed a hat trick a month later.

Alex Volkov

After two seasons on the training camp watchlist, Volkov again started in the AHL. He got his first taste of the NHL in November when injuries hit the team before the trip to Sweden. In nine games over three appearances, Volkov’s play improved but never demanded a full-time spot, but he would have been an option for a recall.

Luke Witkowski

Early on in the season, before being sent to the AHL, Witkowski fit right in on the fourth line with Maroon and Paquette. He’s another who brings a level of physicality to help the Lightning get ready quickly. Witkowski is a natural defenseman who plays forward, which adds a layer of security.

Defensemen

Zach Bogosian

The Lightning signed the defenseman Feb. 23, after his contract was bought out by Buffalo. Bogosian played eight games with Tampa Bay before the pause.

Erik Cernak

Coming off a breakout season, Cernak continued to be a reliable defensive presence for the Lightning. He got in trouble for a hit on Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, then was on the receiving end of a dirty kick from Edmonton’s Zack Kassian.

Braydon Coburn

The 34-year-old played only 40 games, his lowest in seven seasons. Coburn dealt with a knee injury and also found himself outside a defenseman-heavy lineup.

Cal Foote

The 2017 first round-draft pick spent another year in the AHL, and while he might have been able to play in the NHL, it was probably better for his development not to. His 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame and skill will challenge the Lightning in preparation for the playoffs.

Victor Hedman

The top defenseman missed the Lightning’s last two games in Detroit and Toronto, the last in a series of injuries on the blue line. Hedman played with almost everyone on the team, looking for the right partner in a revolving lineup.

Ryan McDonagh

The second half of this season was injury-studded for McDonagh. When games stopped, he had just come back from a leg injury suffered blocking a shot. This after he missed six games in January. McDonagh’s absence demonstrates the impact he brings, taking the lead in defensive situations.

Jan Rutta

Before his awkward collision into the boards, the defenseman was having something of a breakout season. Rutta combined with Hedman and stepped up into the role on the top pair. He hit the boards at a weird angle on Feb. 4 and did not play again. He was nearing a return when the season ended.

Mikhail Sergachev

The 21-year-old demonstrated his physical force this season. Sergachev had been considered an offensive defenseman, but put a lot of effort into his positioning and use of his body to become more of a two-way player.

Luke Schenn

The 12-year defenseman started the season in the AHL, after playing in the league for the first time last season. He was recalled as injuries plagued the blue line and stayed in the NHL, though he only played 25 games.

Kevin Shattenkirk

The 31-year-old defenseman fit right into the Lightning season theme of redemption after being bought out by his hometown Rangers this offseason. He brought another veteran voice to the D-corps that had lost Dan Girardi and Anton Stralman, and was on pace for a near 40-point season.

Goalies

Spencer Martin

The five-year-pro spent most of the season in the AHL with a few games in the ECHL as the Lightning’s minor-league system overflowed with goalies. He played three games for the Avalanche in 2017 due to injuries. The coaches wanted four goalies to facilitate scrimmages so bringing in the two main Crunch netminders made sense.

Curtis McElhinney

The 12-year veteran got off to a rough start, competing in tough circumstances when the team did not play well in front of him (like the second half of a back-to-back in Carolina), but settled into a rhythm as the season went on.

Andrei Vasilevskiy

The star goalie was slow out of the gate. Vasilevskiy wasn’t bad per se, but very much not up to expectations coming off of his Vezina season. He settled in by December and looked like the acrobatic brick wall with eyes in the back of his head that Lightning fans know and love.

Scott Wedgewood

The nine-year AHL veteran signed to be the Lightning’s third goalie, before the organization ended up with six net-minders. He’s stepped into the NHL twice, first for four games with the Devils, then 20 games with Arizona in 2017-18.

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Who will the Lightning bring to training camp? - Tampa Bay Times

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