Tampa Bay Lightning top prospect report:

Probably one of the weakest prospect pools in the EHEC, the Tampa Bay Lightning have spent recent years focusing on competing for the Stanley Cup, and have traded most of their draft picks and prospects for impact players. As a result, the top 5 prospects in the organization are not much to write about, but here they are anyhow.

1.Nando Eggenberger
The 20 year old Swiss forward is about to make his debut, having survived the final cuts at the end of training camp. A solid defensive player, Eggenberger will likely see regular 4th line minutes, and possibly help to kill penalties. His offensive upside is limited, but he looks to be a regular bottom 6 forward for years to come.

2. Nikita Okhotyuk
Acquired in the offseason from the NY Rangers, Okhotyuk was a 4th round pick in 2019. A good stay at home defenseman, Okhotyuk will be one of 2 underage players for the Syracuse Crunch this season. It remains to be seen if Okhotyuk will develop into an EHEC regular, or a career minor leaguer, but with the lack of prospects, he???ll get every chance possible to play regular AHL minutes.

3. Elmer Soderblom
Like Okhotyuk, Soderblom was acquired from the NY Rangers in the offseason. Also a 4th round pick, the towering (6???7) centre will be the other underage player on the Syracuse Crunch this season. Another borderline prospect, Soderblom will get a chance to develop with regular AHL minutes this season.

4. Mitchell Miller
Miller will spend another season playing junior hockey in Sweden. The undersized defenseman was a late pick by the Lightning in the 2020 entry draft. While he is projected to be a career minor leaguer, he???ll get more opportunities in the Lightning organization than he would with other teams.

5. Adam Mascherin
Drafted in the second round back in 2016, Mascherin was signed by the Lightning as a free agent this season, after playing 2 seasons in the ECHL. Lightning scouts were impressed with his defensive skills and physical play, in spite of his short (5???10) stature. If he can develop some offensive skills to match, he could see EHEC minutes in the future.

Other prospects in no particular order:
Forwards: Max Zimmer, Demetrios Koumontzis, Damien Giroux, Tyler Madden, Artyom Ivanyuzhenkov
Defense: John St. Ivany, Nathan Knoepke, Victor Mete
Goalies: Filip Larsson, Kirill Ustimenko, Dayton Rasmussen