Award

We continue our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their recent contributions on and off the ice.

The Prospect of the Week for January 23 is … Cory Conacher, W, Tampa Bay (NHL – USA)

Last week the North American sports world’s biggest headlines were about a story that was fake. During the college football season, Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o was the subject of multiple stories documenting his inspirational play in memory of his deceased girlfriend. It was a heart-wrenching story… until it was proven to be false. Te’o was allegedly the victim of a hoax and his girlfriend never existed beyond someone’s imagination.

The American sports fan was already cynical, and now their ability to engage in an emotional story will take a greater hit.

Don’t let it.

Good (true) stories still exist. Take Cory Conacher as an example.

After a break for the World Junior Championships, we continue our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their recent contributions on and off the ice.

The Prospect of the Week for January 15 is … Artem Sergeev, D, Val-d’Or (QMJHL – Canada)

Artem Sergeev is what we call a “bonus pick.” He went undrafted twice, but the Lightning saw enough in him last season to commit an NHL contract to him as a free agent on July 1.

This week we continue our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their recent contributions on and off the ice.

This week’s winner is the only person to walk on this earth that can say he completed his Harvard University degree while winning a Calder Cup championship.

The Prospect of the Week for December 17 is … Alex Killorn, C/W, Syracuse (AHL – USA)

No one can claim they completed their Harvard degree while winning a Calder Cup championship except Alex Killorn.

Killorn made his AHL debut late last season for the Norfolk Admirals after finishing an outstanding collegiate career at Harvard University. He finished his last Harvard paper during Norfolk’s Calder Cup run, contributing three goals and 12 points when he wasn’t hunched over his computer.

This week we continue our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their recent contributions on and off the ice.

This week’s winner said good-bye to his club team with a dramatic exit.

The Prospect of the Week for December 10 is … Nikita Kucherov, RW, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL – Canada)

A lot is expected of Russia this month at the upcoming World Junior Championships. The city of Ufa, Russia, is hosting the tournament, and the Russians will not settle for anything less than a gold medal.

With the NHL mired in a lockout, a lot of attention will be on the tournament from North America, too, especially in hockey-rabid Canada.

It’s a big deal.

This week we continue our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their recent contributions on and off the ice.

This week’s winner made people remove their chapeaus and toss them onto a sheet of frozen water to delay a sporting match.

The Prospect of the Week for December 3 is … Cedric Paquette, center, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL – Canada)

Paquette started the year off on the wrong foot when he would frequently retaliate to opposing players’ efforts to get under his skin. The final straw for the coaching staff was when the 6-1, 200-pound center took a bad penalty away from the play in the closing minutes of a tie game, resulting in an Armada loss. The team suspended Paquette for one game and removed his alternate captain’s letter from his jersey.