Current Prospects

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning today announced the 24-man roster that will represent the team at the 2018 Prospect Showcase, presented by Florida Blue, which will be held at Germain Arena in Estero, Florida from September 8-11. The Lightning squad is also scheduled to practice at the Brandon Ice Sports Forum on September 7 and September 8 before heading to Estero.

The Lightning team consists of some of the organization’s top prospects, including 2017 first-round pick Cal Foote and 2017-18 CHL Player of the Year Alex Barre-Boulet. Tampa Bay will have a total of six former second-round selections participating in the Prospect Showcase, including its top pick in 2018, Gabriel Fortier, who spent last season with Baie-Comeau of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Other notable players expected to attend are forwards Mitchell Stephens, Mathieu Joseph, Taylor Raddysh and Alexander Volkov, defensemen Erik Cernak and Oleg Sosunov, as well as goaltender Connor Ingram.

Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune is reporting that Lightning GM Steve Yzerman has announced the team has sent qualifying offers to 10 restricted free agent prospects. Those prospects whose rights were retained by the Bolts include forwards Blair Jones, Juraj Simek, Martins Karsums, Nate Thompson, Paul Szczechura, Steve Downie, and Teddy Purcell, along with defensemen Mike Lundin, Paul Ranger, and Vladimir Mihalik.

Forwards Chris Lawrence, Radek Smolenak, and Lauri Tukonen were not tendered qualifying offers and as such will become unrestricted free agents on July 1.

For Simek, Szczechura, and Mihalik this represents their first qualifying offers as their entry level contracts have expired.

Training camp is just around the corner for the Lightning, and in about a month they'll be dropping the puck on the 2009-2010 NHL season. But, for Lightning prospect followers the season starts Thursday, September 10, when Dimitri Kazionov and Kazan square off with Yaroslavl. It will be Bolt Prospects' fifth season of covering the team's prospects, and one of the most interesting in the past half decade. Here's a quick preview of the year ahead: