Tampa Bay Lightning Year In Review: Vladislav Namestnikov

Before Tampa Bay Lightning fans turn their attention to the 2015-16 season, let’s take one last look at the 2014-15 season of Lightning center Vladislav Namestnikov.

The Tampa Bay Lightning certainly has a lot to look forward to in the 2015-16 season. They are jam-packed with bright, young talent ready to take on the world and another group of similarly talented players chomping at the bit for their moment in the spotlight.

One of those players that fit comfortably in the latter category is Tampa Bay Lightning and Syracuse Crunch center Vladislav Namestnikov. Namestnikov has yet to play a full season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but his talent has definitely shown through in the time that he has spent here on the main roster.

The twenty two year old Russian center started off the season on the Lightning’s main roster, but as injuries began to heal and more players were ready to reclaim their rightful place on the team, space for some of the Lightning’s younger prospects like Namestnikov became fewer and more far between. It was because of this that Namestnikov was sent back to the Syracuse Crunch for some time.

While down in Syracuse, Namestnikov played in 34 games with the Crunch. In that amount of time, the young center was able to score 14 goals and 21 assists for a total of 35 points to accompany a plus-11 rating. Despite his time on the main roster, Namestnikov still managed to be ranked in fifth place on the team in terms of points.

As the season plugged on, and the Tampa Bay Lightning began to feel the painful sting of the injury bug once again, Vladislav Namestnikov was once again recalled by the Tampa Bay Lightning where he would play well into the Lightning’s postseason run.

All in all, the Zhukovskiy, Russia native played in 43 regular season games with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In that amount of time, Vladdy would score 9 goals and 7 assists for a total of 16 points along with a plus-1 rating.

One of the moments that really stick out during the season involving Vladislav Namestnikov came very early in the season. On October 13, 2014 as the Tampa Bay Lightning took on the Montreal Canadiens in the third game of the season. Vladdy would put the final nail in the coffin of the Canadiens that would ultimately become a 7-1 win for the Lightning.

Did we mention that this was Vladdy’s first-ever National Hockey League goal?

As we mentioned before, Namestnikov did get an opportunity to play in his first-ever National Hockey League postseason game in the 2014-15 season. Namestnikov started in Game 1 against the Detroit Red Wings on April 16, 2015. It was just one game later when he would score his first postseason point with an assist on a goal by Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr in the second period.

While Namestnikov may not have had the biggest impact in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s postseason, the experience that he gained playing at such a high level is invaluable to a player like him who is trying to develop his game.

At this point and time it is unknown how the Tampa Bay Lightning roster is going to play out in the 2015-16 season. There are so many possibilities that could take effect, but we won’t have any real idea which of these scenarios will come into play until training camp concludes and the Lightning prepare to take the ice for the first time.

The one thing we do know for sure is that if there is any player in the Lightning’s developmental system that will be vying for one of the few open positions on the Lightning’s main roster, that player is Vladislav Namestnikov.

What did you think of Vladdy’s performance in the 2014-15 season? Do you think he has a chance of cracking the main roster in the 2015-16 season? What kind of an impact do you think he could have on the Lightning’s offensive lineup? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning: Top 10 Lightning Prospects

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