Tampa Bay Lightning: 30 Best Draft Picks In Franchise History
Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
30. Dominik Masin
Draft Year: 2014
Position: Defense
In a draft year with so much talent at so many positions, the Tampa Bay Lightning could have gone a number of ways with the 35th selection of the 2014 NHL Draft. After selecting defenseman Anthony DeAngelo with the 17th overall pick of round one, the team once again bolstered its blue line depth by selecting defenseman Dominik Masin.
Playing junior hockey in his native Czech Republic, Masin is the stay at home defenseman the Lightning were looking for. Though his 6’1 190 lb frame isn’t the largest, his impressive performances both in junior and international play made Masin stand out to Lightning scouts. During his draft year, I took some notes on Masin’s play:
"Dominik Masin is a versatile defenseman that uses his 6’2 frame very well when he is on the ice. He isn’t the most physical person in the world, but he uses his size to his advantage and can take advantage of smaller forwards as they try to battle him along the wall. Won’t be a force offensively, but has the ability to get his name on the score sheet here and there. Classic stay at home defenseman whose true value is seen in the defensive zone. Will top out as a top-4 defender if all goes well in his development."
After spending most of his young career playing in the Czech Republic, Masin come over to North America after being selected by the Peterborough Petes in the 2014 CHL entry draft. Masin spent much of his time in Europe playing with his native country in international play including the U16, U18, and U20 teams as well as being the captain of the U19 team.
It took some time for Masin’s play to adjust to the North American style of play and experienced some ups and downs in his first season. This is not uncommon for international players in their first CHL season, but Masin still showed many of the qualities that made him a successful defender over in Europe.
Dominik Masin is a left-handed defenseman that will most likely top out as a top-4 stay at home defenseman at the NHL level. Just as I believed he would do when scouting him during his draft year, Masin will sound defensive play in his own zone but may contribute more offensively than originally thought to believe. After playing his final season in Petersborough, Masin will move on to play for the Syracuse Crunch full-time next season and will probably spend two or three seasons with the Crunch before getting his chance at a full-time spot on the NHL roster.
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