Tampa Bay Lightning 2016 NHL Draft Recap

With 10 picks in the 2016 NHL Draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning continued to build for the future and even made an interesting trade in the second round.

Before this year’s draft got underway, the Tampa Bay Lightning received much interest from other teams regarding goaltender Ben Bishop and free agent Steven Stamkos was allowed to begin officially talking with teams this morning. Those two players are still with the Lightning, but it doesn’t mean they’re off General Manager Steve Yzerman’s mind.

The draft continued and Yzerman and his staff added 10 young prospects to the organization and more depth at every position. When all was said and done, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected seven forwards, two defensemen, and one goaltender in Buffalo.

With that said, let’s take a look at who the Bolts drafted from Round 1 until the final moments of Round 7.

Round 1

In the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft, the Lightning selected center Brett Howden of the Moose Jaw Warriors in the WHL with 27th overall pick. Howden, a 6’2″ 193 pound forward, has played with the Warriors since the 2013-14 season.

This past season, the Oakbank, Manitoba native scored 24 goals and 40 assists for 64 points, which is the most during his time in Moose Jaw.

Howden has also appeared in three tournaments with the Canadian national under-17 and under-18 teams and scored 15 points in 18 games. He expressed that his size is a big factor in his play and that if he were to step into the NHL immediately, his vision and hockey sense would be his greatest assets.

The Lightning’s first round pick has good size, ability to work on both the power play and penalty kill units, and is great in the faceoff dot. It was a smart pick by Yzerman and his staff and Brett Howden looks to be an important part of the team’s bright future.

Plus, his brother is in the Florida Panthers organization, so maybe we’ll see a bit of a family feud emerge in the Sunshine State if the two meet in the NHL.

Round 2

In the second round of the NHL Draft, the Lightning made an interesting trade with the Arizona Coyotes early on in day two. Tampa Bay sent their first round draft pick from 2014, defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, to the Coyotes for the 37th overall pick. With that pick, the team selected defenseman Libor Hajek from the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL.

Some might say the Lightning did this because they felt there were too many risks involved with the young defenseman and the rise of Slater Koekkoek might have pushed him out the door, who looks to be the with team long-term. It’ll be an interesting deal to look back on in the coming seasons.

Back to Hajek, the 6’2″ 196-pound defenseman played for Saskatoon during the 2015-16 and racked up 26 points in 69 games with the Blades. He’s played for his native Czech Republic the past two years internationally and had two points in nine games. Hajek is left-handed shot blueliner with a shutdown mentality and a ton of upside.

Following that pick, the Lightning selected Boris Katchouk with 44th overall pick in the 2016 Draft. He played for both the Soo Thunderbirds of the NOJHL and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL and represented Canada at the 2016 World Junior Championships with the under-18 team.

Katchouk is a versatile winger and has some great hands, but lacks in the skating department, which might hold him back at the elite level of the NHL. According to BoltProspects.com, the 18-year-old Vancouver, BC native “needs to add more bulk to his frame and get physically stronger in order to be able to play his hard-edged style in the NHL.” We’ll see how he progresses in the coming seasons.

To close out the second round, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected right wing Taylor Raddysh from the Erie Otters of the OHL. He’s been with Erie for two seasons and has 100 points over that span, including a 73 point season in 2015-16, when he scored 24 goals and added 49 assists. He played on the third line in 2013-14 and helped the Connor McDavid-led Otters to the OHL championship.

Raddysh is a big-bodied winger (6’2″ 203 pounds) and has great passing abilities and hockey sense. According to multiple scouting reports, he positions himself well in order to score but struggles to capitalize on his chances. Also, his skating needs work, but can be developed in the coming years.

Lightning Director of Amateur Scouting Al Murray and his staff did a great job with this selection and the young winger has great upside. He’s definitely a player to watch down the road.

Round 3

With the 88th overall pick, the Lightning added to their goaltending depth by selecting Connor Ingram from the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL. Ingram has spent the past two seasons with Kamloops, starting in 113 games during the regular season and seven in the playoffs with a 2.78 and 2.12 GAA, respectively.

He’s a competitive goaltender and is strong down low, but isn’t necessarily the biggest or most athletic player. In short, he simply gets the job done and was one of the main reasons why the Blazers made the postseason. According to BoltProspects.com, some of his weaknesses include not being “overly big and [he] tends to get beat high” and is projected to be an overall solid backup.

Director of Amateur Scouting Al Murray had Ingram high on his list, so we’ll see where he fits into the future of the organization in the coming seasons.

Round 4

In the fourth round, the Lightning selected center Ross Colton from the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders of the USHL. Over the past two seasons with Cedar Rapids, Colton has 99 points in 113 games, including 35 goals in 2015-16. He has committed to the University of Vermont and will be playing college hockey there this fall.

Colton also played with the United States under-19 team at the World Junior A Challenge tournament and had five points in five games.

Overall, the Robbinsville, N.J. native is a gifted player offensively with great hockey sense in the attacking zone and he has a great shot, but needs to round out his defensive game if he wants to make it up to the NHL level.

The hope is that Colton will solidify his game while with the Vermont Catamounts and continue to improve offensively.

Round 5

With the 148th overall pick in the 2016 Draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning chose Christopher Paquette from the Niagara Ice Dogs of OHL. He’s a relative of current Lightning forward Cedric Paquette, so there are some family connections with this pick.

The Victoria, BC native has played with Niagara for two seasons and has 30 points in 111 games. Paquette is a fantastic skater for his size (6’2″ 174 pounds) and is mainly viewed as a role player, but doesn’t have much upside outside of his frame and skating abilities.

The main focal point of his weaknesses is that he lacks aggression and if he wants to make himself more known, he’ll have to play a tougher style of game. If he makes those adjustments, then we might see another Paquette in Tampa Bay in the future.

Round 6

The Tampa Bay Lightning selected another defenseman with the 178th overall pick and chose Oleg Sosunov from Loko Yaroslavl of the MHL. Sosunov had 12 points in 39 games last season, including 2 points in 12 playoff games.

According to multiple scouting reports, the big Russian defenseman (6’8″ 243 pounds) is a decent skater and has a quick shot from the point, but isn’t very agile due to his giant frame and could work on his accuracy. But, Sosunov is a solid defender, gets in passing lanes, uses his long reach for poke checks, and doesn’t take too many penalties, which is a good sign.

Overall, he is a great defensive defenseman who, with some proper development and instruction, can become better offensively and turn into a really appealing prospect.

For now, Sosunov will stay over in Russia and continue playing with Yaroslavl unless he can find his way onto a KHL roster. If he gets more professional experience, especially over in North America, he could turn into a top Lightning prospect and possibly earn a spot on the roster in the distant future. It’ll be important to watch his development over the coming years.

Round 7

In the seventh round, the Lightning selected center Otto Somppi with the 206th pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. Somppi played for the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL, which is where the third overall pick in the 2013 Draft and rising NHL star, Jonathan Drouin, played during his junior hockey career.

The Finnish forward has played with Halifax for one season and scored 13 goals to go with 33 assists in 59 games during the 2015-16 season. Somppi also played for the Finland under-18 team at the 2016 World Junior Championships, which won the gold medal over Team Russia. He is a great playmaker with some offensive upside and works hard on both ends of the ice, using his excellent hockey sense to his advantage.

As far as his weaknesses, Somppi needs to improve on his skating, specifically his quickness and acceleration, and could learn to shoot more, which would help his numbers offensively. Overall, he’s a great passer and two-way player and can be slotted in any of the forward positions. If he can make those adjustments, he’ll have a lot of potential to move on up to a higher level.

As we’ve seen in the past, late round draft picks like Ondrej Palat still have a chance of making an NHL roster and having success in the league.

Finally, with the 208th overall pick, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected center Ryan Lohin from the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL. Lohin played for the Madison Capitols and the Black Hawks during the 2015-16 season and scored 23 and 57 points in 62 games during the regular season, including five points in nine playoff games with Waterloo.

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Al Murray’s scouting report on Lohin describes him as a similar player to the Lightning’s fourth round pick, Ross Colton, and lists him a solid two-way forward with some offensive skill. He’ll be headed to UMass-Lowell in the fall to further his development as a hockey player.

According to BoltProspects.com, Lohin has “good skill and [is] adept at both ends of the rink,” and needs to get bigger and faster in order to be ready for the next level. A late bloomer, the 19-year-old Lohin also needs to continue to improve to show that he is the real deal.

As the 2016 NHL Draft came to a close, the Tampa Bay Lightning added 10 more players to the organization. Overall, the Lightning had a solid draft and addressed some needs while filling up the prospect pool. With the impending free agency period approaching and the various contract situations that need to be taken care of, this year’s draft was a highlight in the midst of a tumultuous period for the franchise.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning Expansion Draft Breakdown: Defensemen

It’ll be interesting to see how many of these draft picks develop and find their way in the Lightning organization in the coming years. The future is bright in Tampa Bay and these players are a part of the next wave of young talent to make a splash with one of the NHL’s top teams.

Final Breakdown

List of 2016 Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks, courtesy of the Lightning’s official site:

FIRST ROUND – NO. 27 – C BRETT HOWDEN (MOOSE JAW – WHL)

SECOND ROUND – NO. 37 (FROM ARI) – D LIBOR HAJEK (SASKATOON – WHL)

SECOND ROUND – NO. 44 (FROM BOS) – LW BORIS KATCHOUK (SAULT STE. MARIE – OHL)

SECOND ROUND – NO. 58 – RW TAYLOR RADDYSH (ERIE – OHL)

THIRD ROUND – NO. 88 – G CONNOR INGRAM (KAMLOOPS – WHL)

FOURTH ROUND – NO. 118 – C ROSS COLTON (CEDAR RAPIDS – USHL)

FIFTH ROUND – NO. 148 – C CHRIS PAQUETTE (NIAGARA – OHL)

SIXTH ROUND – NO. 178 – D OLEG SOSUNOV (LOKO-YUNIOR YAROSLAV – RUSSIA JR. 2 )

SEVENTH ROUND – NO. 206 (FROM DAL) – C OTTO SOMPPI (HALIFAX – QMJHL)

SEVENTH ROUND – NO. 208 – C RYAN LOHIN (WATERLOOK – USHL)