The past decade of drafts for the Tampa Bay Lightning came after a quick succession of impactful drafts — from 2007 to 2012 — that yielded many of the core players that propelled the Lightning to their run of success beginning with the Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2015. Starting with Alex Killorn in 2007, to Andrei Vasilevskiy in 2012, those draft years are directly linked to the success the team has enjoyed.
Since then, there have been holes in the roster that needed filling, and Lightning drafted players to fill them.
However, not all these players have stuck around in Tampa for a variety of reasons. Some have been casualties of there being a lack of opportunities to progress with an already established core, while others were included in trades. So, we will look at each player’s overall career since being drafted — whether with the Lightning or not, as well as how they currently project to finish out the remainder of their careers.
Here are the top picks of each draft round since 2013 by the Lightning.