Prior to the clash with the New York Rangers, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced on Tuesday that Ryan McDonagh and Dominic James were placed on the injured reserve following their win over the Washington Capitals last weekend. With that, they had a need to fill with two open roster spots. To fill the holes that McDonagh and James left open, the Lightning announced that they have recalled two solid, battle-ready forwards from the American Hockey League’s Syracuse Crunch and there are two very unique storylines to both.
The two forwards that the Lightning chose to recall are left winger, Boris Katchouk and right winger, Scott Sabourin back up to Tampa Bay. Katchouk will be making his first appearance on the ice for Tampa Bay since he was traded away in 2022 and for Sabourin, this will be his debut in Tampa Bay after having only played for Ottawa, Toronto, and San Jose before this season.
Katchouck was originally drafted by the Lightning in the second round of the 2016 NHL draft. He appeared in 38 games for the Lightning in the 2021-22 season, in which he scored a total two goals, had four assists, and six points.
He was also a member of the 2021 Stanely Cup Champion Roster, making this a champion's homecoming.
He was then traded to Chicago by Tampa Bay with Taylor Raddysh and two conditional first-round NHL draft picks in the trade that brough Brandon Hagel and a fourth ground-round pick in the 2022 NHL draft and a fourth-round pick in 2024 to Tampa Bay.
He spent the next three seasons with Chicago before being claimed off waivers by Ottawa from Chicago in 2024. He played in 21 games with Ottawa, scoring two goals, two assists, and had four points.
Last season, the right-winger skated in 67 games for the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. He scored 21 goals, had 28 assists, and 49 points.
After being signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay in July, the 27-year old from Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada has appeared in 12 games for the organization’s American Hockey League Syracuse Crunch. He has four goals, five assists, and nine points.
When he hits the ice on Wednesday, he will make his first return to Tampa Bay since that 2021-2022 season. It’s homecoming night for Katchouk as he is now teammates with the player he traded for in 2022.
As for Sabourin, Wednesday night will be his Lightning debut. He was signed by the organization as a free agent
During his time with San Jose’s organization, he spent most of his tenure in the American Hockey League. Last season he skated in 68 games with the San Jose Barracuda, scoring 10 goals, recording 15 assists, and had 25 points.
He skated in just four games for the NHL San Jose Sharks between 2023-2025. He did not record any points across those games.
So far this season, the 33-year old from Orleans, Ontario, CAN has appeared in 11 games for the Syracuse Crunch, in which he has three goals and two assists, for five total points on the year.
When the Lightning take the ice on Wednesday night, Sabourin will say hello to Tampa Bay and hope to kick off a great tenure with the Lightning.
Puck drops for Tampa Bay vs New York at 7:00PM EST on TNT.