The Tampa Bay Lightning has not been shy about trading future assets for win-now players under the watchful eye of general manager Julien BriseBois. He's traded away the organization's first-round pick 10 times, typically leading to strong additions at the professional level, but not leaving a lot for the scouting department to work with.
Tampa last picked in round one in 2022, and it isn't poised to do so again until at least 2028 following the trade for Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand. This has led to one of, if not the, worst prospect pipelines in the NHL. The Lightning won't be picking their first player until No. 59, where they'll have to go digging for a hidden gem.
National columnist has Lightning selecting center Tomas Chrenko in the 2026 NHL Draft
Projecting the draft is remarkably difficult, as it's truly impossible to know how each franchise views every available player. On top of that, different organizations value different traits more than others. Some teams aren't willing to risk higher draft picks on smaller players, others won't spend second- or third-round picks on goalies. And so on.
With that in mind, there's no denying that the Lightning could use an injection of skill into their prospect pipeline, which is why the idea of adding Tomas Chrenko late in the second round could be so appealing to BriseBois and his scouts.
The Slovakian center has been projected to go as high as 31st by some analysts, including TSN's Craig Button. So there's no guarantee that Chrenko will still be available at 59. Still, forwards like him do sometimes slip down the draft board, with concerns about his size and style of play translating to the NHL level perhaps scaring a handful of teams off.
Tomas Chrenko scouting report and how he'd fit with the Lightning
Chrenko has the kind of offensive skill that may tempt a team with multiple picks in the first round to roll the dice on him late. His hockey IQ is that outstanding, and notching 31 points in 44 games skating in Slovakia's top league (as a teenager, no less) is impressive. Scouts love him for his silky-smooth hands, and his vision allows him to make plays other forwards can't even see.
Standing at just 5-foot-11 and weighing in at 170 pounds, there'd be obvious concerns about his ability to stick at center in the NHL. Chrenko wasn't forced to the wing playing in Slovakia's top pro league, but the gap between that league and the NHL is vast. Still, he played an important role in HK Nitra's Championship-winning team, helping propel the squad to an unlikely title after going down 3-1 in the Final.
He isn't a heat-seeking missile by any stretch, but Chrenko doesn't wilt when the temperature of a game gets elevated, either. There's enough snarl there to lead some scouts to believe that he'll be just fine once he settles in with an NHL team, likely in a middle-six role while putting up some power play minutes to boot.
Don't overlook the value of that kind of championship run--or the 12 points in 19 playoff games
Chrenko notched either. That experience could allow him to help an NHL roster sooner rather than later, which is good news for the Lightning as they try to keep their Stanley Cup window cracked open.
This may seem like a pie-in-the-sky outcome for Tampa, but in their most recent mock draft for The Athletic, Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler envisioned a scenario where
Chrenko would be ripe for the picking at No. 59.
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