Insider exclusive: Q&A with Stacy Roest on #CanaBolts

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
January 10, 2017

TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Lightning are holding midseason scouting meetings in town this week.

This annual meeting allows the scouts to compare notes on players in the system, discuss organizational issues that may need addressing, where the farm system stands as well as the upcoming draft later this summer.

Lightning Director of Player Development Stacy Roest is among the staff members in town and was in the stands during Lightning practice on Wednesday. Fresh off watching the World Junior championships, which concluded last week with U.S.A. taking gold over Canada with a shootout victory, Roest had an up-close look at the five Lightning prospects that represented Canada – Mitchell Stephens, Taylor Raddysh, Mathieu Joseph, Anthony Cirelli and Connor Ingram.

I had the chance to catch up with Roest to get his thoughts on what he saw during the World Juniors and the health of the team’s farm system at the moment>

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Question: Thoughts on how the five players fared at the World Juniors?

Roest:“We were very proud of all of them, they all did great. A lot of them, it was first-time experience for them. Raddysh, after not being there for summer camp and then to make the team was pretty impressive; Stephens, unfortunately he was nicked up a little bit and missed a couple of games with the injury, but he played really well. Cirelli to be named one of (Canada’s top three) players of the tournament, where this kid has come from has been great to watch. He’s just a great kid and he had a great tournament. Ingram, first time ever with Canada, had that rough start there in the semis, but his team bailed him out. We were happy with his tournament, as well. And Joseph, playing a little bit of different role, normally on the power play but was asked to be more of a defensive and penalty killer but he played pretty well. So we were pretty happy with the way they performed..”

Q:What much can each of them gain from the tournament, especially when it’s played on Canadian soil?

Roest:“In talking to them, and it’s a big tournament when you watch it, but when you are involved in it, especially in Montreal at the Bell Centre and in Toronto, it’s huge. (The buildings are full) for Team Canada. So it’s a big tournament, but when you are playing in it and you are involved in it it’s even bigger than we see. So it’s performing under pressure, the whole country is rooting for you, so there is a lot of pressure, but that’s good for them.”

Q:For Joseph, the points weren’t there for him necessarily, but how much of an impact was he still able to have on the team?

Roest:It was huge. the first two games I watched against Russia and Latvia, he didn’t have any goals but it was unbelievable how many chances he created, he killed penalties, he used his speed. And what makes him so dangerous is how fast he is, he gets around the ice really fast. So that’s a big advantage for him.”

Q:Seeing five guys on Team Canada, how bright is the future for the organization with this sort of a talent pool?

Roest:“It’s huge. Next year is a big year with five or six forwards turning pro (including Stephens, Joseph and Cirelli) and getting them to Syracuse, get them playing good minutes. And for them, they’ll have to earn their ice time. But (the future) looks good, we have some good young players coming, so it’s all positive from what I see.”

Q:Both Stephens and Cirelli were involved in OHL trades – Stephens to London and Cirelli to Erie – how can those moves help them?

Roest:“For us, we believe that if you are performing and playing playoff hockey, it’s good. Cirelli will go to Erie now and they have a really good team there. And with London, with what they’ve done, adding Mitchell is a huge boost for them. So it’s two good teams and they are on the same side (of the playoff draw) so only one team is coming out of there (to the Memorial Cup), so it will be interesting. But that’s what we want, we want them playing in the playoffs and they are going to play top minutes because they are top players in that league. So that’s good.”

Q:Cirelli, a former walk-on tryout at Oshawa, has proven he can perform on a big stage, scoring the overtime goal in the Memorial Cup Final and then performing like he did for Canada, just how impressive has his climb been?

Roest:“He’s a kid that played midget, so it’s impressive. With all these kids, you try to give them the resources and then it’s up to them to do the work. And he’s one kid – power skating, in the gym and everything, he’s always there, he’s always working and trying to get better. He’s a quick learner and every coach that has coached him that you talk to, they just love him. Even at Team Canada, where they don’t know him that well, yet at the end of the tournament, he’s out there in every situation and that’s huge. So for kids like that, for them to get better and improve, a lot of it is on themselves and he’s one of those that puts in the work every day. So it’s fun to work with him.”

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