Lightning preseason lineup has some known names along with names worth knowing

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
September 18, 2017

BRANDON – After four days of grueling practice days and beating up on each other, the Lightning finally get the chance to drop the puck and battle against a different sweater.

Tampa Bay opens the seven-game preseason schedule at Amalie Arena on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against the Carolina Hurricanes to start a four-game week for the Lightning. With 63 players in training camp, the lineups early in the week are going to lack many familiar names as the Lightning management and coaching staff want to get a look at some of the team’s prospects in game action before starting the process of reducing the number of players still in camp.

So keep that in mind as we dissect what the Tampa Bay lineup will be for the preseason opener. While there are no big names in the lineup, there are known names and names worth knowing.

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First, let’s look at the goaltenders who will dress – Michael Leighton and Nicola Riopel.

Unofficially, these are the No. 3 and No. 5 goalies on the organizational depth chart, respectively. Leighton is the projected No. 1 for Syracuse while Riopel is on an American Hockey League contract and figures to start the season in the East Coast Hockey League.

I’d expect that Leighton leads the team out of the tunnel to start the game as the veteran netminder makes his debut in a Lightning sweater. For Riopel, a former fifth-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009, he sent out a note on his Twitter feed Monday night that it will be his first NHL game at the age of 28. There’s no guarantee he’ll get playing time, but the veteran of 129 ECHL games who has also enjoyed stints in Britain and France during his career could very well split the playing time with Leighton, or at least get in a period of NHL action.

On defense there are a few intriguing prospects fans should keep an eye on Tuesday night.

First we will get our first look at 2017 first-round draft pick Cal Foote, who will dress as one of the six defenseman. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound blue liner was chosen with the 14th overall pick in June and will don the Lightning crest for the first time in an NHL game. Foote has shown in training camp that he can keep his own while skating in one of the top groups in the opening days of camp working alongside Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. Foote was paired with Libor Hajek, a second-round pick from 2016 who will also be in the lineup.

Perhaps the player I’m most excited to see in action is 6-foot-8, 230-pound defenseman Oleg Sosunov. The sixth-round pick from 2016 is the definition of a project, selected out of the Russian junior ranks last season. But he’ll head to Moose Jaw in the Western Hockey League this season, but not before he’s already made an impression at Lightning camp. The big man is a better skater than his size would imply. His ability to get up the ice and make good starts and stops was apparent from the first practice with the rookie team on Sept. 7. Sosunov was compared to Tyler Myers at the same age by one person I spoke to on Monday and that’s a pretty good comparison. As camp has progressed, Sosunov has continued to make an impression, and not just because he stands above everybody not named Andrej Sustr (who will also be in the lineup).

The full lineup of defensemen: Andrej Sustr, Cal Foote, Oleg Sosunov, Libor Hajek, Daniel Walcott and Jamie McBain.

We all know there is an influx of prospects turning pro this season, along with a couple more knocking on the door for next season, and we’ll get the chance to see a few of them against Carolina.

Taylor Raddysh had a breakout year with Erie last season, battling teammate Alex DeBrincat (Chicago) for the scoring lead in the Ontario Hockey League for a good portion of the season. Raddysh also had a strong showing for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships, which included a four-goal game during preliminary play.

Alexandre Volkov is sort of a mystery prospect, drafted as an overager in the 2017 draft in the second round with little available information on his play last season, which also included missing time due to injury. Volkov, spending most of time in camp with the “minor league’’ group, has shown good hands in camp and good skating ability. Volkov has also made a strong effort during defensive drills and earned the chance to get in a preseason game, even as will almost certainly start the season with Syracuse.

Boris Katchouck calls himself the Russian Rocket (his Twitter handle is @RussianRocket13) and he’ll be in the lineup, how can you not look forward to seeing somebody who calls himself the Russian Rocket?

Anthony Cirelli is a great story and a sleeper pick to find some playing time at the NHL level this season. Cirelli has overcome every obstacle in his path to pro hockey, becoming a member of two different teams that reached the Memorial Cup Final (winning with Oshawa) and was a valuable member of Team Canada at the World Juniors last season. He’s almost a prototype of a modern third-line center, somebody who can do a little of everything well.

The full lineup of forwards: Vladislav Namestnikov, Cory Conacher, Alex Volkov, Adam Erne, Anthony Cirelli, Matthew Peca, Taylor Raddysh, Boris Katachouk, Gabriel Dumont, Alexey Lipanov, J.T. Brown, Cedric Paquette.

There’s a good chance that many of the junior eligible players in the lineup will get the one game and head to their junior teams, so this may be the only chance to see them live this season. So keep a close eye on them when the puck drops on the preseason.

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