Tampa Bay Lightning announce details for local prospect showcase

by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
August 18, 2021

TAMPA – The first signs of the rapidly approaching hockey season arrived this week as the details of a prospect showcase were announced by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The joint weekend of action, which has been held previously in Nashville and Estero, will be held prior to the start of Lightning training camp ahead of the start of the 2021-22 NHL season.

The four-team showcase, which was not held last season due to the pandemic, will take place closer to home this season and feature some of Tampa Bay’s top prospects from the past two drafts.

The showcase this season will be held from September 18-21 at the AdventHealth IcePlex in Wesley Chapel. Along with the Lightning, top prospects from the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators will take part this year, with each team playing the other one time.

The format is the same as it’s been in previous seasons with three games over four days.

The event has seen the likes of Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev and Andrei Vasilevskiy participate in before the start of their Lightning career. The rosters are limited to players either still in their entry level contract or sooner provided they are under the age of 24 and have fewer than 20 games of NHL experience (though exceptions can be made prior to the showcase at the approval of the other three teams).

Teams will dress 18 skaters and two goaltenders for each contest. Games are regulation length with three 20-minute periods. A five-minute, three-on-three overtime period will determine a winner if games are tied after regulation. Games will conclude with a five-player-per-team shootout regardless of the final score.

The Lightning roster features three players from the 2021 Draft along with the team’s top two picks in the 2020 draft and a camp invitee from Clearwater.

Prospect Camp Schedule

All times local

Saturday, September 18

10 a.m. – Carolina vs. Florida

2 p.m. – Tampa Bay vs. Nashville at Amalie Arena (open to the public, but tickets are required)

Sunday, September 19

10 a.m. Nashville vs. Florida

1 p.m. Tampa Bay vs. Carolina

Monday, September 20

Practice Day

Tuesday, September 21

10 a.m. Carolina vs. Nashville

1 p.m. Tampa Bay vs Florida

Lightning roster

Forwards – Maxim Cajkovic, Jaydon Dureau, Shawn Element*, Jack Finley, Gabriel Fortier, Gage Goncalves, Jimmy Huntington, Niko Huuhtanen, Cole Koepka, Alexei Lipanov, Cameron MacDonald, Declan McDonnel, Antione Morand, Simon Ryfors, Odeen Tufto.

Defensemen – Alex Green, Jeremy Hanzel*, Ryan Jones*, Roman Schmidt, Dmitri Semykin, Jack Thompson, Avery Winslow*

Goaltenders – Hugo Alnefelt, Amir Miftakhov

* – Camp invitee (Winslow is the player from Clearwater)

All Lightning games will be streamed at TampaBayLightning.com.