End of Season Prospect Pool Assessment

Team: 2021-22 Tampa Bay Lightning

Initial Creation Date: Apr. 30, 2022

Published: Jun. 6, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Previous assessment: https://www.capfriendly.com/armchair-gm/team/2857090

Explanation of Tiers:
- LW: I am projecting them to play NHL games. Could be a handful of games or future all-star, but that's not the point of this assessment.
- C: Coin flip as to whether they will belong in the LW or RW column.
- RW: They need to find another gear in their development to see NHL games but possess enough talent to the point where it's possible.
- LD: Top out at the AHL/ECHL level. It is still possible to get to the NHL, but they really need to find some extra gears.
- RD: Have not seen enough of them to make a judgement. Probably would fall in RW or LD column.

Additions:
- Tye Felhaber (acquired in Lipanov trade w/ DAL)
- Bennett MacArthur (signed as free agent out of QMJHL)
- Declan Carlile (signed as free agent out of NCAA)

Subtractions:
- Jimmy Huntington (traded to NSH)
- Alexey Lipanov (traded to DAL)
- Antoine Morand (traded to SJS)
- Darren Raddysh (aged out)
- Declan McDonnell (signing rights expired)

Misc:
- Raddysh and Katchouk being traded changes the calculus on how many low-cost internal replacements we are going to need over the coming seasons.
- Perbix still has parts of his game (defense) that he needs to clean up but could probably play games next year.
- I still think Somppi has potential but he's definitely a change of scenery candidate.
- I don't think there's much between Alnefelt and Miftakhov right now, but I expect Alnefelt will be given the benefit of the doubt over Miftakhov more often than not.
- Carlile is someone I'm really curious to see play a full season in Syracuse next season. He could be a candidate to step in if we decide to trade Sergachev. His shot blocking propensity could work well in a depth defenseman role. Might have an understated offensive ability to his game as well.
- Cajkovic's numbers alone don't warrant to upgrade in tier, but he's just been a polarizing player for me this season. The highlight of the prospect tournament game I attended to begin the season, a strong AHL start followed by a grand disappearing act, an okay ECHL season, and then a return for one AHL game where showed an added element of puck control. The offensive talent and heavy style of playing is just too intriguing not to recognize here. However, I still think his potential is boom-or-bust, but I'm going to lean boom with the idea it might be another 2-3 years.
- I've not been impressed by Walker when I've watched Minnesota games the past two seasons.
- I am going to be watching MacDonald closely next season. I feel like we could have something there.
- Koepke feels and looks like our next guy up at forward.
- Fortier could be behind Koepke, but you can probably make the case for Ryfors over him.

As always, if there's any questions drop them below and I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability.