It's still like 12 days from the Orlando pre-season game, but with some early line info out, I thought I'd put out there which players would probably appeal to TB, Orlando, and casual fans.
tl;dr version
Elliot/Lagace vs Dealer's choice/Gibson
Mackenzie Weegar, Chase Priskie (and Ryan McDonagh)
Somppi, Maroon, Colton, Katchouk, Raddysh vs Marchment, Lomberg, Hutsko, & Swaggy
explanation:
I tried to keep the requests as light as possible. The idea is to take the minimum and to then fill in the rest with as much talent as possible. Of course everyone wants Point, Kuch, Hedman, etc. That should go without saying. Then guys like Joe Thornton probably don't dress for a game still this early in the pre-season (if they dress for one at all).
Maroon is on my list pretty much because Marchment and Lomberg would dress for Florida (ECHL reasons), and TB needs to match for how chaotic that could be. Guys with personality like Maroon can also be fan favorites if they get the spotlight, and this would be a slightly different look from the Amalie crowds.
The rest of the forwards either have ECHL/Florida ties, or in the case of Katchouk and Raddysh, they've been on the cusp of making the team forever, but Lightning and OSB fans have mostly never seen them. Ross Colton seems like an up comer, and having scored the cup winner, would still probably attract significant local media attention, even if the rest of the roster lacked big names.
Mackenzie Weegar is an ECHL guy, and given that he's like #2 on the Panthers depth chart, I just went with McD as the counter (I tried to keep it pretty even). Chase Priskie is from Pembroke Pines.
Goalies seem confusing, and the backups are admittedly on the ceremonial side, but with 3 games left after, I don't see Vasi dressing here. The backups are ECHL grads, and Chris Gibson would satisfy OSB fans. They're also comparable in terms of their role. Older AHL guys. I'd probably prefer Florida play Knight, but if they want to go with Bob, that would be more than fine. In 2018, it was Dom vs Luongo.
If the coaches wanted to have their top tandem together, I mean, I get it, but the parallels between Gibson and Lagace seem a bit too good to not utilize somehow.
HM: Gemel Smith played 4 games for the Idaho Steelheads. A player I like, but after asking 6 skaters & 2 goalies from each team, it's sort of hard for me to make a strong case for any more.
edit: I'll mention that the Orlando media overall aren't nearly as sophisticated with hockey as they are in TB. They'll overhype the Stamki, but underrate the Points. Treat them like NBC.
