Top Shelf Prospects 2018 Tampa Bay Lightning

CupsOverCash

Registered User
Jun 16, 2009
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Thanks for the write up. Its not the very best pool in the league but it doesnt have to be with how deep our team is. Its going to be hard for guys to crack the lineup this season without injuries. There should be a little more opportunity next offseason as we could see a little turnover on the roster. Callahan could be gone, Miller/Johnson/or Killorn could be traded. Depends on what happens with our free agency next year.

Excited about our prospects though. Raddysh and Katchouk could be really good role players here. Stephens and Volkov also sound like keepers too. Who do you guys think they eventually replace??
 
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Five Alarm Fire

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Jun 17, 2009
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Would put Raddysh lower but otherwise a good list.

We've got a lot of good high-floor guys, which is a preference given where we are in our competitive cycle. Katchouk and Foote have the potential to play big roles in the future. I know the Athletic ranked us 30th but how many teams have this many young players playing this well on their AHL teams? Lots to look forward to.
 
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VoluntaryDom

Formerly DominicBoltsFan / Ⓐ / ✞
Oct 31, 2016
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Would put Raddysh lower but otherwise a good list.

We've got a lot of good high-floor guys, which is a preference given where we are in our competitive cycle. Katchouk and Foote have the potential to play big roles in the future. I know the Athletic ranked us 30th but how many teams have this many young players playing this well on their AHL teams? Lots to look forward to.
Yea plus probably 2 of the top 10 junior guys last year in ABB and Katchouk, and then Raddysh who was top 10 junior player in 16-17 and Somppi who was one of the better Q guys last year. And a top Q rookie in Radim Salda.
 

HoseEmDown

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Mar 25, 2012
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They got the top 10 right, the order is a little off but not horrible. I can see Katchouk as 1, guy is a sure thing to be at least Killorn at the NHL level. Raddysh is he finds the right limemates could be a top line player, he has all the skills and IQ to be one just needs the right fit and as one of the few RW we have there's a chance he does that. Foote should be above him as he's a much safer bet to be top 4. Barre-Boulit needs to show more to move into the top 10. I wouldn't consider him NHL quality yet, while the top 10 all have the look of making it to the show.
 

DistantThunderRep

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Mar 8, 2018
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My only gripe is Somppi is our sleeper prospect over our new Giraffe. Sosunov needs the love and his improvement year over year has been really good. Somppi is boom or bust, and while I think he and Sosunov are interchangeable as the sleeper pick, #neverforgetthegiraffe.
 

CupsOverCash

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Jun 16, 2009
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My only gripe is Somppi is our sleeper prospect over our new Giraffe. Sosunov needs the love and his improvement year over year has been really good. Somppi is boom or bust, and while I think he and Sosunov are interchangeable as the sleeper pick, #neverforgetthegiraffe.

Is there another tall animal we can name him? Or are we hoping Giraffe v2 is the real giraffe..
 

JoVel

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Is there another tall animal we can name him? Or are we hoping Giraffe v2 is the real giraffe..
If he ends up as a reasonable NHL defenseman it would be pretty upsetting to call him the Giraffe v2, but the giraffe theme should be continued somehow. The Better Giraffe? The not Horrible Giraffe?

Or since he who must not be named was called the Baby Giraffe, could Sosunov be the adult one?
 
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TeslaCoilFan

Slightly Elite Fan
Mar 17, 2017
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I think Sosunov has better hockey IQ than our former Giraffe did. If he continues to improve his skating (he worked with Barb Underhill over the summer), he could end up being a talented NHL defenseman.

Also, he definitely was NOT hesitant to use his body unlike someone tall we knew. :P
 

LastWordArmy

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Sep 11, 2011
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My only gripe is Somppi is our sleeper prospect over our new Giraffe. Sosunov needs the love and his improvement year over year has been really good. Somppi is boom or bust, and while I think he and Sosunov are interchangeable as the sleeper pick, #neverforgetthegiraffe.

Sleeper isn't necessarily the "best" prospect in that group. He's just someone we wanted to write more about.

It doesn't get a number beside him, because it's not a ranking, just an intriguing player who comes from the later rounds of the draft or undrafted.

It's not Top Sleeper Prospect...
 

LastWordArmy

Registered User
Sep 11, 2011
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Would put Raddysh lower but otherwise a good list.

We've got a lot of good high-floor guys, which is a preference given where we are in our competitive cycle. Katchouk and Foote have the potential to play big roles in the future. I know the Athletic ranked us 30th but how many teams have this many young players playing this well on their AHL teams? Lots to look forward to.

30th is a completely laughable rank. It is the worst rank in a list of bad rankings there.

I like Pronman, I like his write-ups, but those system rankings.... I strongly disagree. Ours will be out sometime next week.
 

Rschmitz

Finding new ways to cheat
Feb 27, 2002
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My only gripe is Somppi is our sleeper prospect over our new Giraffe. Sosunov needs the love and his improvement year over year has been really good. Somppi is boom or bust, and while I think he and Sosunov are interchangeable as the sleeper pick, #neverforgetthegiraffe.

Agreed. Sosunov might actually be more known than Somppi but he should have a lot more recognition considering his ceiling.
 

Crunchrulz

Registered User
Apr 30, 2010
1,612
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USA
As a Syracuse fan who sees the AHL talent level, ours is not the best nor the worst. Our forwards are very skilled, but lacking in size needed for the end of the season into the playoffs. Defense is capable but not awe inspiring. Goaltending is solid and appears on paper to be the strong point of the team right now. Crunch will be young again, it will be interesting to see how they do or do not grow and mature over the season.
 

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