lightning-morning-news-lightning-prospect-showcase-announced
Raw Charge
After a little bit of an unscheduled break, we are back! A big thank you for everyone who kept things going in the comment section (and with minimal folks getting thrown in jail by the auto-moderators!). Now that we’re back to regular posts (hopefully) we’ll catch up on a few things that have been announced over the last week.
<p>Sadly, an extension for Nikita Kucherov wasn’t one of those, but we’re not at the panic stage just yet. Would be nice if he was under contract, sure, but we’re not in danger of him not showing up for camp at this point. Speaking of camp, the Carolina Hurricanes <a href="https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/news/canes-to-host-2026-prospect-showcase-at-invisalign-arena-from-sept-13-15">announced the dates</a> of their Prospect Showcase a couple of days ago. Why is that important? Because, it involves the Lightning!</p>
<p>The joint practice sessions/scrimmages will take place in Raleigh from September 13-15 and feature prospects from the Hurricanes, Lightning, and Nashville Predators. The usual fourth leg to their prospect-showcase table, the Florida Panthers, aren’t participating this season. Why? Probably because they have fewer young players than the Lightning at this point. </p>
<p>The Bolts are schedule to play on Monday against the Predators and then Tuesday against the Hurricanes. Both games will be at 2:00 PM. No broadcast information has been released as of yet, but at the very least, the games are usually streamed on the hosting team’s website. Last year, which was hosted by Tampa Bay, was streamed on their website and broadcast locally on The Spot, Channel 66. Expect the team to release more information, along with their rosters toward the end of August. </p>
<p>There are usually roster restrictions on who can attend these showcases. Last season it was players under 24 who had less than 20 games of NHL experience. Exceptions can be made if all the teams participating agree. The rosters are usually dominated heavily by CHL and younger AHL prospects. The NCAA’s relaxation of eligibility for these showcases might allow the Lightning to bring some college prospects as long as it doesn’t interrupt their off-season schedules. </p>
<p>Expect most of the recent draft picks to show up, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Benjamin Rautiainen as an exception to the European prospect trend. With the Lightning not ruling him out of possibly earning a spot on the NHL roster, the showcase would be a great spot for him to show what could be done on North American ice.</p>
<p>It’s always interesting to see if the team, which will dress 18 skaters and 2 goaltenders for each game, will fill out the roster with any invitees. Last season, they had two defenseman Maddox Labre and goaltender Anders Miller. Both had been part of their post-draft development camp earlier that summer and are now playing NCAA hockey. Earlier this summer, the Lightning had a handful of invitees, including Patrick Maroon’s son Anthony Thomas-Maroon, as well as goaltender Danick Leroux. </p>
<p>These showcases lead right into training camp, so that means we’re just over a month away from hockey being back in our lives! </p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Hockey News</h2>
<p>With a dearth of Lightning news out there, Jason spoke with Matt Savage of Mission Control Hockey about expansion to Houston on the latest Backchecking the Bolts podcast. </p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Why the NHL Wants Houston: Expansion, Obstacles & the lure of Hockey in Houston" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vBq-Ppw-U5k?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> </div></figure>
<p><strong>Grading the offseason moves in the Atlantic: Tampa Bay Lightning</strong> [<a href="https://floridahockeynow.com/grading-the-offseason-moves-in-the-atlantic-division-tampa-bay-lightning/">Florida Hockey Now</a>]</p>
<p>Our friends down south give the Lightning a B+. That’s nice of them. </p>
<p><strong>Andrei Vasilevskiy makes appearance at Lightning youth camp</strong> [<a href="https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2026/08/07/andrei-vasilevskiy-makes-guest-appearance-at-lightning-youth-goalie-camp">Spectrum News 9</a>]</p>
<p>The Big Cat is in town and dropped by on a summer goalie camp hosted by the Lightning. Can’t wait for a kid at this camp to get drafted 10-15 years from now and show a picture they took with Vasilevskiy at this camp.</p>
<p><strong>Hedman makes NHL Top 20 list</strong> [<a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-current-players-ranked-top-20-defensemen-2026">NHL.com</a>]</p>
<p>Look, we love the Big Swede, and we think he’s going to have a pretty good bounce back season. That being said, to put him in the top 20 of NHL defensemen right now is a bit of a stretch (and some serious J.J. Moser erasure). </p>
<p><strong>Canada wins gold at Hlinka Gretzky Cup </strong>[<a href="https://www.hlinkagretzkycup.ca/en-ca/season/2026/stats/game-summary?gameid=5726">Hlinka Gretzky Cup</a>]</p>
<p>It’s been three years since Canada won gold at the U20 World Junior Championships. It’s been rough. The good news is that the basis of a future U20 team won gold at the Hlinka Gretzky tournament as Team Canada routed Team USA, 8-1, on Saturday. </p>
<p><strong>Kings to retire Anze Kopitar jersey this season</strong> [<a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/anze-kopitar-number-to-be-retired-by-los-angeles-kings">NHL.com</a>]</p>
<p>No one will wear number 11 in L.A. ever again. No, former Bolts Steve Kelly isn’t getting honored, it’s the guy that has worn it since 2006 – Anze Kopitar. The future hall of famer will see his number raised to the rafters on February 24 prior to the game against the Montreal Canadiens.</p>
<p><strong>The NHL fan experience is changing</strong> [<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7484048/2026/08/07/nhl-fan-survey-tickets-streaming/">The Athletic</a>]</p>
<p><em>The Athletic</em> is writing about the results of their annual fan survey that had over 20,000 responses. On the whole, things are fairly positive, but it’s interesting to see how the game is changing. For one thing, the majority of fans who responded (62%) aren’t concerned about blackouts. Almost half of the fans (48%) stream the games with only 30% ever tuning in on the radio. </p>
<p><strong>Penguins sign Ville Koivunen to eight-year extension </strong>[<a href="https://www.pensburgh.com/news/79731/penguins-re-sign-ville-koivunen-to-eight-yes-eight-year-contract">Pensburgh</a>]</p>
<p>Hey, a contract that is just as perplexing as the Jeffrey Viel deal! The Pens decided they needed to lock down their 23-year-old forward to an eight-year, $4 million AAV contract. The contract buys out his first four UFA seasons and he is now the only Penguin on the roster signed past the 2029-30 season.</p>
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<p>We are down to the final day of rankings for the 2026 Top 20 Under 25. If you haven’t gotten around to it, today would be an excellent day. Submissions will be open until 11:00 PM EST. </p>
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- <p>Click <a href="https://tally.so/r/yPr5Wg">here</a> for the form. </p></p>
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