The 2025 NHL Prospect Tournament action resumed on Saturday at AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, and young Bolts continued to impress.

It was an interstate battle as the Tampa Bay Lightning took on prospects from the Florida Panthers, and there was no shortage of the usual animosity between the clubs.

Tampa Bay took a 3-2 win over Florida in an emotional game that saw a pair of fights, a 5-goal second period and plenty more along the way.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

1. Duke’s leadership showed

Dylan Duke is an assistant captain for the Lightning this weekend, and the 22-year-old forward stepped up at key moments on Saturday.

Duke won a loose puck in the defensive zone with a few minutes left in the second period, carried the puck the length of the ice and fed Kaden Pitre at the back post to cap a 3-on-1 and give Tampa Bay its first lead of the game, 3-2. That score held as final.

Duke was all over the puck on Saturday, particularly below the offensive goal line. He was especially strong on the offensive cycle and was leading as one of the older players for Tampa Bay on Saturday.

He was often entrenched in netfront battles and took part in both special teams units. With the Florida net empty, he blocked consecutive Panthers 6-on-5 shot attempts in the final minute of the game.

“Tampa/Florida, it’s a rivalry in the NHL, and I think we all aspire to play in those games,” Duke said.

“Obviously, they’ve played in the First Round a lot in the past couple years, and we watch those games. So, you know what it means to play when you’re playing the Panthers. Obviously it’s a little different in a rookie tournament than the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, but we try and bring the same intensity every day no matter who we’re playing or for what, and it seems to amplify a little bit against the Panthers every time.”

After scoring his first career NHL goal in his NHL debut in February, Duke could earn more NHL games in 2025-26. He figures to be a big piece of the Syracuse puzzle after scoring 20 goals and 40 points in the AHL last season.

“Dylan is a leader every day he comes to the rink,” Syracuse head coach and GM Joel Bouchard said postgame.

“The way he competes, the way he approaches situations, the way he handles teaching and everything about the game. So that’s why he’s got an A on his jersey. And to be honest, all the guys have been really good leaders. They’ve been really fun to be around. Even the young guys show a lot of leadership, a lot of engagement. It’s been a very fun group to be around.”

2. Grant Spada doesn’t stand down

Grant Spada likely earned himself some fans on Saturday when he dropped the gloves in a first period fight with Florida’s Colton Huard.

The 18-year-old defenseman has been eager to show off his willingness to let the fists fly, shaking the gloves at a Nashville player on Friday and also asking a separate Panther to fight on Saturday before he fought the 24-year-old Huard. He was looking to spark his teammates with a big hit in the 0-0 game when he was asked to fight, and he happily obliged.

“Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to throw the body around,” Spada said. “Hitting came. I started hitting, and once I got to the OHL I tried to get in the lineup, so fighting was one of the ways to fire up the guys. Looking at this tournament, I wanted to show Tampa that I can fight and I’ll do anything for the team.”

He wasn’t the only Lightning player to fight, as fans also got to see forward Lucas Mercuri throw down with Florida’s Phip Waugh. Mercuri was acquired by the Lightning in a trade last spring and finished the season in Syracuse.

Spada was a seventh-round selection by the Lightning in this year’s NHL Draft, and he isn’t lacking in size at 6-foot-5 and 185 pounds.

He racked up 85 penalty minutes last season with the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and he likely turned some heads this weekend with his want to keep that physical edge going in his first prospect tournament.

He has picked the brain of Dyllan Gill, the 21-year-old defenseman who earned 21 AHL games in Syracuse last season and has played alongside Spada in both prospect tournament games.

Spada wants to bring more than just physicality on the ice. He registered six assists for Guelph last season and aims to improve in multiple areas in 2025-26.

“There’s always room for improvement,” he said of how he wants to get better. “Staying good in the D-zone for sure. Maybe a little bit of offense, a little on the line work. I need skating, honestly, all parts of my game.”

3. How about those Lightning tendies?

With about seven minutes left in the game and his team ahead 3-2, Lightning goalie Caleb Heil shuttered a Grade A scoring chance for the Panthers on a 2-on-1 that made someone next to me in the arena audibly share, ‘How did he stop that?’

It was that kind of night for Heil, who impressed many in his first chance to compete in Lightning threads since being drafted in the seventh round of this year’s draft.

“I got a little over-committed on the shooter, wasn’t gonna let that guy score, and he moved it over and obviously the guy had a wide open net so you just throw whatever you can at it, and I got the paddle on it.”

The Victoria, Minnesota native spent last season with Madison in the United States Hockey League (USHL), where his 25 wins were third-most in the league.

Heil’s save late in the game was off his blocker and likely sealed the win. It followed a first period in which he kept an older Panthers team off the scoreboard despite numerous looks near the goal mouth.

It was the second straight night in which a Lightning goalie impressed, as Harrison Meneghin made his own impression in Friday’s game. The organization is intrigued by the early signs of their seventh-round selections in net.

“Both goaltenders both games look solid. Two young guys in a tournament where there’s a high-end talent crop here and there’s some older guys, but they look comfortable,” Bouchard said of Meneghin and Heil. “They made some saves at key moments, both of them. And it’s fun to see.”