{"id":194836,"date":"2026-03-17T12:01:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T12:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/194836\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T12:01:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T12:01:18","slug":"tampa-bay-lightning-are-no-24-in-scott-wheelers-2026-nhl-prospect-pool-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/194836\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Lightning are No. 24 in Scott Wheeler\u2019s 2026 NHL prospect pool rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Scott Wheeler\u2019s 2026 rankings of every NHL organization\u2019s prospects. You can find the complete ranking and more information on the project and its criteria here<\/a>, as we count down daily from No. 32 to No. 1. The series, which includes evaluations on nearly 500 prospects, runs from March 9 to April 8.<\/p>\n

It has been a long time since the Lightning hit on a prospect at the draft, and their two best prospects at the moment were selected by other NHL teams.<\/p>\n

Still, they have a few relevant prospects among their 11 ranked here and a few others who are intriguing, even if it\u2019s a relatively weak pool.<\/p>\n

2025 prospect pool rank: No. 24<\/a> (change: none)<\/p>\n

Tier 11. Conor Geekie, C\/RW, 21, Syracuse\/Tampa Bay (No. 11, 2022)<\/p>\n

Geekie played predominantly in the NHL last season as a 20-year-old, but also registered 20 points in 24 AHL games. And while he hasn\u2019t taken a step this year, playing predominantly in the AHL now, his production at that level has continued to hover around a point per game, and he\u2019d be playing in the NHL if he belonged to most other teams.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a big forward (6-foot-4, 212 pounds) who can play both center and wing. He has clear skill as a handler, passer and shooter, and a comfort trying things with the puck that I admire and you don\u2019t often see in players his size. He has impressive hands and body control for his size, which helps him control pucks inside the offensive zone and make plays while also getting the upper hand in board battles.<\/p>\n

He plays through bumps and thrives taking pucks from the cycle to dangerous areas, pushing through the guts of the ice in control, or even drifting to the perimeter in control to facilitate. He also skates well enough for his size for me \u2014 it\u2019s a little below average, and he can look like he lacks pace but I wouldn\u2019t call him slow\/it a major impediment \u2014 and I think he moves better than his big brother Morgan (who has become one of the league\u2019s top goal scorers) did at the same age, creating his fair share in transition at lower levels.<\/p>\n

I do find he forces things too much by trying to go one-on-one and create something that\u2019s not there. There\u2019s also a hunch to his stride. He has some work to do in the faceoff circle, too. But it\u2019s hard to deny the impressive size-hands combination he has, considering his length. He has a real ability to hang onto the puck, draw players into him and then make plays through or around them. He processes the game quickly offensively, knowing where he wants to go with the puck early and constantly pre-surveying so he always knows where his options are. He makes an unusual amount of soft little plays for a player his size, and can attack into coverage because of his hands. He\u2019s really quite comfortable in control of the puck. He also has a hard wrister.<\/p>\n

Geekie is a legitimate young player with a desirable set of skills. As he continues to work on his pace\/skating, he has the touch and skill to become a unique player. I still think he\u2019ll have a productive career as a middle-six forward who brings a length-skill combo to his line, though some project him more as a bottom-sixer than a middle-sixer.<\/p>\n

2. Sam O\u2019Reilly, C, 19, Kitchener (No. 32, 2024)<\/p>\n

Though O\u2019Reilly was drafted at the end of the first round and the Oilers weren\u2019t alone in viewing him in that range, I viewed him as more of a mid-to-late second-rounder ahead of the 2024 draft, ranking him 52nd on my board. He followed the London Knights\u2019 tried-and-true path through the GOJHL London Nationals as a 16-year-old and right into an important role as a 17-year-old, where he had a really solid season, producing just below a point per game and contributing to the Knights\u2019 run to an OHL title. He made some big plays on the big stage at the Memorial Cup as well. But I wondered about his offensive ceiling, and he hasn\u2019t taken a step offensively in either of the last two seasons, though he was still obviously the first-line center on last year\u2019s OHL and Memorial Cup champs. After a strong showing as an important player on Canada\u2019s bronze medal-winning team at the World Juniors, he has now been traded to Kitchener, where he\u2019ll chase a third consecutive OHL title. That winning pedigree and style of play are a big part of his projection.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Reilly does the little things really well, whether that\u2019s making good little plays off the wall, stick lifts, his board work offensively, spinning off a check to create a little bit of space to funnel a play to the slot or defending with detail. He\u2019s also a natural center who\u2019s good in the faceoff circle. He\u2019s not the quickest or most talented player, but he\u2019s a strong skater and athlete overall, he executes at a high level with the puck and he has secondary skill and good feel on the puck\/around the offensive zone. He\u2019s also a strong penalty killer and willing shot blocker who will drive the net and stay around the action at five-on-five.<\/p>\n

He projects as a potential well-rounded, complementary pro with a ceiling as a solid 3C.<\/p>\n

Tier 23. Benjamin Rautiainen, C\/LW, 20, Tappara (No. 108, 2025)<\/p>\n

Rautiainen is one of Finland\u2019s breakout stars of the last three years and Liiga\u2019s leading scorer this year. He has put together two of the more productive age-adjusted seasons in the league\u2019s recent history and played his way into finally getting drafted in his third go-around (after he attended Maple Leafs development camp in 2023). Before his two breakout seasons in Liiga, he led Finland\u2019s junior league in scoring with 80 points in 44 combined regular-season and playoff games. He also had some flashes for Finland at last year\u2019s World Juniors.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a skilled forward (listed as a center but has played wing in Liiga and projects there) who\u2019s a talented one-on-one player. He can be really noticeable inside the offensive zone because of his poise and comfort on the puck. Despite being a double-overager in last year\u2019s draft, it\u2019s worth noting that he\u2019s a June birthday, so he was on the younger side of the class in his first year of eligibility and just turned 20 in the summer. He has had some big multi-point, double-digit shot attempt games against men over the last two seasons, which is normally a pretty good indicator for the jump to North America. He\u2019s going to have to continue to produce to climb levels, but he should be an AHL playmaker at minimum. Average skating for a 6-foot player was used against him in his first two go-arounds at the draft, but he has so far proven his skill level supersedes that.<\/p>\n

I did think about ranking him one or two slots lower here, but his play and the talent he has done it with have become hard to ignore.<\/p>\n

4. Ethan Gauthier, RW, 21, Syracuse (No. 37, 2023)<\/p>\n

Gauthier, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 QMJHL draft and son of former 10-year NHLer Denis Gauthier, is widely credited for his pro-style game and consistency. He had a strong showing at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he scored six goals in five games. He had a strong draft year with a top team in Sherbrooke, then a strong post-draft season with another top team in Drummondville \u2014 particularly in the QMJHL playoffs two years ago, where he was excellent. But his numbers didn\u2019t pop last year as you\u2019d hope, he didn\u2019t find the scoresheet at the World Juniors (though I thought he was effective in his role there) and now the AHL level and pace have proven an adjustment. He won\u2019t be a point producer in the NHL, but he has an opportunity to become a plug-and-play bottom-six NHLer because of the way he plays more than the skill he has.<\/p>\n

Gauthier is a versatile, hardworking player who excels in the most practical facets of the game, gets to the middle of the ice, forechecks and plays with energy and intention. He\u2019s consistent shift to shift and game to game, and while he lacks the dynamism of a top prospect, he can contribute in a variety of ways on and off the puck; the ice usually tilted in his team\u2019s favor when he was out there in junior. It wasn\u2019t a coincidence that he played on winning teams in the Q, and now it\u2019s just about establishing that same game at the pro level.<\/p>\n

I think he\u2019s likely going to be an NHLer in the end, but it\u2019s not a guarantee, and he probably tops out as a five-on-five\/PK guy. He\u2019s a good, effective player, though, and detail, work ethic and pro habits can sometimes take a player a long way even with average skill.<\/p>\n

I did consider ranking him fifth or sixth here.<\/p>\n

5. Dylan Duke, LW, 23, Syracuse (No. 126, 2021)<\/p>\n

One of my favorites from the 2021 draft, Duke is a short but stocky winger with a nose for the net who impressed me in a bottom-six role as a freshman with the stacked Wolverines and was successful in a greater role in each of the two consecutive Michigan seasons after. He eventually factored as an above-a-point-per-game player \u2014 his 26 goals in 41 games were fifth-most in college hockey two years ago \u2014 as a 20-year-old junior before turning pro. There\u2019s nobody in hockey Duke\u2019s size that plays the style he does, so he\u2019s truly a one-of-one player without a real comp. He has continued to play his style at the pro level in the AHL over the last two years as well, registering 40 points in 62 games as a rookie a year ago (and scoring his first NHL goal) and taking a step in terms of his production this year, which has been really positive.<\/p>\n

Duke plays bigger than his size, stays on top of pucks when he\u2019s being leaned on and always seems to get open off the puck. He also goes to the net a whole lot (it is the hallmark of his game) for his size and is great on tips there \u2014 including, believe it or not, in that role on the PP, which is rare for a shorter player, but he does it so well. Some scouts have questioned his foot speed over the years, but his game is built around determination at the net and rebounds, not rush offense or speed. He plays a hard, tenacious game, he loves to drive the crease and make plays into bodies, he regularly outmuscles bigger opponents (which he\u2019ll insist is actually a strength of his if you ever ask him) and he has quick hands and a wrist shot that can beat goalies from mid-range, though again most of his goals come from right at the top of the crease\/post.<\/p>\n

If he can continue to improve his acceleration, he\u2019ll have a chance to carve out a unique career for himself in the NHL. Don\u2019t be surprised if he becomes a Rafa\u00ebl Harvey-Pinard type who works his way through the AHL and emerges as a useful NHLer in his mid-20s.<\/p>\n

I considered ranking him a spot or two higher here. He\u2019s a 5-foot-10 Zach Hyman garbage man-type player.<\/p>\n

Tier 36. Ethan Czata, C, 18, Niagara (No. 56, 2025)<\/p>\n

Czata was one of several positive developments on last year\u2019s Niagara IceDogs. He was the fifth pick in his OHL draft but wasn\u2019t viewed in the NHL second-round range after his 16-year-old season and Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He was a steady riser in his draft year; NHL Central Scouting gave him a \u201cW Rating\u201d in their players to watch list, which \u201cindicates a 6th\/7th round candidate,\u201d but he ultimately finished at No. 49 on their final list. He\u2019s a rangy, lean but strong center who has played to just below a point per game over the last two seasons. He plays hard, he\u2019s competitive, he\u2019s smart with the puck and he regularly makes good reads into space, either identifying and finding teammates after some puck protection or getting open for them by keeping his feet moving. He\u2019s relied upon in all situations by Niagara, playing on both the power play and penalty kill, often playing 20-plus minutes as a forward, and looked to late in games both trailing and leading. He\u2019s also a decent skater whose competitiveness is consistent. He protects pucks well, can drive and can make the quick play.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t show me enough offense to warrant a top-two-rounds slotting, and hasn\u2019t this year, but it feels like he\u2019s early in his development in some ways. I do wonder if he just tops out as a good bottom-six AHLer, but some see an effective potential bottom-six NHLer, and I think he has at least a chance to become that as well.<\/p>\n

7. Jayson Shaugabay, RW, 20, Minnesota-Duluth (No. 115, 2023)<\/p>\n

Shaugabay took the typical Minnesota hockey path through high school to the USHL and, you guessed it, the Bulldogs. He was one of the best high school players I\u2019ve watched in recent years and had a nice freshman year last season as the third-leading scorer (26 points in 36 games) on a losing team that struggled to score. He has \u2014 as have the Bulldogs \u2014 taken a step this year as well, producing above a point per game as one of the better setup men in college hockey.<\/p>\n

Shaugabay is a small but talented player on the puck who broke T.J. Oshie\u2019s scoring record at Warroad, won Minnesota\u2019s prestigious Mr. Hockey Award and continued to make skill plays with Green Bay (though I would have liked to see him get to the inside a little more, and still would). He can handle it, skate with it and he\u2019s a natural power-play type and heady passer of the puck (sometimes too much so) who relies on his smarts and puck skill to solve problems.<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s not the fastest skater and projects as more of a winger than the center he was coming up, he finds ways to make everyone else play at his pace; he has real talent and thinks the game at an advanced level. I\u2019m not sure what he\u2019ll be at the next level as a smaller winger who doesn\u2019t score goals, but he\u2019s an intriguing prospect. He has played well enough to put himself in line for a pro contract.<\/p>\n

8. Gabriel Szturc, C, 22, Syracuse (undrafted)<\/p>\n

Szturc turned me into a fan at the 2023 World Juniors in Halifax and Moncton when he was excellent on a very successful line with Rangers pick Jaroslav Chmelar and Golden Knights pick Jakub Brabenec for the Czechs. He was also the second-leading scorer on a weak Kelowna Rockets team, registering 79 points in 56 games (a 96-point pace had he not missed games to be with Czechia\u2019s national team) that season. Two years ago, he followed up that breakout season by scoring 40 goals and 95 points in 73 combined regular-season and playoff games with Kelowna as well. Now he\u2019s a second-year pro with Syracuse, and while he\u2019s averaging only 12-13 minutes per game this season and his production is modest, he plays on both special teams and played bigger minutes a year ago (15 per game). He has also played to good results generally and is decent in the faceoff circle.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a very smart player who understands how to use spacing to his advantage to play a tactile game. He skates well, he has a nifty wrist-shot release, he has good puck skills and passing intuition and he works hard off the puck to keep himself involved in plays. I\u2019ve enjoyed watching him these last few years, and while I\u2019m not sure if he\u2019ll be an NHLer, I think he could become a call-up option and play some games at some point, and I think he\u2019s better than his AHL production indicates.<\/p>\n

Tier 49. Hagen Burrows, RW, 20, Denver (No. 128, 2024)<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the consensus opinion, but I liked Burrows better than his teammate Javon Moore (who went 16 picks earlier) when I watched them two years ago with Minnetonka High, which was also supported by his larger USHL sample to that point. But then Moore went to the USHL post-draft, and Burrows decided to make the full-time jump to NCAA, where it was a learning curve for him in a limited role as a freshman last year. Though his production has modestly improved this year, he\u2019s still not played a prominent role for the Pioneers, averaging 11-12 minutes per game. He has some skill and playmaking sense, but he\u2019s going to have to take a big step as an upperclassman to get signed.<\/p>\n

He also has an NHL shot with which he can finish from range inside the offensive zone, though he\u2019s still waiting for it to fall in college. Speed and strength top his to-do list because there are some natural offensive elements to his game. I like his competitiveness enough, too. I trust he\u2019ll be well-developed at Denver as well, so it may just take some time. His forward skating stride is a little too compact and will need to lengthen out for the rest of his game to be projectable, but he\u2019s talented, he seems committed to playing the game the right way and the college timeline should serve him well. He\u2019s worth following, even if he\u2019s a long shot.<\/p>\n

10. Noah Steen, LW\/RW, 21, \u00d6rebro (No. 199, 2024)<\/p>\n

Steen was a great story two years ago, dominating at the J20 level in Sweden and performing well both in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan and at two international events for Norway, where he played well at both the World Juniors and men\u2019s worlds. That earned him a seventh-round selection by the Lightning and a contract with \u00d6rebro in the SHL. It doesn\u2019t appear, at this stage, as if a contract in the NHL is likely, though. He has had a respectable two years there, but is in about the same role now as he was at the start of his rookie season last year, and while he chips in on both special teams, he needs to start establishing himself as more than a depth five-on-five guy at that level.<\/p>\n

Steen is a 6-foot-1, 190-plus-pound winger who can play with jump and has good goal-scoring instincts around the offensive zone, sliding into spots in the slot to finish off plays with his hard and accurate one-touch shot. I don\u2019t view him as a natural playmaker or overt play-driver, but he\u2019s a good athlete who works hard with solid secondary skill and a confidence on and off the puck that he can make a difference. He also plays a very intentional game that wants to take pucks to the middle. He might top out as a second-line SHLer\/AHLer, though.<\/p>\n

11. Joona Saarelainen, C, 19, KalPa (No. 149, 2024)<\/p>\n

A big part of the 2006 age group with the Finnish national team, often playing in its top six with a letter on his jersey, Saarelainen is a small but quick forward. Though he was relegated to a reduced role in his first World Juniors in Ottawa, he played nearly 18 minutes per game and registered six points in seven games at this year\u2019s tournament. He has twists and turns, stops and starts \u2014 he was one of the better skaters in the 2024 draft coming in and out of breaks \u2014 and good speed in straight lines, too. He works hard. He\u2019s a talented player on the perimeter with his feel on the puck, but can also play with determination and competitiveness, and has driven the net against peers, though that has proven harder against pros in Liiga. The worry is that while skilled, he\u2019s not so dynamic at his size as to eliminate the inherent risk.<\/p>\n

He dominated Finnish junior and hasn\u2019t looked out of place in pro the last two years, but I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s another level beyond eventual Liiga\/AHL second-line playmaker. He\u2019s committed to playing defense even if it\u2019ll never be a strength at his size, and I expect him to have a good pro career because of his style and his skating.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not going to play in the NHL, if I\u2019m being honest, but I\u2019ve really enjoyed watching him over the last few years and wanted to give him a mention here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to Scott Wheeler\u2019s 2026 rankings of every NHL organization\u2019s prospects. You can find the complete ranking and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,862,137,136],"class_list":["post-194836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-lightning","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}