The downside to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s success over the past decade is that the team did not have many early-round draft picks to retool their squad. Their success and trading draft picks to allow the Lightning to be successful in the playoffs have forced the organization to draft and develop later-round talent deftly. Over the years, they have been able to take late-round picks such as Ondrej Palat and Ross Colton and turn them into important pieces in their two Stanley Cup victories.
The Lightning have continued this trend. Three late-round selections are starting the season with the Lightning’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in Syracuse, and their impact was felt immediately during the Crunch’s opening-weekend victories. These three players will be working to join sixth-round selection Nick Perbix on the Lightning roster.
Niko Huuhtanen
The Lightning’s seventh-round pick in 2021 scored his first career AHL goal in the Crunch’s first game of the season, a 5-0 victory over the Utica Comets. Huuhtanen dropped 46 points in Finland’s top professional league last season before coming over to Syracuse and playing in four playoff games. The Lightning signed the 21-year-old to a three-year entry-level contract (ELC) in May after two successful campaigns in Finland.
Huuhtanen boasts a strong, physical build and a powerful shot, and isn’t afraid to battle for the puck down low. He is known for playing a very heavy game. For example, in his six postseason games last season with Mikkelin Jukurit, he had a whopping 33 penalty minutes. Huuhtanen will bring a high upside and impose expectations into his first full season as a pro, but he has the skills and natural ability to pull it off. The transition to North American hockey should be easier as he played one season with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Dyllan Gill
The right-shot defenseman scored his first two professional goals in the Crunch’s victory over Utica. The 20-year-old signed his ELC in May after spending his major junior career in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. While he served as captain last season, his campaign was cut short after just 12 games due to an upper-body injury. The blueliner had a strong post-draft season with Rouyn-Noranda in 2022-23, though, posting eight goals and 49 assists for 57 points in 68 games with a plus-12 rating.
The New Brunswick native can bring to the Lightning a player who can safely and smartly move pucks off the back wall in his zone. He closes on attackers quite rapidly in the defensive zone and is capable of rotating at the right place at the right time to manage risk and remove plays from the opposition. He participates in the offensive game both as a puck distributor and a blue-line shooter.
Jaydon Dureau
The 22-year-old was selected by the Lightning in the fifth round, 147th overall, in 2020 and scored the shootout winner in the Crunch’s 2-1 victory over the Belleville Senators. Dureau spent the majority of last season with the Orlando Solar Bears in the ECHL, tallying 25 points in 34 games. He added 11 points in 11 Kelly Cup Playoff games to help the Solar Bears win their first playoff series since 2019.
The Lightning hope he continues to improve his skating to complement his playmaking skills and excellent vision on the ice. These skills were displayed during the Kelly Cup Playoffs as Dureau was one of the main reasons the Solar Bears reached the South Division Final, where Orlando bowed out against the eventual champion Florida Everblades. He also works hard to improve himself, as evidenced by his 41-point improvement from his first full season to his second season (2019-20) with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks.
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These late-round prospects will look to keep their development moving forward while trying to keep the Crunch on the winning path when they make a Canadian road trip next weekend. They will play back-to-back games against the Laval Rocket on Friday (Oct. 18) and Saturday (Oct. 19). On Sunday (Oct. 20), the Crunch will travel to Belleville for a rematch against the Senators.
