Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper has confirmed that forward Dominic James is set to make his NHL debut on Thursday. He’ll get the opportunity against the team that drafted him back in 2022, the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks took him in the sixth round of that 2022 Draft. However, he never signed with the team, allowing his draft rights to expire earlier this year. He signed a two-year contract with the Lightning last month, putting pen to paper on his awaited entry-level contract.
For Lightning fans, this situation mirrors the Isaac Howard debacle that was settled around the same time. He didn’t sign with the organization, and he was sent off to the Edmonton Oilers. The only difference was that the rights never had a chance to expire.
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The Lightning like to think that they provide the environment for James to succeed where other former prospects couldn’t. This matchup with Chicago could serve as a perfect setting to get the ball rolling.
James played four seasons with Minnesota-Duluth’s hockey program. While he was part of the Bulldogs team that’s had some down years, it’s typically a prominent program in the college sphere and has won national titles in relatively recent years. In his last season, he scored 14 goals and tallied 30 total points in 35 games.
He’s played five games for the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Syracuse Crunch, and he’s looked sharp with three goals and five total points in the past four games. The Lightning’s sluggish start on offense could use something to help jump-start it, and James could fit the bill.
Through six games, the Lightning are bottom third in scoring with 2.67 goals per game, far off from the leading team they were last season with 3.57 goals per game. If someone is averaging more than a point per game in the AHL, it’s worth giving them a shot.
