While the Tampa Bay Lightning lost a lot of forward depth this offseason, and will not be able to ice a roster that is $18-million over the salary cap when they return to the ice, they did announce their lineup for the 2021 NHL Prospect Showcase. The names on that list aren’t household names now, but they do represent some of the players who will likely form the ‘$18-million of tomorrow’.

Because of all their moves to win now, the Lightning won’t have any first-round draft picks in attendance at the showcase this year. However, they will have a trio of former second-round picks making appearances. Forwards Jack Finley, Gabriel Fortier, and Gage Goncalves will headline as the highest-draft-pick attendees, and will be surrounded by a bevy of late-round and free agent talent as well:

Odeen Tufto, Amir Miftakhov, Mac Cajkovic, Jack Thompson, Niko Huuhtanen
Games for #GoBolts are:
Sept. 18 vs Nashville, 1 p.m.
Sept. 19 vs Carolina, 1 p.m.
Sept. 21 vs Florida, 1 p.m.
All games streamed on https://t.co/8ctTZ9n2NU

— Lightning Insider (@Erik_Erlendsson) August 18, 2021

If the lack of a “big name” makes you less excited about this showcase than you otherwise might be, it shouldn’t. Consider how much of Tampa’s success has been built on the backs of players just like the late-round and free agent players who will be showing up to this event. Names like Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point, and more weren’t super high-profile names before they exploded onto the scene with Tampa Bay. If Al Murray’s scouting performance is to be trusted – and history shows it should be – we could be looking at the next generation of those unheralded success stories.

With the Lightning expected to bring up a small handful of players from Syracuse for full-time roles this upcoming season, as to replace the full Gourde line and fill gaps elsewhere, these prospects will get a real opportunity to shine and thrive in prominent roles at lower levels in the system. Because so much depth has been lost, and so much draft/prospect capital has been spent to win two Stanley Cups, there really has never been a better time to be a Lightning prospect in this system. Opportunities are going to be there for players who go out and grab them. For players who have played little to no competitive hockey over the last year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, this showcase might be the start of something special.

As always, thanks for reading.

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