Draft

Name: Richard Panik
Position: RW/C
Height: 6.02
Weight: 203 lbs
Club: Trinec (CZE)
Shoots: Left
Rankings: CSS- 13 (European Skater), Red Line- 60, THN- 31, TSN- 38
Statistics: Trinec J-20 (CZE J-20), 16 GP, 10-9-19, 36 PIM
Havirov (CZE2), 3 GP, 2-1-3, 0 PIM
Trinec (CZE), 15 GP, 1-1-2, 4 PIM

The Lightning took a tremendous swing for the fences with high risk, high reward forward Richard Panik from Slovakia by way of the Czech Republic. In terms of raw skills and athleticism, he has first round talent. He has great outside speed and a sharp snap shot with great playmaking abilities too. He's also very strong on his stick and is a tank when he brings his battle level up. The problem with Panik is that there are big questions about his attitude and his work ethic, and he's been criticized for allowing himself to get out of shape too. Red Line Report projects him as either a second line scorer in the NHL or a total bust, with upside to be like Marian Hossa. There's no safety net with Panik, though.

The money quote on Panik from Red Line, "Excellent size/skills combination - on talent alone he'd be first round material." Let's hope he gets his head on straight. The Windsor Spitfires of the OHL hold his Import Draft rights and Brian Lawton just tweeted he will play in North America next season.

Hard to argue with what the Lightning accomplished tonight at the draft. I think the two players they got are definitely going to be NHLers and their athleticism is bullet-proof. For the second year in a row, they got the perfect fit getting Victor Hedman. He's exactly what the Lightning needed, and he has the ability to make the entire defensive corps better. In a perfect world, the Lightning would've been able to get one of those pure offensive defensemen to pair with him that they could just turn loose, but it wasn't in the cards.

Credit to Brian Lawton for being aggressive trying to move up. From about pick #10 or #11, the Lightning were trying to move back into the first round to acquire another prospect. This is the first time in team history they've been this aggressive, and they got a good payoff for it. I was worried that the ownership squabbles were such a distraction that Lawton would sit on his hands tonight, but that wasn't the case. They had the resources to make moves, and they tried to do so.

I have no problem moving a pick outside of the top-60 to move up a few picks to get a player you believe is going to be an NHLer, and Carter Ashton was very good value at pick 29. He should have gone around pick 20 and there are several forwards who were taken ahead of him that simply aren't better players than he is. The Lightning got a guy who's going to be that Modin type player who does the board work for you and drives the slot and bangs 25-30 goals home for you. They've desperately needed a player like that since Modin was dealt. Even Ryan Malone, as good as he is around the opposing crease, could be stronger along the wall. Ashton's great along the wall, with the added dimension of being a good fighter if you provoke him. He might end up being a good protector for Stamkos down the road. A simple meat and potatoes game like he has translates well on any line you put him on. I thought the Lightning might take a player like Ashton like Budish, for instance, with the pick at 32. I never though Ashton would slide down as low as 29 to be a possibility for the Lightning. Definitely a rock solid pick.

The only downside from the first night of the draft is that because the Lightning don't pick again until 52, I don't know if they'll be able to grab a righty shot offensive defenseman. There are some players still on the board they could use: Charles Olivier Roussel of Shawinigan and Stefan Elliott of Saskatoon are still out there. Eric Gelinas of Lewiston is a lefty shot defenseman with a lot of offensive upside who is still out there as well. I doubt they'll make it to 52, though, and I doubt the Lightning have the resources left to move up from 52 to get one.

Chad and Tim from our staff made a good point to me: now that you have Ashton to go along with a prospect like Johan Harju, you need a playmaker to set these big snipers up because they're not the type of players who make their own offense on the rush. But, other than Alex Hutchings of Barrie, there's not many playmakers left. There are some snipers like Jeremy Morin of the USNTDP, Toni Rajala from the Ilves program, Landon Ferraro of Red Deer, and Ben Hanowski of Little Falls High School. There's also a wild card like Zach Budish, who's a power forward who can do it all, but was hurt all year. So, there's a lot of talent still hanging around. I just wish the Lightning could be at about 42 rather than 52 to know they're going to get a player like that.

Another thought is that Rick Tocchet tweeted that there's a scary enforcer who the Lightning should take a look at. Defenseman Brayden McNabb, who is rated at 66 by Red Line and 54 by THN is one of the toughest players in this draft, apparently bit someone somewhere along the way this season. Cannibalism qualifies as scary.

The Lightning have traded their first second round pick (#32) and their third round pick (#75) for the 29th pick in the first round.

Name: Carter Ashton
Position: RW
Height: 6.03
Weight: 205 lbs
Club: Lethbridge (WHL)
Shoots: Left
Rankings: CSS- 12 (North American Skater), Red Line- 22, THN- 20, TSN- 20
Statistics: Lethbridge (WHL), 70 GP, 30-20-50, 93 PIM, -5

The Lightning moved up to get a hard hat and lunch pail type power forward in Carter Ashton of the WHL. Ashton plays simple, meat and potatoes hockey. He forechecks hard, he's strong on the puck, and he drives the net. He has good straight line speed and agility but does not possess an explosive first step. Red Line describes him as a, "Tantalizing combination of a huge frame, good skating stride, and goal scoring hands," and projects him as a second line NHL player in the mold of Dustin Penner. TSN takes it a step further comparing Ashton to Bill Guerin.

One more detail that bears mentioning: although Ashton doesn't always bring a consistent level of physical play night in and night out, he's described as a frightningly good fighter if you provoke him. He's a bad, bad man with the mitts off.

Name: Victor Hedman
Position: D
Height: 6.06
Weight: 220 lbs
Club: MODO (SWE)
Shoots: Left
Rankings: CSS- 1 (European Skater), Red Line- 1, THN-2 ISS- 3, TSN-2
Statistics: MODO (SWE), 43 GP, 7-14-21, 52 PIM, +21

For the second season in a row, the Lightning luck into getting the best player available at their biggest need. In Hedman, the Lightning get a legitimate number one defenseman who can step into the NHL right away after playing 20 minutes a night last season for MODO in the Elitserien. Red Line report calls Hedman, "A less edgy Chris Pronger," but it should be noted that Hedman also skates better than Pronger ever could, ranking 11th in this draft class according to Red Line in terms of the best skaters in the class. Aside from his mobility, Hedman has incredible poise and maturity, and does everything well. He's good under pressure with the puck and makes good decisions on when to move it and when to eat it. His passing is superb and has a big shot and loves to use the one-timer on the power play. The only knock is that Hedman doesn't have a mean streak, but he's got excellent range, and a great reach, and minds his gaps well. He's a true shut down defenseman in his own end, and his +21 rating in the Elitserien was tied for third best in the league, which is amazing for an 18 year old. Expect him to be a solid 40-50 point a year defenseman when he develops to his full potential in three or four seasons, and he'll make the entire defensive corps around him better because he can play 25 minutes a night, which will put the rest of the corps in roles they're more naturally suited for. In addition, he's so good defensively, he gives the Lightning license to go get a risk-taking offensive defenseman to pair with him.

Money quote from Red Line: "Has as much pure talent as any player in the last four drafts." Potentially better than Stamkos? Sign us up.

We're starting up the chat now, for folks who's like to join the party at our own virtual Barnacles in Brandon. Try the fried calamari, or the mozerella sticks. The chat is open to anyone registered for the Bolt Prospects message board.