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As we start the stretch run of the 2010-2011 hockey season, BoltProspects is proud to announce its midterm rankings for the prospects of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization.

As is tradition, we will begin by reciting the rules of the rankings. Any skater prospect who was under 24 years of age on opening night of the Lightning's season and has played less than 41 NHL games in any single season and less than 82 career NHL games is eligible for the rankings. This excludes, for instance, winger Johan Harju, who turned 24 last May and is now considered an overage prospect, and Dana Tyrell, who has already played 52 games this season and is considered to be graduated from prospect status. For goaltenders, any netminder who has earned less than 30 NHL decisions in any single season and less than 41 career NHL decisions and was under 24 years of age on opening night is eligible for the rankings. That excludes Cedrick Desjardins, for instance, who turned 25 in September. The exception to these basic rules are NCAA based players, who are considered eligible prospects for the duration of their college careers regardless of age.

With the typical legal disclaimers out of the way, here are our 2010-2011 Midterm Rankings:

Now that the 2010-2011 NHL season is underway it is time for BoltProspects' 2010-2011 Preliminary Rankings of the Lightning's top twenty-five prospects. This year's installment reflects a talent pool that has both high-end prospects and depth for perhaps the first time in the club's history, a fact that was celebrated by both GM Steve Yzerman and Head Coach Guy Boucher during training camp this fall. The Lightning is still looking for high end talent at the defenseman position, but at forward and between the pipes there's no doubting the potential.

Before we proceed, I am required to recite the BoltProspects prospect criteria rules. As always, any player 24 years of age or older on opening night of the Lightning's season (10/9/10) is not eligible for inclusion on the list and will be considered an overage prospect. The prime example of this rule is versatile forward Johan Harju, who turned 24 in May, and therefore is not eligible for this year's list. The same is true for forward Blair Jones, who turned 24 in September. The exception to this rule is NCAA-based players, who remain eligible for the list until the completion of their college careers. Prospects under 24 will be considered graduated to the NHL level when they meet the appropriate criteria for games played or decisions. For skaters, any player who appears in 41 or more NHL games in a single season or 82 or more career NHL games is no longer considered a prospect. For goaltenders, any netminder who has 30 or more decisions in a single NHL season or 41 or more career NHL decisions will be considered graduated.

Now that that's out of the way, Guy Boucher says no more d-to-d passes. Let's go:

Updated: 8/19/2010

redwingscentral.com has posted the Lightning's Traverse City Prospects Tournament roster. The pre-training camp warm-up tourney is scheduled for September 11-15 in Traverse City, MI.

The roster includes 15 Lightning prospects and 7 free agent invitees. The roster features the goaltending tandem of Dustin Tokarski and Jaroslav Janus, as well as 2010 #6 overall pick Brett Connolly. Five other 2010 draftees, all defensemen, make up one of the tournament's youngest bluelines and includes Brock Beukeboom, Radko Gudas, Adam Janosik, Geoffrey Schemitsch, and Teigan Zahn. The only other backliner is '08 draftee Mark Barberio.

Joining Connolly up front will be '09 draftees Carter Ashton, Richard Panik, and Alex Hutchings along with returning pros Dana Tyrell, Mitch Fadden, and James Wright.

The roster sports seven free agent tryouts, all forwards, including three returnees from the July Prospect Camp in Tampa. Getting a second look will be Jonathan Lessard, Andrew Agozzino, and the hat-trick star of the Young Guns scrimmage Brandon Hynes. Tim Marks, currently under AHL contract with the Norfolk Admirals, gets his chance to continue on the path to be the organization's next Paul Szczechura. Matt Butcher joins the Bolts squad as a graduate of Northern Michigan University, a prolific scorer in the BCHL and an unsigned 2005 5th round pick of the Vancouver Canucks. The final two invitees include Marc-Olivier Vachon, a diminutive winger who was coached by Guy Boucher at Drummondville during the '08-'09 season, and Harvard graduate Doug Rogers. Rogers, an unsigned '06 draftee of the New York Islanders, played alongside Lightning prospect Alex Killorn for the last couple years for the Crimson.

Conspicuous in their absence from the TC roster are goaltender Michael Zador, and forwards Brendan O'Donnell, and James Mullin. Zador is expected to return to the nets for Oshawa (OHL) this coming season, while '10 draftees O'Donnell and Mullin are expecting to play for Penticton (BCHL) and Fargo (USHL), respectively.

This roster has been officially confirmed by the Tampa Bay Lightning organization.

Confirming a report from couple of days ago on redwingscentral.com, the St. Pete Times is reporting that the Tampa Bay Lightning will return to the annual Red Wings hosted prospects tournament in Traverse City, MI on Sept 11-15. Regular attendees in the past, the previous ownership group of the Lightning suspended the team's involvement in the yearly event. The Lightning will be replacing the Atlanta Thrashers in the 8 team tourney, as former Lightning GM Rick Dudley now at the helm of the Thrashers have withdrawn from involvement this year. It is rumored that between trades made by Dudley and former GM Don Waddell, Atlanta no longer has enough prospects to field a team to participate in the Traverse City event.

The Times also is reporting that all signs point towards Jim Johnson returning to the helm of the Norfolk Admirals next season. The Times quotes Lightning GM Steve Yzerman as saying, "We're on the same page," with regard to Johnson and his continued involvement with the organization. Johnson is currently running the ongoing Development Camp that finishes up Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. with the Young Guns scrimmage, which is free and open to the public.

With the 2010 NHL Entry Draft completed, BoltProspects is releasing its Supplemental Rankings of the organization's top twenty-five prospects. The new rankings reflect both the results of the 2010 draft and transfers and signings that have occurred since the release of our 2009-2010 Final Rankings. To be considered a prospect for the sake of our rankings, a player must be under 24 years of age on the Lightning's opening night of the NHL season. Players 24 or over are considered overage prospects and are no longer eligible for consideration. The exception to this rule are NCAA based players, who are considered prospects for the tenure of their college careers. For the skating positions, a prospect is considered graduated if they play 41 or more NHL games in a single season or 82 or more career NHL games. For goaltenders, a player who has 30 or more NHL decisions in a single season or 41 or more career NHL decisions is considered graduated and no longer eligible for the list.