Draft

Seventh Round, One-Hundred Eighty-Second Overall
RW Matias Sointu, 5'10" 154 lbs, Ilves Jr. (FIN)
Rankings: #42 Europe CSS, Red Line NR, THN #93 Overall

41 GP, 21-19-40, 38 PIM

Sointu is a very undersized but very skilled Finnish forward who scored at nearly a point a game clip this season with Ilves' Junior A team and also scored 3 goals for Team Finland at the U18 World Junior Championships. Sointu fell 15 spots from his Midterm CSS ranking, but he still might be good value in the seventh round.

Sixth Round, One-Hundred Sixtieth Overall
D Luke Witkowski, 6'2" 180 lbs, Ohio (USHL)
Rankings: Unranked

58 GP, 3-10-13, 139 PIM

Unranked by the major scouting services, Witkowski, a Western Michigan University commitment for 2009, has only recently begun playing defense. The Ohio Junior Blue Jackets rearguard is known for his skating, physical play, and work ethic. Witkowski told McKeen's Hockey he projects as an offensive defenseman.

Sixth Round, One-Hundred and Fifty-Second Overall
D Mark Barberio, 6'1" 200 lbs, Moncton (QMJHL)
Rankings: #134 North America CSS, #36 Overall Red Line Report, #59 Overall THN

70 GP, 11-35-46, 75 PIM

Perhaps a steal here for the Lightning who get a strong defender who logged nearly 30 minutes a night last season for Moncton. Barberio is a solid two-way defender who will take the body, but there's a knock on his skating ability. Red Line projects Barberio as a #4 or #5 defenseman in the mold of Craig Rivet. THN projects Barberio as more of an offensive defenseman and even suggests some organizations had Barberio ranked as a first round pick.

Fifth Round, One-Hundred Forty-Seventh Overall
RW Kyle De Coste, 6'2" 178 lbs, Brampton (OHL)
Rankings: #115 North America CSS, #274 Overall Red Line, NR THN

66 GP, 10-12-22, 48 PIM

De Coste is one of the younger players in this draft, so he's more of a project pick who brings a decent sized frame to the table. More info to follow.

Fifth Round, One-Hundred Twenty-Second Overall
G Dustin Tokarski, 5'11" 185 lbs, Spokane (WHL)
Rankings: #9 North American Goalie CSS, #129 Overall Red Line Report, THN #NR, McKeen's #90 Overall

45 GP, 30-10-3, 2.05 GAA, .922 sv%, 6 shutouts

Tokarski stole the show at the 2008 Memorial Cup, winning MVP honors for the Spokane Chiefs. A bit undersized, the positionally sound, mentally tough goaltender stopped 53 shots in the Finals to defeat the Kitchener Rangers. "The Tick" split duties in the regular season. The Watson, Saskatchewan, native finished among the top goalies through the regular Western Hockey League season and was named the Western Conference championship series MVP after the Chiefs beat the Tri-City Americans in a memorable seven-game series that included five total overtime and three double-overtime games. He missed being eligible for the 2007 draft by one day. He went undrafted in the WHL Bantam Draft. He led his midget club to a championship, and considering Spokane has a young roster, he could put up huge numbers on his way to another Memorial Cup experience next year in Rimouski.