Barberio, Mark

The Lightning have assembled a preliminary roster for the upcoming prospects camp July 10-14 at the St. Pete Times Forum. The following roster, courtesy of Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune, includes at least three goaltenders, 12 defensemen and 17 forwards. All 2010 draft choices will be participating.

Name: Brandon Gormley
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Height: 6.02
Weight: 185
Born: 2/18/92, Murray River, PEI
Last Team: Moncton (QMJHL)
Rankings: CSS 6 (NA Skaters), ISS 5 (Skaters), RLR 5 (Overall), THN 7 (Overall)

2009-2010 Statistics:
Moncton (QMJHL), 58 GP, 9-34-43, +31, 54 PIM
Moncton (QMJHL) Playoffs, 21 GP, 2-5-17, +14, 10 PIM

If you’re looking for a sexy draft pick, you’re not going to find one in Moncton’s Brandon Gormley. If you’re looking for a solid two-way defenseman who is going to play 20+ minutes a night and have a 10-15 year NHL career, Gormley’s probably your man. Gormley’s positives are that he’s got a good sized frame, is a strong skater, passes the puck well, and he’s an extremely cerebral defender. A product of the same Notre Dame prep school that began the careers of Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards, efficiency is the hallmark of Gormley's game. He is incredibly cool under pressure and has a propensity of using his positioning and mobility to win races for loose pucks and move them out of danger long before forecheckers arrive on the scene. The down side is that Gormley is lacking in upper body strength, as evidenced by his poor performance at the NHL Combine, which has been a contributing factor to accusations that he plays a bit soft. In addition, while Gormley has upside as a puck mover at even strength, there are some doubts that he will ever be a top flight power play quarterback in the NHL. The Lightning have no doubt seen plenty of Gormley, whose teammate at Moncton was none other than recently signed prospect Mark Barberio, so they likely know exactly what they’re getting if they select the PEI native. The question is how keen the Lightning will be to use a sixth overall pick on a player that doesn’t have the dynamic offensive upside of a future number one defenseman and who is a lefty shot and therefore likely will be relegated to the second power play unit by Victor Hedman. Will the Lightning be willing to select a quiet, solid, 30+ point a year, minute eating defenseman when there are dynamic scorers at the forward positions still sitting on the board? That’s a tough call to make for any scouting staff, even if it’s the right one.

Previous Prospect Profiles:
11 for 6: G, Jack Campbell
11 for 6: D, Cam Fowler
11 for 6: D, Erik Gudbranson

Rumors have been swirling all week that Montreal first round draft pick Louis Leblanc may have already decided to leave Harvard University after one season with the Crimson. Montreal writer Pat Hickey penned a story for the Montreal Gazette on Wednesday claiming the speedy forward might be weighing whether to go to the QMJHL or sign with the Canadiens and play in the AHL for Hamilton. Compounding the intrigue was that Leblanc, whose junior rights were held by Chicoutimi, apparently had a preference to play for the Montreal Juniors in the QMJHL so he could also attend classes at McGill University to continue his education.

Today, at the tail end of the QMJHL Midget Draft, Chicoutimi traded Leblanc's rights to the Montreal Juniors, along with a 3rd round pick, for Guillaume Asselin and a 2011 first round pick. That will only serve to intensify speculation that Leblanc may leave Harvard. If Leblanc leaves, he will add to a list of players not returning to the Crimson that already included graduating seniors Doug Rogers, Chad Morin, Alex Biega, Jack Christian, and Ian Tallett. While only Rogers, Morin, and Biega were serious contributors to Harvard last season, it's important to bear in mind the club has only won 9 games each of the past two seasons. Losing those players and their leading scorer, Leblanc, may be a death sentence for Ted Donato's club next season.

All that begs the question: what about Alex Killorn? Killorn, a 2007 3rd round pick of the Lightning, has been routinely singled out over the past couple of seasons as being one of the team's best young talents in prospect camps but has failed to garner much publicity playing for a sinking Harvard club. If Leblanc leaves, can the Lightning allow one of their ten best prospects to languish through another potential single-digits win season at Harvard? Would it be better for his development to sign Killorn and have him begin his pro career with Norfolk of the AHL? Expect new GM Steve Yzerman to seriously contemplate that option if Killorn impresses him as much at this summer's prospect camp as he has other Hockey Operations people with the Lightning in previous camps.

If Killorn were to be signed, he'd join fellow signees Johan Harju and Mark Barberio from an already strong class of incoming pros. The team could also still sign 2009 2nd round pick Richard Panik, who just completed his first World Championships appearance for Slovakia.

Hat tip to our Chad Schnarr, who has been following this situation closely on BoltProspects' Twitter feed.

According to a Twitter report from Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune, the Tampa Bay Lightning have signed prospect defenseman Mark Barberio to an entry level contract. Details of the contract are not yet know, but the Lightning had until Tuesday, June 1 to ink the blueliner or he would have been eligible to return to this summer's NHL entry draft. The Lightning are under the same deadline to sign prospect forward Kyle DeCoste or lose him to the draft as well. Both players were drafted in the 2008 NHL Entry draft -- a draft class that includes forwards Steven Stamkos and James Wright, and goaltender Dustin Tokarski.

Barberio led his Moncton Wildcats to a berth in the 2010 Memorial Cup tournament as the QMJHL champion. Barberio scored 17 goals and added 43 assists in 65 regular season games for the Wildcats.

Windsor Spitfires 4 vs. Moncton Wildcats 3 (OT)
Memorial Cup Round Robin Play
D Mark Barberio, MCT: 0-0-0, E, 2 PIM (holding)
Tournament Totals: 3 GP, 0-0-0, -2, 2 PIM
Playoff Totals: 21 GP, 5-17-22, +10, 12 PIM
Season Totals: 65 GP, 17-43-60, +39, 72 PIM

Despite already clinching a spot in the tournament’s championship game, Windsor clawed their way back from a 3-2 third period deficit to force overtime and ultimately defeat the QMJHL champion Wildcats 4-3. With the loss, Moncton fell to 0-3. Their tournament and season are now complete. Barberio did not register a point in the round robin portion of the event, and the last picture of the Wildcats’ season will be a dejected Barberio standing in front of goaltender Shane Owen as Windsor celebrates in the background. Although the ultimate ending is now what Barberio envisioned, his team did win their league championship, he had a career year statistically, was a finalist for defenseman of the year, and led all blueliners in playoff points. He should have an NHL contract in his immediate future and projects to be playing defense for AHL Norfolk next season. Barberio has the offensive mindset and talent to be a successful pro. He’ll need a couple years honing his own-zone skills before flirting with a possible spot in the NHL.

Draft Watch
Moncton defenseman Brandon Gormley, a possibility for the Lightning at No.6 in the summer’s draft, had a goal and an assist in the game and played worthy of a prospect expected to go in the upper portion of the top-10 in this summer’s draft. Gormley Tournament Totals: 3 GP, 1-2-3, 0 PIM. Meanwhile, Windsor's Cam Fowler, a defenseman expected to be taken just before the Lightning pick, scored his first of the tournament in the Moncton game. He's 1-3-4 after three games.