TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning today announced their roster and the schedule for the 2021 NHL Prospect Showcase, presented by Florida Blue, being held September 18-21 at AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel. The Lightning are hosting the annual Showcase this season and will welcome prospect teams from the Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers.
All four teams will play each other once over the four-day Showcase, which begins Saturday, September 18 with matchups between Carolina and Florida at 10 a.m. and Tampa Bay and Nashville at 1 p.m. Any skater or goaltender in each of the four organizations on an entry-level contract (or less), provided they are 24 or younger and have less than 20 games of NHL experience, are eligible to participate in the Showcase (exceptions may be permitted with prior approval from all teams). Teams will dress 18 skaters and two goaltenders for each contest. Games are regulation length with three 20-minute periods. A five-minute, three-on-three overtime period will determine a winner if games are tied after regulation. Games will conclude with a five-player-per-team shootout regardless of the final score.
Tampa Bay’s roster contains a number of the organization’s top prospects, including 2018 second-round draft pick Gabriel Fortier, who recorded six goals and 10 points in 30 games last season for the Syracuse Crunch, the Lightning’s American Hockey League affiliate. Also participating for the Bolts are a pair of 2020 second-round draft selections in forwards Jack Finley and Gage Goncalves, who each made their professional hockey debut with Syracuse during the 2020-21 season. Three of Tampa Bay’s selections from the 2021 NHL Draft in July will be in attendance as well: D Roman Schmidt (3rd rd. – No. 96 overall), F Cameron MacDonald (5th Rd. – 160 overall) and F Niko Huuhtanen (7th Rd. – No. 224 overall).
