When - 3 p.m., Saturday, September 16
Where - Hertz Arena; Estero, Florida
How to Watch - The games will be livestreamed on the team's website.
The Carolina Hurricanes will look to keep the ball rolling after their 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers Friday night with an afternoon matinee showdown with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Fensore Leads the Way as Hurricanes Win Opening Game of Southeast Rookie Showcase
The Lightning's prospects defeated the Nashville Predators 4-3 Friday afternoon, so both teams will be looking to go 2-0.
As a reminder, here is the remaining schedule for the showcase:
Saturday, Sept. 16
3 p.m. - Carolina Hurricanes vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
6 p.m. - Florida Panthers vs. Nashville Predators
Monday, Sept. 18
10 a.m. - Nashville Predators vs. Carolina Hurricanes
1 p.m. - Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers
*Sunday is a practice day and no games are scheduled then
Despite their youth, there is a chance that the Hurricanes squad may be a bit sluggish to start being that they played last night less than 24 hours ago.
While Tampa is in a similar situation, they have the benefit of a few extra hours of rest.
Speaking of the Lighting, I teamed up with Diandra Loux from the The Hockey News' Tampa Bay Lightning team site to highlight three players on the Lightning to watch out for. Here's her three with a little background on each:
Hugo Alnefelt
There really isn’t a ton of goalie conversation in Tampa. With Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, the Lightning are set for the foreseeable future. However, they would love to lock down a solid backup who can take on a portion of the workload, especially leading up to the playoffs. For that reason alone, I’m including Hugo Alnefelt in my list of players to watch. Alnefelt is a Swedish goaltender and third round pick from the 2019 draft. He’s a solid prospect who has really started to find his stride in net for the Syracuse Crunch.
With the pick they acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in the Ross Colton trade, the Lightning selected Ethan Gauthier, a forward from the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL.
Ethan Gauthier
He's a 6’0″, 183 pound right-winger from an NHL linage as his father, Denis, was a long-time defenseman in the league having played in Calgary, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.
Almost every prospect review of Gauthier mentions the physical aspect of his game, something the Lightning love on their current roster. He's not necessarily the quickest skater we'll see this weekend, but he makes his teammates better, gets his hits in and has the ability to irritate players and get under their skin. He had a good showing in Game 1, which makes him a player to watch vs Carolina.
Waltteri Merela
The 24-year-old has spent most of his professional career in Finland and had a breakout season in 2021-22, scoring 21 goals and 23 assists as a 23-year-old. He looked to be on a similar pace last season, but missed two months due to getting his wrist cut by a skate blade in November.
Merela signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Lightning in June. He's versatile and can play on either the right or left side. He could have a shot at making the team in training camp this year. Merela scored the game-tying goal on a tip-in Friday night, giving a preview of the net-front presence he can bring to the Lightning roster.
