As part of The Hockey News’ annual Prospect Pool series, Tony Ferrari took an in-depth look at the Lightning’s top prospects, including the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s pipeline, its latest draft class, positional depth and which prospects could be next in line for an NHL opportunity.
The Lightning have been aggressive in the past when it comes to trading future draft picks for current NHL players. In recent years, however, the organization has pulled back a bit on those moves, allowing its prospect pool to develop.
Two forwards who could be important pieces of that pipeline are Conor Geekie and Sam O’Reilly.
Geekie, who spent much of last season with the Syracuse Crunch, will enter training camp looking to earn a spot in the Lightning’s lineup. The 20-year-old has appeared in 66 games over two seasons with Tampa Bay, recording nine goals and eight assists.
O’Reilly has taken a different path to the NHL, but has built an impressive resume in the OHL.
The forward has won three straight OHL championships, winning two with the London Knights before helping the Kitchener Rangers capture the title last season. O’Reilly was a major contributor throughout that run, earning both OHL MVP and playoff MVP honors.
He has also won the Memorial Cup in each of the last two seasons. O’Reilly was named tournament MVP last year after helping Kitchener capture the title.
Now, the next step for O’Reilly will be making the jump to professional hockey. The hope is that he can push for an NHL opportunity with the Lightning at some point this season.
