The Tampa Bay Lightning selected six players on the second day of the 2026 NHL Draft, adding three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender to the organization's prospect pool.

The biggest move came early in the day when Tampa Bay traded up six spots to acquire the 52nd overall pick from the Edmonton Oilers, using it to select forward Oleg Kulebiakin of the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL). The Lightning sent the 58th and 133rd overall picks to Edmonton in the deal.

“We’re excited to bring him into our organization,” said Lightning GM Julien BriseBois. “His skill level is really high. Truth be told, any comparison to Nikita Kucherov is unfair to whoever’s being compared to Nikita Kucherov. The one thing I hope that all our players take from Nikita, if anything, is his work ethic and commitment to excellence and being the best player he can be. So, hopefully, over time here Oleg gets exposed to Nikita, and some of that rubs off of him.”

Now that the draft is complete, the Lightning turn their attention to free agency, which opens July 1. On Saturday, BriseBois said he expects forwards Corey Perry and Oliver Bjorkstrand to reach the open market when free agency begins. He added that the team remains in discussions with defenseman Declan Carlile’s agent on a potential new contract.

Bjorkstrand spent time on the Lightning’s top power-play unit after arriving at the trade deadline but struggled at times. His expected exit, coupled with Darren Raddysh’s sign-and-trade with Toronto, would leave Tampa Bay with two holes to address in the coming days.