With Tampa Bay Lightning training camp just around the corner, there is plenty of excitement surrounding the organization’s young players, and few have generated more intrigue than Sam O’Reilly.
O’Reilly, the Lightning’s lone first-round pick, did not fully participate in development camp back in July as he continued to recover from an injury. He remained active throughout the week, however, and the Lightning planned to work with him throughout the summer. The 20-year-old is expected to be a full participant when training camp opens in September.
For O’Reilly, the goal is straight forward: put himself in the best possible position to compete for an opportunity.
“I’m just trying to bring my best game and put my best foot forward,” O’Reilly said of preparing for the Lightning’s upcoming training camp. “Obviously I’m trying to make a push for it, and coming in the best shape I can. This is a big summer, and I’m looking forward to making that push.”
O’Reilly enters camp with plenty of momentum after an impressive 2025-26 season with the Kitchener Rangers.
The Lightning prospect became the first player in OHL history to appear in four consecutive championship series, helping Kitchener capture the OHL championship. O’Reilly was awarded the Wayne Gretzky ‘99’ Award as the most valuable player of the 2026 OHL playoffs after recording 17 goals and 11 assists in 18 postseason games.
The Lightning acquired O’Reilly from the Edmonton Oilers last offseason in exchange for top prospect Isaac Howard after spending years investing in Howard’s development. The move gave the organization a different type of prospect in O’Reilly, who has quickly drawn attention for his maturity, versatility and two-way game.
“Obviously, the NHL is where you want to play, but I think whatever they think is best for me is where I’ll be playing,” O’Reilly told TSN back in May. “It’s not my decision. I think all I can do is go in there, work hard and learn from those guys over there. Wherever I am will be the best thing for me.”
General manager Julien BriseBois has been impressed by what he has seen from the young forward so far.
“The way he plays the game already, even a small sample we got in training camp, tells me he probably won’t need that much time in order to be able to come here and contribute, because he already plays a pro-style game,” BriseBois said at the end of last season.
“If he can adjust to the pace and the physicality, as soon as he’s got that figured out, I think his game is already so textbook in how he plays,” BriseBois added. “He’s got a really mature game that he carries in every night for his junior team or even the national team.”
The Lightning leaned heavily on their Syracuse Crunch pipeline throughout last season, with injuries creating opportunities for younger players to step into NHL roles. September will provide the first real opportunity to see just how close O’Reilly is to making that next jump.
