The Tampa Bay Lightning opened the 2025 Prospects Tournament with a 3-2 loss versus the Nashville Predators on Friday at AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, and they showed some fight in the process.
The Lightning took a 1-0 lead before Nashville scored the next two goals—one on a power play and another on a penalty shot—to take the lead. Tampa Bay tied the game in the third period before the Nashville prospects went ahead 3-2 late in the effort.
Syracuse Crunch General Manager and Head Coach Joel Bouchard liked what he saw from his prospect group in their tournament opener.
"One of the messages was, 'You go to training camp and you want to establish yourself or you want to feel good about yourself? You attack the situation.' And being physical is part of the attack. I feel as the game went on, our puck management was better,” Bouchard said. “I saw we were nervous with the puck a little bit early, which is understandable, but the effort was there. So I thought all three positions, a lot of guys did extremely well. I was very proud to see some of the young guys to get in there, too."
Tampa Bay’s prospects will play again on Saturday at 5 p.m. against the Florida Panthers.
Before then, here are some moments and players that stood out among Tampa Bay’s prospect tournament opener.
1. What an Entrance
Two of the newest faces aboard the Lightning organizational depth chart made a statement early on Friday when 2025 second-round pick Ethan Czata shelved his backhand shot through Nashville goalie Ethan Haider to claim a 1-0 lead on a first period power play.
The play was set up by Sam O’Reilly, the 2024 Round 1 pick acquired by Tampa Bay this offseason in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers. O’Reilly found the puck near the top of the zone during a Lightning power play and dished to Czata, who cut inside the left faceoff dot and zipped a backhand shot into the top right corner.
Czata was one of Tampa Bay’s most noticeable players for much of Friday’s game.
"To wear that jersey for the first time, playing in an NHL jersey was obviously nervewracking, but I would say I was more excited than nervous, anxious to kind of just get playing already,” Czata said. “It's a long preparation, going on the bus, driving here, sitting in the room, waiting to go on. So when it finally happened, I wasn't really nervous anymore. I was just excited to get going.”
Czata wasn’t afraid to get involved physically, either. The 18-year-old forward recorded multiple hits during Friday’s game and added some blocked shots to the stat sheet also.
"Even watching the game before, I kind of saw it's way more physical,” he said. “Guys are way bigger, way older. So I like playing that style of game. I like a lot of hits, love playing that (game). So, it's awesome. And yeah, you feel the bigger guys, but I'm still young, I can get a little bit bigger.”
2. The Beginn-eghin
Harrison Meneghin is preparing for his first season of professional hockey, and whether that happens in the American Hockey League with Syracuse is still to be seen. Wherever his season begins, fans are going to love the goalie who helped the Medicine Hat Tigers reach the Memorial Cup Final in 2024-25.
Meneghin moved with efficiency on Friday. He made numerous stops on an early penalty kill, including back-to-back stretching kicks followed by a glove save. Later in the first period he stopped former first-round pick Reid Schaefer in tight after a Lightning turnover.
The first two goals that beat him were a missile of a power-play shot by Joakim Kemell—a former first-round pick who scored 19 goals in the American Hockey League last season—and a penalty shot by Brady Martin. Finally in the third, a point shot beat him through a screen.
You’ll take a night like that from your goalie every time.
After the Lightning tied the game 2-2 in the third period, Meneghin denied a Predators two-on-one to keep his team even, and he denied multiple quality chances throughout the night.
Although Friday didn’t end with a victory, It was a promising start for Meneghin, who at minimum has a fighting chance to begin the 2025-26 season in the American Hockey League.
"I thought he did really well. He made some big saves early, he was solid in some key moments,” Bouchard said of the goalie postgame. “For him, like everybody else, it's a work in progress, but I thought he did good. And we're glad we gave him that 60 minutes just to get all those minutes that he needs to have before camp.
3. Foster the Pest
Aiden Foster impacted Friday’s game in numerous ways. He was physical, he stood up for his teammates, and he was letting his vocal chords rip with some chirps for much of the show.
His greatest contribution came late. The 2025 fourth-round selection powered to the Nashville net at the left post and buried a backhand shot to tie the game 2-2 with just over 12 minutes left in regulation.
