Dominic James aims to bring speed to NHL debut against familiar Blackhawks team Thursday

Full circle.

That’s how Dominic James described what lies ahead of him on Thursday night.

The 23-year-old forward is preparing for his NHL debut 24 hours after being recalled from the American Hockey League by the Tampa Bay Lightning. One of the biggest games of his hockey career awaits just over a month after he signed his entry-level contract with Tampa Bay.

The opponent he’s readying to battle in his first career NHL game? The Chicago Blackhawks–the team that drafted him in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL Draft but was unable to come to terms with James on a contract, allowing him to become a free agent this summer.

Seeing an NHL opportunity was part of James’ decision to sign with Tampa Bay, which he now gets to experience only 33 days after signing his entry-level contract with Lightning General Manager and Vice President of Hockey Operations Julien BriseBois.

“Looking at my future and looking at the opportunity to jump right into the NHL, whether it was right into the NHL or to see a path for myself was huge for me,” James said. “And I think Julien really made me feel confident in that.”

With Thursday looming, his friends have been quick to remind him he’s officially about to be an NHL player.

“My friends are all asking me how excited I am, and I'm excited, but I think that's just the next step for me. I always thought this would happen, and a lot of guys who do that believe in themselves. So, yeah, definitely, I'm really excited to play tonight.”

James turned heads during his first training camp with the Lightning this fall and was the final cut from the forward group ahead of opening night.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said James was deserving of the call-up.

“Competitive kid. He brings a lot of life,” Cooper said Thursday morning. “He can skate at this pace and made an impression in training camp. I remember our last (preseason) game we were short some players, he had to play D for half the game. And then he went down to the American League and excelled.”

James hopes to bring dynamic speed to the Lightning lineup, a trait fans frequently saw this preseason.

“I think I want to bring that speed that I played with in preseason and just play with confidence. I think I can play with the puck and anything I can do to help win,” James said. “Obviously everything is better when you win. So if I just use my feet a lot like I've been doing in the (AHL), I think I'll be successful.”

He took that AHL assignment the right way, opening his professional hockey career with an impressive two goals and three assists in four games as a rookie for Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, to earn Wednesday’s recall.

Syracuse coach Joel Bouchard called James into his office yesterday morning to tell him he was headed for the NHL, gave him a hug and the player was on his way to Tampa. It was the beginning of a crazy travel day, one that saw him arrive last night around 11:30 p.m.

“I feel like I was kind of just talking to you guys at training camp in the same spot. I went to Syracuse and I’ve enjoyed my time there for sure. A really good group there. We have a really deep group, and I love playing for (Bouchard). I feel like I haven't gotten my feet settled in anywhere yet,” he said of making his NHL debut one month after signing with his new organization.

“So yeah, it's been a whirlwind for about two months now.”

James expects his parents, sister, girlfriend and a handful of friends to join him at Benchmark International Arena for his NHL debut on Thursday, ribbing that he wasn’t sure whether they were more excited for the game or beautiful Florida weather.

The former team captain for the University of Minnesota-Duluth scored 77 points across 111 career NCAA games, including 14 goals and 30 points in 35 games as a senior in 2024-25 for the Bulldogs.

One old teammate with the Bulldogs was Wyatt Kaiser, who is now a defenseman for the Blackhawks. Kaiser texted James yesterday to congratulate him and looked forward to competing. James knows a few players in Chicago after being drafted by that organization, but those old friendships will pause for now.

While NHL game one for James comes against some familiar faces, he wants it to end with NHL win number one.

“No friends, right?”