If Curtis Douglas didn’t have a go-to order at the coffee shop before Monday, he does now.
The 25-year-old forward was trekking from Utah to Tucson, Arizona after being placed on waivers by the Utah Mammoth on the final day of roster cuts before the 2025-26 NHL season.
He was in the midst of a coffee break during his long drive on Monday afternoon, securing an iced latte, when his phone rang. It was his agent, telling Douglas he was claimed on waivers by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“I started my drive and then I got the call that I was joining Tampa a couple hours in while I was getting a coffee, so that was pretty special to get to break the news to my parents,” Douglas said. “I didn't really know what to expect, to be honest, but it was really, really cool. I'm so excited.”
Douglas will don No. 42 for the Lightning and was named to the season-opening roster ahead of Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline. His first game this season will mark his NHL debut.
When Douglas’ agent called on Monday to prepare the player for a move to the Sunshine State, shock was followed by a flood of emotions that a “world-class” organization like the Lightning sees NHL potential in his game.
“I’m so grateful, and I’m trying to take it day by day and not get too starstruck right off the bat, but I couldn’t be luckier going into that space and getting to work with these guys,” Douglas said of Tampa Bay. “They’re well established and amazing at what they do, and I’m just looking to soak in as much information as I can and get better every day.”
‘I’m just trying to get energy for the team’
Douglas was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft and has played 261 career games in the AHL, scoring 37 goals and 97 points while accumulating 508 penalty minutes.
The hulking power forward is set to be among the biggest in the NHL this season—Douglas stands at 6-foot-9 and weighs 242 lbs. His size and toughness will be welcomed in Tampa.
“I bring a big physical aspect to the game,” Douglas said. “I think I can sort of impose my will on defenders and be a power forward that’s reliable, and you know what you’re getting from me every single night. I’m just trying to get energy for the team, play hard and use my size and strength to my advantage.”
The native of Oakville, Ontario played for Utah’s AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, in each of the previous three seasons after being traded from the Toronto Marlies during the 2022-23 season. He scored a career-high 13 goals and 34 points with Toronto in 2021-22.
His offense might be underappreciated.
“I think it goes a little bit under the radar,” Douglas said of his offensive game, “and hopefully I can get comfortable and begin to show some of that off. I think just being reliable and getting energy for the team, it opens space on the ice for me and my teammates and it allows me to be a little more creative with the puck, and I’m hoping to be able to do that.”
Douglas put up another productive season in 2024-25, scoring 10 goals and 23 points while amassing 117 penalty minutes—15th-most in the AHL.
He arrived in Tampa early Tuesday morning, many hours after the best coffee order of his life. Tampa area coffeehouses can count on more iced lattes from No. 42 in the future.
“For sure. It’s got to be, I think,” Douglas said of whether a simple iced latte would be his gameday coffee order. “I don’t think I can change it after that. That one’s going to be etched in my memory for a while.”
