The 18-year-old Russian winger spent last season with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL and led the team in assists (44) and points (73) in 66 games. The University of Massachusetts commit said Tampa Bay was his preferred landing spot.
“Yesterday I didn’t sleep very good because I was very excited for this moment,” Kulebiakin said. “For me it’s a big moment, and for my family. Right now I’m just so happy to be with the Tampa Bay Lightning.”
All about patience
Tampa Bay’s draft continued in the third round, when they selected right-handed defenseman Tomas Kralovic with the 90th overall pick.
Kralovic, 20, played in his home country’s top professional league in 2025-26, scoring six goals and 31 points to lead defensemen on his team, HC Slovan Bratislava.
The 6-foot-3, 203-pound defender added 71 penalty minutes and was plus-17 in 52 games. He represented Slovakia at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, recording two assists in five games to help his country reach the playoff round.
“I’m a two-way defenseman,” Kralovic said of his game. “I think I move the puck really well and I’m good with hitting and blocked shots.”
Tampa Bay has been monitoring Tomas Kralovic for multiple seasons They continued to notice improvement, which made them draft the now 20-year-old player.
“Watching him in the men's league really helped to see his progression,” Rosso said…"This year he took a large step…He was put in a much bigger role this year, so probably about halfway through the year, just after we had our mid-season meetings in January, he was one of the players that (we said) ‘Hey, you’ve got to make sure you go see him.’”
The team’s European scouts went to watch the Lightning’s oldest draftee play in the league championship in Bratislava, and the group was convinced.
“You don't see too many guys that are in their fourth time through in the draft, but our guys are really excited about him. It's easy when you get three, four, five, six different scouts (watching) and they all kind of go away from the game thinking the same thing.”
Busy to the final selection
Tampa Bay then added a pair of centers in the fifth round, spending the 134th pick on Swedish 18-year-old Morgan Anderberg of the SHL’s Växjö Lakers before adding 17-year-old Cooper Soller of the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede with the 154th pick.
Anderberg adorned a Lightning baseball cap as he spoke to media after his selection on Saturday, saying he’s been a Lightning fan for many years thanks to a friend who cheered for the Bolts and the powers of Nikita Kucherov.
The 5-foot-11 Anderberg scored two goals and three points in 39 games last season in Sweden’s top professional league. Rosso said the franchise was impressed by the forward’s defensive abilities and that his coaches trusted him at such a young age.
“I was at home in Stockholm,” Anderberg said of learning he’d been picked. “I had two friends over and my cousins and my own family, and we were sitting on the couch watching the draft, and it was on media break. After the break I heard my name, and everyone just started screaming."
Twenty picks later, Tampa Bay added another center in 17-year-old Cooper Soller, who was named the USHL’s 2026 Rookie of the Year after scoring 26 goals and 49 points across 62 games during his first campaign of junior hockey.
The Los Angeles native stands at 5-foot-10 and is set to return to the Stampede in 2026-27. The Western Michigan University commit isn’t afraid to get involved on offense or physically.
“I play a ruthless type of game,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re six inches taller than me, I’ll drop the gloves. It doesn’t really matter to me, and that’s kind of how I found success, going to the dirty areas. All throughout my career that’s what’s kind of made me stand out. I play way bigger than my size, and my size doesn’t affect how I play.”
The Lightning then entered the goalie pool, picking up Stepan Shurygin from the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit with the 186th overall pick in Round 6. Shurygin, 18, was Saginaw’s starting goalie last season and went 24-27-7 record with an .888 save percentage. His 59 games played were the most of any OHL goalie, and his 1,704 saves also paced the league.
Shurygin spent the three seasons prior playing in Russia.
The team’s draft concluded with the 218th overall pick in Round 7, were Tampa Bay opted for defenseman Max Vilen.
The left-handed defender spent 2025-26 playing in the QMJHL, scoring three goals and 27 points in 54 games between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Moncton Wildcats. The 19-year-old from Hammarlöv, Sweden racked up 25 penalty minutes and was plus-2.
Multiple 2026 draftees are expected to attend Tampa Bay’s 2026 Development Camp, which is set to begin Monday.
