The Tampa Bay Lightning enter the 2018 NHL Draft without a First Round selection for the first time since 2015.
The Lightning opted to trade away their First Round pick to the New York Rangers as part of the deal that brought defenseman Ryan McDonagh and forward J.T. Miller to team at the 2018 trade deadline.
But fret not Tampa Bay fans.
First Round picks aren't necessary for uncovering potential NHL superstars.
The Lightning have had plenty of success mining hidden gems in the middle and later rounds of the draft during general manager Steve Yzerman's tenure.
No 2018 first round pick? Recent history says no problem for Bolts
Under GM Steve Yzerman, Tampa Bay has had success in the middle and late rounds of the draft
© Bruce Bennett
Tampa Bay owns one pick in each of rounds two through six and two picks in the Seventh Round, the second pick coming from the trade of Bokondji Imama to the Los Angeles Kings, at the 2018 NHL Draft, which begins Friday with the First Round and concludes Saturday with Rounds 2-7 from American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The track record of Yzerman and his scouting staff, led by director of amateur scouting Al Murray, shows the Lightning should be able to find a couple future starters, maybe even a superstar, in this draft despite not owning a pick in the opening round.
Don't believe it?
Check out some of the Lightning's best non-First Round selections over the previous eight drafts since Yzerman's arrival:
Nikita Kucherov - 2nd Rd. (58th overall) in 2011
Kucherov should have been a First Round lock but slid to the Second Round because of questions about his size and doubts he would ever leave Russia. The Lightning took a chance, drafting him with the 58th pick, and have been reaping the benefits ever since. The right winger, who just turned 25 on June 17, took his game to another level in 2017-18, reaching the 100-point plateau and becoming just the third Lightning player all-time to hit the century mark, joining Vincent Lecavalier (108 pts. in 2006-07) and Martin St. Louis (102 pts. in 2006-07). He's perennially in the mix for the Rocket Richard Trophy and is now starting to get notice as a Hart Trophy candidate as well.
Ondrej Palat - 7th Rd. (208th overall) in 2011
Maybe the best value selection the Lightning have ever made, Palat was the fourth-to-last pick in the 2011 Draft. Now he's considered arguably Tampa Bay's best two-way forward. After two successful seasons in the AHL, Palat made the jump to the NHL and hasn't looked back. He was a finalist for the Calder Trophy after putting up 23 goals and 59 points as a rookie in 2013-14, was once one-third of the NHL's most famous line, The Triplets, in 2014-15 and has been a key component in helping the Lightning reach three Eastern Conference Finals in the last four years.
Cedric Paquette - 4th Rd. (101st overall) in 2012
Included in the draft class that brought Andrei Vasilevskiy and Slater Koekkoek to Tampa Bay, Paquette was the Lightning's sixth selection in 2012 but didn't need much seasoning to reach the NHL, spending one more year in junior with Blainville-Boisbriand and another in the AHL with Syracuse before becoming a permanent fixture in Tampa starting with the 2014-15 season. Paquette put up 12 goals and 19 points in his rookie season and remains a valuable, gritty, hard-nosed, bottom six forward for the Bolts.
Jake Dotchin - 6th Rd. (161st overall) in 2012
Another great value pick for the Lightning in the 2012 draft, Dotchin had his break out season in 2016-17 after entering the Lightning lineup due to injuries and became a mainstay on the top defensive pairing alongside Victor Hedman. Although he didn't receive as much action in 2017-18 as hoped due to the offseason additions of Dan Girardi and Mikhail Sergachev as well as the midseason trade for Ryan McDonagh, Dotchin remains a valuable depth defenseman for the Lightning and a player with a lot of upside.
Adam Erne - 2nd Rd. (33rd overall) in 2013
Erne was only three slots away from becoming a first rounder after being selected with the third pick in the Second Round. Injuries slowed his development, but it appeared Erne finally was fulfilling his immense potential this season. He played 41 games for Syracuse, recording 12 goals and 26 points before being called up to the Lightning, where he was a regular in the lineup until a lower-body injury forced him to miss the final six regular season games as well as all of the playoffs. Erne figures to stick with the Lightning out of training camp this season and take on a more prominent role.
Brayden Point - 3rd Rd. (79th overall) in 2014
Again, size likely kept Point from being selected in the first two rounds, but the Lightning have shown during Yzerman's tenure not to be scared off by undersized forwards. And they've profited mightily as a result. After a sensational rookie campaign in 2016-17 in which he scored 18 goals and added 22 assists, Point became one of the Lightning's main weapons this past season, putting up 32 and 66 points and earning the first of hopefully many All-Star Game selections. The versatile forward proved his game's not all about offense either as he was a major contributor on the penalty kill and is regarded as one of Tampa Bay's top two-way forwards.
Tony Cirelli - 3rd Rd. (72nd overall) in 2015
Consider Tony Cirelli the Brayden Point of the 2015 draft class. Cirelli made his NHL debut on March 1 at Dallas and immediately made an impact, scoring a goal and adding an assist to become one of four Bolts all-time to record multiple points in his first game. Cirelli contributed 11 points in 18 regular season games and started every game during Tampa Bay's playoff run. Like Point, Cirelli proved he's more than an offensive threat. At just 20 years old, he was tasked with improving a lackluster penalty kill and led all Lightning forwards for shorthanded time on ice. As the Bolts' third line center, he matched up against established, respected opposing centers in the postseason and more than held his own. Expect Cirelli to become a key contributor for the Lightning in 2018-19.
