No first round pick? No problem for Bolts in recent years

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without a First Round pick for Tuesday's opening day of the 2020 NHL Draft - to be held virtually - unless they make a trade to acquire one.
That's because the Lightning traded away both of their 2020 First Round selections earlier this season in their effort to acquire the Stanley Cup. On February 16, the Bolts brought in Blake Coleman from New Jersey in exchange for forward prospect Nolan Foote and what would turn out to be the 20th overall pick in the 2020 Draft. And then eight days later on trade deadline day, the Lightning sent their own 2020 First Round pick along with AHL forward Anthony Greco to San Jose for Barclay Goodrow and the Sharks' Third Round selection in 2020.

Both of those moves proved vital in Tampa Bay's run to the 2020 Stanley Cup. Coleman scored five goals and recorded 13 points during the playoffs, was a valuable penalty killer and comprised one-third of a third line that was a difference maker for the Bolts throughout the postseason.
Goodrow added some grit and sandpaper to the Lightning's game while also killing penalties as effectively as Coleman and taking up residence on a Bolts' third line that was better than any other team's third line and gave the Lightning the depth superiority they would need to lift the Cup. The fact they got Goodrow for basically trading down from the 31st spot overall to 85th in the 2020 Draft was another boon for the Lightning.
Read more: Lightning to make eight picks at 2020 NHL Draft
Tampa Bay has proven in the past it doesn't need a First Round selection to uncover some hidden gems at the draft. The Bolts have gotten plenty of value out of day two - which will be Wednesday, October 7 with rounds 2-7 starting at 11:30 a.m. - from Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli in the Third Round to Ondrej Palat and Pavel Kubina all the way in the Seventh.
Below, here's our look at the selections the Lightning have in the 2020 Draft and the best players they've picked in each of those rounds previously.
Second Round
2020 selection: 62nd overallBest 2nd Rd. pick: F Nikita Kucherov -- No. 58 overall in 2011
There were concerns about prying Kucherov out of Russia, which is probably why he slipped to the Second Round, but the right winger has become arguably the most impactful forward in the National Hockey League.
A season after becoming just the second player in Lightning history after Martin St. Louis (2004) to win the Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award, Kucherov was Tampa Bay's top scorer in the 2020 postseason, setting a Lightning record for assists (27) and points (34) in a single postseason. He's one of just three players in NHL history to notch 27 or more assists in a playoff year, joining a couple of Hall of Famers in Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
But it wasn't just his point production that made Kucherov so valuable during the Lightning's Cup run. Typically quiet and reserved, Kucherov was a more vocal leader throughout the postseason, head coach Jon Cooper saying he was parroting the coaches on the bench late in games with messages of getting pucks in deep, playing smart and not being too risky. And his defensive game made a big leap in the playoffs too as he became an aggressive forechecker and deft interceptor of pucks (his steal and breakaway goal in Game 3 of the Cup Final ignited a Lightning rout and 2-1 lead in the series).
Honorable mentions: F Alexander Volkov (No. 48 in 2017), F Mitchell Stephens (No. 33 in 2015) and F Richard Panik (No. 52 in 2009)
Third Round
2020 selections: 85th overall (acquired in Barclay Goodrow trade), 93rd overallBest 3rd Rd. pick: F Brayden Point -- No. 79 in 2014
Hard to believe Point would last all the way until pick No. 79 of the 2014 Draft but concerns about his size and skating gave some teams reason to pause on selecting the centerman from Moose Jaw.
The Lightning had a feeling about Point, however, and gave away a Seventh Round pick in the following year's draft to move up one spot in the Third Round and take him in 2014.
Point has continually rewarded the Lightning's foresight.
After working diligently with Barb Underhill to improve his skating, Point has become one of the fastest players in the NHL, if not one of the League's best players. He set a Lightning franchise record for goals in a single postseason after scoring 14 during the team's 2020 Stanley Cup run, one more than Tyler Johnson's 13-goal performance in 2015.
Point also would have recorded the best postseason scoring-wise in Lightning playoff history if not for the exploits of his linemate Nikita Kucherov.
Point is a budding superstar in the NHL (Lightning fans have known this for a couple seasons now) and, at just 24 years old, will be a fixture in the Lightning lineup for many seasons to come. Credit Lightning assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting Al Murray for spotting the talent in Point when others focused on his size and convincing the Bolts to take a chance on him.
Honorable mentions: F Anthony Cirelli (No. 72 in 2015), F Alex Killorn (No. 77 in 2007), F Brad Richards (No. 64 in 1998), F Dmitry Afanasenkov (No. 72 in 1998)
Fourth Round
2020 selections: 94th overall (acquired in Adam Erne trade to Detroit), 124th overallBest 4th Rd. pick: F Cedric Paquette -- No. 101 in 2012
The Lightning haven't had a lot of success in the Fourth Round throughout their draft history, but in the last couple of years they've picked up a couple solid additions in Cedric Paquette (2012) and Mathieu Joseph (2015).
Paquette has been a mainstay on the Lightning's fourth line since his first full season in the NHL in 2014-15 when he led all rookie forwards in the League for average shorthanded time on ice and blocked shots while also contributing 12 goals.
He's remained a hard-nosed, gritty centerman with a nose for scoring goals. This season, he set a career high for assists (11) and led the Lightning for hits (175).
In the playoffs, he won 53.5 percent of his face-off draws and ranked third in the NHL for hits.
Honorable mentions: F Mathieu Joseph (No. 120 in 2015), D Mike Lundin (No. 102 in 2004) and F Aaron Gavey (No. 74 in 1992)
Sixth Round
2020 selections: 157th overall (acquired from Ottawa in Ryan Callahan trade), 186th overallBest 6th Rd. pick: D Bryce Salvador -- No. 138 in 1994
Who is Bryce Salvador you ask?
He was Tampa Bay's Sixth Round selection in the 1994 Draft. He never skated for the Lightning but played 786 games in the NHL between St. Louis and New Jersey.
Salvador was a starter on New Jersey's 2011-12 team that lost in the Stanley Cup Final, the defenseman contributing four goals and 14 points in 24 playoff games.
Salvador last played in 2014-15 with the Devils.
As far as contributors for the Lightning, Luke Witkowski is in his second stint with the team and has proved versatile as a rough-and-tumble defenseman with the ability to move up to the wing and play forward if necessary.
Honorable mentions: D Jake Dotchin (No. 161 in 2012), D Mark Barberio (No. 152 in 2008), D Luke Witkowski (No. 160 in 2008), G Karri Ramo (No. 191 in 2004), D Paul Ranger (No. 183 in 2002)
Seventh Round
2020 selection: 217th overallBest 7th Rd. pick: F Ondrej Palat -- No. 208 in 2011
How about this nugget that underscores the inexact science of drafting: Ondrej Palat wasn't even Tampa Bay's first choice in the final round of the 2011 NHL Draft. The Lightning had two picks - No. 201 and No. 208 - in the Seventh Round and used the first of those two selections to take Matthew Peca, who played 20 games with the Lightning before signing as a free agent with Montreal prior to the 2018-19 season.
Palat's been one of Tampa Bay's top two-way forwards since his arrival in the NHL. He was a finalist for the Calder Trophy and made the NHL All-Rookie team his first season in the League in 2013-14.
This postseason, he scored 11 goals - second only to Brayden Point on the Lightning - and chipped in 18 points while manning the left wing on the Lightning's top line that was unstoppable in the playoffs.
"I've watched it every year, and he just doesn't get the attention that some of the other guys he plays with get because of the caliber of players they are, but you need a Palat on your line," head coach Jon Cooper said during the Bolts' 2020 playoff run. "I'm sure Kuch and Point would be the first ones to tell you we need a Palat on our line, and I think that's your ultimate compliment as a player."
Honorable mentions: F Samuel Walker (No. 200 in 2017), F Nikita Gusev (No. 202 in 2012), D Jay Rosehill (No. 227 in 2003), G Fredrik Norrena (No. 213 in 2002), D Pavel Kubina (No. 179 in 1996)