Lightning prospect roundup: Howden sets career-highs

With an emphasis on drafting and developing, the Tampa Bay Lightning have created one of the strongest pipelines in the National Hockey League over the last few years. Each week, TampaBayLightning.com will provide statistical updates on key prospects throughout the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and will highlight select players from the club's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.

CANADIAN HOCKEY LEAGUE (CHL)
Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
C Anthony Cirelli, Erie Otters
Drafted 72nd overall (3rd Round) in 2015
With 10 points in his last seven games, Cirelli posted a goal and an assist for the Otters in last night's 7-0 blanking of Peterborough. He is seventh in team scoring with 60 points in 48 games and has 26 points in 22 games since arriving in Erie.
LW Boris Katchouk, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Drafted 44th overall (2nd Round) in 2016
Katchouk has points in three-straight games and in four of his last five games, including goals in his last three. He earned Second Star honors in the Soo's 6-1 win on Friday for scoring the game-winning goal shorthanded for one of his two goals that game, and was First Star in Sunday's win over Sudbury with a goal and an assist.
C Christopher Paquette, Peterborough Petes
Drafted 148th overall (5th Round) in 2016
Since pointing in three-straight games to start the month, Paquette has not recorded a point in his last two games. He is sixth in scoring with 47 points in 63 games.
RW Taylor Raddysh, Erie Otters
Drafted 58th overall (2nd Round) in 2016
Raddysh is riding a five-game point streak, extending it with a goal and an assist in Erie's win on Sunday night. He has eight points so far in the streak, with 104 points on the season.
D Erik Cernak, Erie Otters
Drafted 43rd overall (2nd Round) by LAK in 2015
Cernak added two assists in Sunday's win for 21 points in 47 games from the blueline.
D Matt Spencer, Peterborough Petes
Drafted 44th overall (2nd Round) in 2015
Third in Petes' defensive scoring, Spencer posted an assist in Peterborough's loss on Saturday night, and has 27 points in 57 games this season.
C Mitchell Stephens, London Knights
Drafted 33rd overall (2nd Round) in 2015
Stephens did not record a point in either of the Knights' two weekend games. He's just over a point-per-game this season with 51 points in 48 games.
RW Jonne Tammela, Peterborough Petes
Drafted 118th overall (4th Round) in 2015
Tammela scored in his OHL debut on Nov. 8, but has played in just one game since, sidelined with a lower-body injury.
Western Hockey League (WHL)
D Libor Hajek, Saskatoon Blades
Drafted 37th overall (2nd Round) in 2016
Hajek registered one assist in the Blades' 3-2 loss to Swift Current on Saturday for 26 points in 62 games this year.
C Brett Howden, Moose Jaw Warriors
Drafted 27th overall (1st Round) in 2016
A goal on Saturday gives Howden seven points in his last eight games and keeps him in third place in Moose Jaw scoring with 75 points. He has now set WHL career highs in goals (35) and points (75), and has tied a career high in assists (40), doing so in 14 less games.
G Connor Ingram, Kamloops Blazers
Drafted 88th overall (3rd Round) in 2016
Ingram is 26-13-2-2 on the year with a .927 save percentage, a 2.43 goals-against, and five shutouts. He now leads all WHL goaltenders in save percentage, and has posted 30 or more saves in 20 games. Of those 20, three have been 50 or more.
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
LW Boko Imama, Saint John Sea Dogs
Drafted 180th overall (6th Round) in 2015
He has just two points (both goals) in the month of March, but Imama still leads his team in goals (38) and is fifth in scoring (52 points).
RW Mathieu Joseph, Saint John Sea Dogs
Drafted 120th overall (4th Round) in 2015
Joseph has 11 points in six games so far in March, including a four-point night on Friday that saw him earn First Star in a 5-1 win over Charlottetown. He is second in Sea Dogs scoring with 78 points.
C Otto Somppi, Halifax Mooseheads
Drafted 206th overall (7th Round) in 2016
Somppi scored two of Halifax's three goals in a 5-3 loss to Saint John on Saturday night to give him 41 points on the year, good for fourth in Moosehead scoring.
LW Dennis Yan, Shawinigan Cataractes
Drafted 64th overall (3rd Round) in 2015
Yan has four points so far in March, but still leads his team in points (71), goals (43), power-play goals (11), and shots on goal (243).
NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (NCAA)
F Ross Colton, U. of Vermont (Hockey East)
Drafted 118th overall (4th Round) in 2016
Colton finished his season tied for first on his team in goals (12), and tied for second in assists (15) and in points (27) in 33 games as a freshman.
F Ryan Lohin, UMass Lowell (Hockey East)
Drafted 208th overall (7th Round) in 2016
Lohin is sixth in scoring with 23 points in 37 games for the River Hawks as a freshman forward. His team will play Notre Dame on Friday night in the Hockey East semifinal after beating UNH in a 2-1 series win in the quarterfinals.
D John MacLeod, Boston University (Hockey East)
Drafted 57th overall (2nd Round) in 2014
MacLeod has two goals and eight points from the blueline in 30 games for the Terriers as a junior with a plus-8 rating and 29 shots on goal. BU will play Boston College on Friday in their Hockey East semifinal game, having ousted Northeastern in the quarterfinals.
G Kris Oldham, U. of Nebraska-Omaha (NCHC)
Drafted 153rd overall (6th Round) in 2015
Through nine starts, Oldham finished his season with a 5-3-1 record for UNO, with a 3.38 goals-against and a .895 save percentage.
D Ryan Zuhlsdorf, U. of Minnesota (Big-10)
Drafted 150th overall (5th Round) in 2015
Zuhlsdorf finished the regular season with two goals and three assists through 35 games, along with a plus-13 with 28 shots on goal. His Gophers earned the No. 1 in the Big Ten tournament and will play the winner of Thursday night's Michigan/Penn State game in their first game on Friday night.
AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE - SYRACUSE CRUNCH
Cory Conacher leads the team with 52 points and 38 assists … With both Byron Froese and Yanni Gourde recalled, Mike Halmo leads with 15 goals … The Crunch lead the North Division with a .582 points percentage (71 points).
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"If you make the playoffs, you have a chance of winning. We want our players in the playoffs and playing as long as they can. It's a great opportunity for these guys to play some pressure hockey." - Lightning director of player development Stacy Roest