As NHL players found new homes on the first day of free agency Wednesday, Tampa Bay Lightning prospects remained busy putting in the work at this year’s development camp.
We got our first up-close look at 2026 second-round pick Oleg Kulebiakin, who on Wednesday got to meet his childhood idol in Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov.
We also caught up with a pair of unsigned draft picks in forwards Jayson Shaugabay and Klavs Veinbergs as well as goalie Harrison Meneghin, the 2024 draft pick who just finished his first season of professional hockey.
The FourCheck from day three of Lightning development camp:
1. How Kul is that?
Oleg Kulebiakin couldn’t hide his excitement when the Lightning made him their second-round pick at this year’s draft.
He was full of smiles in his post-draft media call and said Tampa Bay was his preferred landing spot. That same smile was back on Wednesday following his first skate with the Lightning.
“I was so excited to come to the rink today. That was a dream. It was a dream to put this jersey, this logo over my body,” Kulebiakin said. “That was a dream come true, and I’m so happy to be here.”
Kulebiakin arrived to camp a bit later than other players due to travel issues, arriving in Tampa on Tuesday before hitting the ice for the first time on Wednesday afternoon. He said his fellow prospects were quick to welcome him to camp.
The 18-year-old Russian winger just posted 29 goals and 73 points to lead the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL in scoring and earn a draft selection.
“I watched the whole draft with my family. We waited just for the Tampa Bay pick because all of my family likes Tampa,” he said. “I just waited for this pick, and he called my name and I was actually crying. My mom and dad were crying. It was unbelievable, a great time for me and my family.”
He is currently set to return to the club this upcoming season and is committed to the University of Massachusetts for 2026-27.
Kulebiakin has made his first impression on the Lightning organization. Now he wants to build on it.
His focus is on continuing to improve and one day wear a Tampa Bay jersey in the NHL.
“My focus next season is to be ready to play in the NHL. I need to work for that, and I’m ready to work more right now because my dream’s to play here with NHL players. I’m ready to work.”
2. Shaugabay among nation’s best helpers in 2025-26
Jayson Shaugabay had one of the NCAA’s best showings last season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Shaugabay, the team’s fourth-round pick from the 2023 NHL Draft, scored 43 points in 40 games for the Bulldogs and finished inside the country’s top 15 scorers after standing out during the Lightning's 2025 development camp 3-on-3 tournament.
He nearly doubled his freshman offensive output, when he scored 12 goals and 26 points for the Bulldogs. He spent much of this past season playing alongside brothers Max and Zam Plante on the team’s top line.
“Good teammates,” he said of the offense. “I play with really good players, and we help each other out a lot. It was good that we got to create a lot this year.”
The right-shooting, 21-year-old center established himself as one of college hockey’s best setup players in 2025-26, as his 32 assists tied for fifth in the nation.
“I think it's something I've always been good at, and I always try to take pride in passing the puck and making players around me better,” he said. “It helps me to play with guys like that. If you give it to them in a good spot, they're probably gonna put it in the net. I've been fortunate to play with good players who like to put the puck in the net, so that's what I try to do.”
Shaugabay will return to Duluth for his junior season.
3. Hello again to Meneghin
Harrison Meneghin wore every jersey in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization during the 2025-26 season.
After signing his entry-level contract with the team last May, he got his first taste of professional hockey. He did so across three different professional leagues, spending time in the ECHL, AHL and NHL.
“It was a good experience the first year,” Meneghin said. “It just shows how much hard work you need to do, and I learned a lot. It's such a good organization. They're helping me out with everything I need, and they’ve got me on the right track.”
Meneghin, 21, spent most of the year with the franchise’s ECHL club in the Orlando Solar Bears. He started 14 games, going 4-9-0 with an .889 save percentage.
He appeared in one AHL game for the Syracuse Crunch last season and then got his first trip to Tampa during the postseason.
Meneghin was recalled by the Lightning during the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs to serve as the team’s third goalie and spent time working with goalie coach Frantz Jean.
He was around the locker room for every moment during the most important time of the year. He got to take notes as he watched NHL goalies Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jonas Johansson up close.
“It was honestly such a whirlwind because being in Montreal, that arena was really cool, but also just the certain players that are on the Tampa Bay Lightning, it's a very special group they have. There's a lot of highly touted players there,” he said. “Just watching Vasilevsky, his day-to-day habits and how detailed he is, his same schedule every day for him. That’s why he’s the best goalie in the world.”
It was a season of learning experiences spent across three different leagues. Meneghin aims to earn more time this upcoming season with the Crunch, and this week could be another step toward that.
"It's been really awesome,” he said of development camp. “There's a lot of new additions to camp, and everyone's fitting in well. We've been having fun and working hard, so it's been a blast.”
4. Klavs’ Circle: Latvian Bolts draft pick stands out through faceoffs
Klavs Veinbergs is the oldest player—and the biggest forward—at this year’s development camp. He’s prepared and hungry to keep growing.
The 6-foot-3 forward set career highs for goals (11), assists (12) and points (23) along with 32 penalty minutes during his junior season at Colorado College in 2025-26.
Faceoff work has separated the Latvian—Veinbergs won 61.1% of his draws in 2025-26, best in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) that includes NCAA powers North Dakota, Denver, Western Michigan and others.
He won 59% of faceoffs in 2024-25, second-best in the conference.
“It's just one thing that I kind of do well,” Veinbergs said. "I try to pick up on little things, try to learn from pros in the NHL. I’m always rewinding the games just to see what they're doing. It’s a hobby of mine to watch that.”
He spends a lot of time studying NHL players and faceoffs. He frequently watches Anaheim Ducks and San Diego Gulls forward Tim Washe’s approach in the circle after seeing him “tilt” the faceoff circle in college hockey.
Veinbergs, 23, lived in Latvia until he was 19 and has represented Latvia at IIHF World Junior Championship and World Championship events. He is chasing an NHL career with Tampa Bay, which patrols Latvian hockey legend Zemgus Girgensons onto the ice each night.
Girgensons just wrapped up his most productive offensive season since 2014-15, scoring 20 points. The former first-round pick at the 2012 NHL Draft is 31 games shy of tying defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh for the most in NHL history among Latvian-born players.
“They even made songs about him when he first made the NHL,” Veinbergs said of Girgensons. “Me and my buddies would blast that song and just go crazy. He’s always been an inspiration, and it’s always cool to see how long he’s stuck in the NHL and been consistent with his game”
Veinbergs was drafted in Round 7 of the 2022 NHL Draft and will play his senior season at Colorado College in 2026-27.
“I think my game has grown in the past few years in college, which is good to see for myself,” he said. “I think the biggest area of improvement for me is playmaking on the offensive side of the game, and that's my plan for this season is to be better in that category.”
