Slater Koekkoek and Nikita Nesterov aren’t the only blue line prospects in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. There is a blue-chipper among the Bolts prospects that is under the radar who could crack the lineup in the not-too distant future. (Photo/Susan Ferlita)
Meet Dylan Blujus, who currently skates for the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League. Listed at 6’3, 207 lbs., the Buffalo, New York native, who is in his final year in the junior ranks, is entering his fourth season in the Battalion organization and first in North Bay after the team relocated over the summer.
Blujus was selected by the Lightning in the second round (40) in the 2012 NHL Draft. Yes, he was in the same draft class as Koekkoek and goaltender Andrey Vasilevskiy.
After being sent back to Brampton for the 2012-13 season, Blujus, who shoots right, posted respectable numbers of two goals and 27 assists for 29 points with 57 penalty minutes in 68 games. A stat that declined was his plus/minus rating as he posted a -8, in which the season before, he put up a +4.
Scouts suggested that he needed to be more physical if he’s going to make the NHL. The PIMs stat has gone up each of his seasons with the Battalion as he collected 26, 38 andm in his recent campaign, he had 57.
This season, Blujus had a rough start as he suffered a knee injury during the Lightning’s training camp and missed a month. Since his return, he nhas played in seven games and scored one goal and assisted on three others with a -2 and ten penalty minutes.
Blujus has been described as a defensive-minded blueliner who can help out offensively when needed. He is smart in his own end is effective in clearing the puck. He has put on some bulk over the last couple of years and with his 6’3″ frame, he could put on 10 lbs of muscle. One of the knocks on Blujus is his skating, which he can work on in his final year of juniors.
In three, perhaps four years from now, Blujus could join Nesterov, Koekkoek, Andrej Sustr, Radko Gudas, Mark Barberio and Victor Hedman as the seven defenseman for the Bolts. That blueline corps could give the opposition some nightmares.
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