Day two of the NHL Entry Draft saw the Lightning make five picks. GM Steve Yzerman got his right-handed defenseman, Cal Foote, yesterday and started today by snagging the winger he coveted.
With the 48th pick, the Lightning selected 19-year-old Russian forward Alexander Volkov.
Yzerman went off the board with this pick. The 6’1”, 192 pound left shot was not ranked by any of the scouting services. Yzerman may have been able to trade down and still get Volkov, but he did fill a need for a winger.
The Bolts are deep in forwards and because of that, Yzerman could afford to take a flier on Volkov.
The 19-year-old Volkov bounced back and forth between Russian junior leagues last season. He has quick hands and above-average size (6-foot-1, 195 pounds), but he struggles with consistency on a game-by-game basis and he can disappear for long stretches of time.
Volkov was not drafted last year and played in the KHL with SKA. His contract just expired. We’ll see if he comes over right away and plays with AHL Syracuse.
Volkov drop-pass assist at 1:15. https://t.co/BvBe313hl6
— Bolt Prospects (@BoltProspects) June 24, 2017
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
2013-2014 | SKA-1946 St. Petersburg | MHL | 16 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
2014-2015 | SKA-1946 St. Petersburg | MHL | 54 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 36 |
SKA-Varyagi Vsevolozhsk | MHL B | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
Russia U18 | Hlinka Memorial | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
Russia U18 (all) | International-Jr | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
2015-2016 | SKA-1946 St. Petersburg | MHL | 42 | 16 | 11 | 27 | 34 |
2016-2017 | SKA-Neva St. Petersburg | VHL | 15 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
SKA-1946 St. Petersburg | MHL | 16 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 12 | |
Russian Selects U20 | Jr Super Series | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
2017-2018 | SKA-Neva St. Petersburg | VHL | – | – | – | – | – |
SKA-1946 St. Petersburg | MHL | – | – | – | – | – |
With pick 76, the Lightning selected 17-year-old Russian center Alexei Lipanov.
Future Considerations said this about Lipanov:
A very gifted and opportunistic centre…extremely fast on his skates…has “jersey flapping” speed, excellent agility and quickness that he uses in tight areas to be elusive…with a couple of quick strides, he can easily fly by the oppositions defense and take the puck to the net…has a good accurate wrist shot…can create plays out of nothing with his high-end vision and offensive instincts…creativity with the puck leads to many scoring chances…has the vision and talent to pace an attack…he makes good plays everywhere on the ice and he competes hard…uses hs speed on forechecking duties coupled with his intensity to get on the puck quickly…not a defensive minded player by any stretch but has the ability to help out when needed and covers his man consistently…does not fly the zone early like some other offensively gifted prospects would…has an excellent shot and is a hungry, determined player…very responsible centre in the Russian mold of centres…top six pro upside.
New #TBLightning Alexei Lipanov prides himself on being two-way forward, likens style to Jonathan Toews. pic.twitter.com/Ps9syARQZP
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) June 24, 2017
Lots of good Lipanov highlights here: https://t.co/JiMU46JJlK
— Bolt Prospects (@BoltProspects) June 24, 2017
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
2014-2015 | Dynamo Moskva U16 | Russia U16 | 33 | 21 | 28 | 49 | 12 |
Dynamo Moskva U16 | Russia U16 Finals | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | |
Russia U16 (all) | International-Jr | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | |
2015-2016 | Dynamo Moskva U17 | Russia U17 | 18 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 39 |
HK MVD Balashikha | MHL | 32 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 16 | |
Russia U17 | WHC-17 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | |
Russia U18 | WJC-18 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
2016-2017 | Russia U18 | Hlinka Memorial | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
Dynamo Balashikha | VHL | 21 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 8 | |
Russia U18 |WJAC-19| | WJAC-19 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | |
HK MVD Balashikha | MHL | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | |
Russia U18 | WJC-18 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
2017-2018 | Barrie Colts | OHL | – | – | – | – | – |
With Pick 169, Tampa Bay selected Elk River’s 19-year-old defenseman Nick Perbix, who is headed to St. Cloud State.
In his senior season at Elk River, Perbix put up 10 goals and 30 assists for 40 points, all career highs. Perbix finished his high school career with 82 points (19 goals, 63 assists) in 120 games. (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Elk River's Nick Perbix picked 169 by Tampa. Tremendous high school season. Come so far as a player in last two years.
— Chris Dilks (@ChrisDilks) June 24, 2017
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
2013-2014 | Elk River High | USHS | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
2014-2015 | Elk River High | USHS | 23 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
2015-2016 | Elk River High | USHS | 25 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 10 |
2016-2017 | Sections 4&7 Seniors | USHS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Team Northwest | USHS | 21 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 6 | |
Elk River High | USHS | 25 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 6 | |
2017-2018 | St. Cloud State Univ. | NCAA | – | – | – | – | – |
At pick number 180 the Bolts selected USHL center Cole Guttman of the Dubuque Fighting Saints. He is also headed to St. Cloud State.
Guttman averaged over a point a game for Dubuque of the USHL in 2016-17, notching 27 goals and 27 assists in 53 regular season games. In the playoffs, Guttman chipped in a goal and three assists in six games for the Fighting Saints.
Guttman has been named Dubuque’s captain for the upcoming season. (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Guttman is from California. Played with Jr. Kings. Smart, creative, productive… reports are glowing.
— Bolt Prospects (@BoltProspects) June 24, 2017
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
2008-2009 | California | Brick Invitational | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
2011-2012 | Los Angeles Jr. Kings | QC Int PW | 7 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 6 |
2013-2014 | Los Angeles Jr. Kings Bantam AAA | Bantam | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
2014-2015 | Team Blue | USA-S15 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | – |
Los Angeles Jr. Kings U16 | T1EHL U16 | 24 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 16 | |
2015-2016 | Team Black | USA-S16 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
Los Angeles Jr. Kings U16 | T1EHL U16 | 30 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 34 | |
USNTDP Juniors | USHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
U.S. National U17 Team | USDP | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Dubuque Fighting Saints | USHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
2016-2017 | Team Gray | USA-S17 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | – |
Dubuque Fighting Saints | USHL | 53 | 27 | 27 | 54 | 18 | |
2017-2018 | Dubuque Fighting Saints | USHL | – | – | – | – | – |
2018-2019 | St. Cloud State Univ. | NCAA | – | – | – | – | – |
With their last selection in the 2017 draft, at number 200, the Lightning drafted 18-year-old Minnesota high school center Sammy Walker, who is headed to the University of Minnesota.
Walker will return to his high school team and then attend Minnesota.
SBNation College Hockey says:
Listed at 5’9″, 135 lbs, he is a speedy forward entering his sophomore season at Edina (MN-HS). Walker had 5 goals and 9 points in 30 games last season for the Hornets, whose attempt at a 3rd straight state Class AA title ended two games short. SB Nation College Hockey’s #7 ranked freshman before the season, he was joined on that team by future Gopher Garrett Wait. (2016-17 commit Ryan Zuhlsdorf also previously played for the Hornets before heading to the USHL.) In addition to his speed, Walker is an above average playmaker.
GP | G | A | TP | PPG | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | TP | PPG | PIM | +/- | ||
Postseason Filter postseason All types Playoffs |
|||||||||||||||
MN State: | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 2 | | | |||||||
NCAA: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | – | | | |||||||
USA-S15: | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1.20 | 0 | 0 | | | |||||||
USA-S16: | 5 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 1.60 | 0 | 0 | | | |||||||
USA-S17: | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.80 | 0 | 0 | | | |||||||
USHL: | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 6 | -3 | | | |||||||
USHS: | 116 | 63 | 65 | 128 | 1.10 | 64 | 0 | | | 10 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 1.50 | 2 | 2 |
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