Raw Charge
The static cling that brings Tampa Bay Lightning fans together.
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2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #8 Maxim Groshev
The former forward spent his first full season as a defenseman, know it’s time to crack the Tampa Bay Lightning line-up Name Max Groshev Position Defense (Left Shot) Age (as of October 1, 2026) 24 Height/Weight 6’2″, 198 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Syracuse Crunch Draft – Year, Round 2020, 3rd, (85) Previous Rankings 15 (2020), 15 (2021), 15 (2022) 15 (2023), 10 (2024), 10 (2024) JustinG. Ranking 11 Final Rank 8 Stats: Our Thoughts: Max Groshev is the oldest prospe...
Barry Melrose, former Lightning coach, passes away at age 70
For hockey fans of a certain age, Barry Melrose was quite literally the face of the NHL. Clad in bold suits, with his iconic long hair brushed back, he would provide exuberant commentary on ESPN and the newly-born ESPN2 on a nightly basis. A former player, coach, and broadcaster, the 70-year-old Melrose passed away on Wednesday. There was no mistaking the love he had for the game. While the broadcaster/analyst career might be the role he played for a few generations of fans, prior to that...
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #9 Ethan Gauthier
Ethan Gauthier had a solid, if somewhat unspectacular, first season with the Syracuse Crunch. Can he build on that and possibly make it to the NHL this season? Name Ethan Gauthier Position Winger Age (as of October 1, 2026) 21 Height/Weight 6’0″, 183 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Syracuse Crunch Draft – Year, Round 2023, 2nd (37) Previous Rankings 7 ( 2025 ), 5 ( 2024 ), 4 ( 2023 ) JustinG. Ranking 8 Final Rank 9 Stats: Our Thoughts: For the fourth time in his tenure...
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #10 Oleg Kulebiakin
While growing up Oleg Kulebiakin modeled his game after Nikita Kucherov, now the 2026 draft pick has a chance to skate beside him in the pre-season. Name Oleg Kulebiakin Position Winger Age (as of October 1, 2026) 18 Height/Weight 5’11”, 179 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Halifax Mooseheads Draft – Year, Round 2026, 2nd (52) Previous Rankings Not Applicable JustinG. Ranking 17 Final Rank 10 Stats: Our Thoughts: The Tampa Bay Lightning thought enough of Oleg Kulebiakin...
Fight Club: Best Fights of 2025-26
It’s no surprise that the Tampa Bay Lightning liked to drop the gloves last season. They fought anyone who looked sideways at them and led the league by a comfortable margin in fighting majors. The Lightning had 44 fights in the regular season, 11 in the preseason, and one more in the postseason. The next closest team in the NHL in the regular season was the Boston Bruins with 33 fights, one third less in total than the Lightning. With the preseason about to commence, let’s take a look ba...
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #11 Jayson Shaugabay
Jayson Shaugabay creeps up a few spots in the rankings following a strong collegiate season in 2025-26. Expect another productive season as he returns to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for his third year. Name Jayson Shaugabay Position Center Age (as of October 1, 2026) 21 Height/Weight 5’9″, 165 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team University of Minnesota-Duluth Draft – Year, Round 2023, 4th (115th) Previous Rankings 17th ( 2023 ), 16th ( 2024 ), 16th ( 2025 ) JustinG. Ranking 10 Final Rank 11...
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #12 Noah Steen
Ondrej Palat will forever be the prime example of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s ability to find talent in late rounds. Could Noah Steen be the next example? Name Noah Steen Position Forward Age (as of October 1, 2026) 22 Height/Weight 6’1, 194 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Syracuse Crunch Draft – Year, Round 2024, 7th (199) Previous Rankings Not Ranked JustinG. Ranking 19 Final Rank 12 Stats: Our Thoughts: Can a career be defined by one play? Especially for a seventh-round pi...
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #13 Tomas Kralovic
A right-shot defenseman that has size and is mobile? In the Tampa Bay Lightning system, it might not be long until Tomas Kralovic is making his NHL debut. Name Tomas Kralovic Position Defenseman (Right Shot) Age (as of October 1, 2026) 21 Height/Weight 6’3″, 203 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Syracuse Crunch Draft – Year, Round 2026, 3rd (90th) Previous Rankings Not Applicable JustinG. Ranking 9 Final Rank 13 Stats: Our Thoughts: Tomas Kralovic’s summer has been a bit...
Lightning announce promotional schedule for 2026-27 season
We keep getting closer, and closer, and closer to the start of hockey season. As things crawl nearer, little drops of information keep getting released. First it was the opening night game. Then it was the entire schedule. Now, the Tampa Bay Lightning have released their promotional schedule. All of the theme and giveaway nights are now up on the schedule, so go book your seats accordingly! Starting off we have their theme nights, mostly centered around holidays. Like a few other teams, t...
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #14 Joona Saarelainen
Could Joona Saarelainen make the leap from Europe to North America this season? A strong 2025-26 has him on that path. Name Joona Saarelainen Position Forward Age (as of October 1, 2026) 20 Height/Weight 5’9″, 187 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team KalPa (Liiga) Draft – Year, Round 2024, 5th Round (149) Previous Rankings 19th ( 2024 ), 18th ( 2025 ) JustinG. Ranking 7 Final Rank 14 Stats: Our Thoughts: Unlike his fellow countryman, Benjamin Rautelainen, Joona Saarelainen ...
Joining the Charge: Introducing Myself to Bolts Fans
Allow myself to introduce… myself. Yeah, I know – I just used a 20-year-old Austin Powers reference on a hockey blog. If you’re walking into a new locker room, you might as well do it with a little swagger and some self awareness. I’ve been a diehard hockey fan since I was a kid in western Pennsylvania. I watched Mario Lemieux come back from the dead twice. I watched Jaromir Jagr break my teenage heart by taking his talents to Washington. That heartbreak eventually turned into Marc-A...
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #15 Lucas Mercuri
Week two of the countdown kicks off with an intriguing forward who could be in line to make his NHL debut this season. Name Lucas Mercuri Position Forward Age (as of October 1, 2026) 24 Height/Weight 6’3″, 223 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Syracuse Crunch Draft – Year, Round 2020 6th Round (159) by Carolina Previous Rankings Not Ranked JustinG. Ranking 18 Final Rank 15 Stats: Our Thoughts: In March of 2025 the Tampa Bay Lightning made a move that didn’t rattle a lot ...
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #16 Jan Golicic
The first defenseman to crack the countdown, Jan Golicic marks his third appearance in the top prospect list since being drafted. Name Jan Golicic Position Defense – Left Shot Age (as of October 1, 2026) 20 Height/Weight 6’5″, 201 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Quinnipiac University Draft – Year, Round 2024 4th Round (118) Previous Rankings 24 ( 2024 ), 17 ( 2025 ) JustinG. Ranking 15 Final Rank 16 Stats: Our Thoughts: We have our second prospect in a row that chose a...
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #17 Marco Mignosa
Name Marco Mignosa Position Forward Age (as of October 1, 2026) 21 Height/Weight 6’0″, 172 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Penn State University Draft – Year, Round 2025 Round 7 (215) Previous Rankings Not Ranked JustinG. Ranking 13 Final Rank 17 Stats: Our Thoughts: It seems Marco Mignosa has already made a career out of proving folks wrong. After a strong showing in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, there were expectations that he might go in the top 10 of the CHL draft....
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #18 Gabriel Szturc
Gabriel Szturc makes the final list for the third time in his Tampa Bay Lightning career. Not bad for a kid that wasn’t drafted. Name Gabriel Szturc Position Forward Age (as of October 1, 2026) 23 Height/Weight 5’11, 194 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Syracuse Crunch Draft – Year, Round Undrafted Previous Rankings 19th ( 2025 ), 21st ( 2024 ) JustinG. Ranking Not Ranked Final Rank 18 Stats: Our Thoughts: The progression of Gabriel Szturc’s career has been an interesti...
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #19 Morgan Anderberg
Name Morgan Anderberg Position Forward Age (as of October 1, 2026) 18 Height/Weight 5’11”, 174 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Vaxjo Lakers (SHL) Draft – Year, Round 2026, 5th Round (#134) Previous Rankings Not Applicable JustinG. Ranking 14 Final Rank 19 Stats: Our Thoughts: Not much has changed since our draft profile of Anderberg other than he had some reps with the Swedish Under-20 squad at the Summer Showcase. The fact that he was invited bodes well for his potential i...
2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #20 Aiden Foster
It’s back! Everyone’s semi-favorite summer tradition. You’ve done the work and ranked the prospects. Now it’s time to reap the rewards. We kick things off with a 2025 draft pick who is making his Top 20 Under 25 debut. Name Aiden Foster Position Center Age (as of October 1, 2026) 19 Height/Weight 6’2″, 183 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Prince George Cougers Draft – Year, Round 2025, 4th Round (127th overall) Previous Rankings Not Ranked JustinG. Ranking Unranked Final Rank 20 Stats...
Sunday Night Speculation – Patrik Laine
It’s that time of year. The days are getting shorter. Players are starting to get ready to head to the cities they play in, and teams are starting to put together their training camp rosters. While the vast majority of free agents have been signed, there are a few out there that still need contracts. For some of those players, the road back to the NHL might lie in a professional try-out contract. One of those players might be Patrik Laine. Could the Tampa Bay Lightning be the team that signs h...
Injury could lead to a solution for the Lightning’s crowded crease
The Tampa Bay Lightning aren’t going to carry three goaltenders on the roster this season. That much we can be assured of a month out from training camp. When Julien BriseBois acquired Dennis Hildeby from the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was pretty certain that the plan was for the young Swede to backup Andrei Vasilevskiy for the 2026-27 season. The fly in the jelly, the bump in the road, the Skittle in the M&M’s is the fact that Jonas Johansson is still on the roster. Speaking with the media ...
Three rookies who could make their NHL debut for the Lightning this season
The original theme of this article was going to be, “Which Lightning rookie could win the Calder Trophy?” but, to be honest, the chances of that happening are about the same as Frenchy’s restaurant taking over the naming rights to Benchmark Arena. Sure, it could happen, and it would be great, but it’s probably not going to happen. The betting sharps seem to agree considering that as of the time of publication, not a single member of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization has posted odds to win t...
Could the Lightning dip into the college free agent market again?
As a team that uses its higher picks to improve their current roster through trades instead of drafting prospects, the Tampa Bay Lightning often have to find alternative means to adding young talent to the organization. Be it through European free agents or undrafted college and junior players, the Bolts have been able to find a gem or three over the years. Another means, and one that played out pretty well last summer with Dominic James , is to sign a college player whose draft rights have ex...
Lightning Morning News: Lightning prospect showcase announced
After a little bit of an unscheduled break, we are back! A big thank you for everyone who kept things going in the comment section (and with minimal folks getting thrown in jail by the auto-moderators!). Now that we’re back to regular posts (hopefully) we’ll catch up on a few things that have been announced over the last week. Sadly, an extension for Nikita Kucherov wasn’t one of those, but we’re not at the panic stage just yet. Would be nice if he was under contract, sure, but we’re not ...
The 2026 Raw Charge Top 20 Under 25 ranking is now open
It’s one hundred degrees in the shade. The water in the Gulf is only slightly cooler than a nice hot cup of tea. The Rays are fighting for a pennant. That can only mean one thing – it’s time to rank some prospects! That’s right, our annual ranking of the youngsters in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization is upon us. As always, you, the readers have a say in who the top prospects will be. In fact, you have the only say. Much like last summer, you alone will determine the final rankings. As...
With the Celebrini contract question answered, focus shifts to next year’s unrestricted free agents
Poor Kirill Kaprizov. Well, not really. He is the exact opposite of poor. However, the Minnesota Wild forward never truly got to enjoy his reign as the top paid player in the NHL. Despite garnering headline after headline last summer with his then record-setting extension that topped out at $17 million per season, he never actually skated a single game as the highest-paid player in the league. Since then he’s seen Leo Carlsson and now Macklin Celebrini surpass him in the salary game. Before th...
Pending Lightning free agent could be poised for a breakout season
The 2026 NHL Free Agent Season hasn’t even ended yet. Heck, we’re not even a full month into it yet, but that’s not going to stop us from looking ahead to the 2027 NHL Free Agent Season. A lot of focus has been on Nikita Kucherov, which is understandable considering he can lay a legitimate claim to being the best player in the league. Unfortunately, he isn’t the only Tampa Bay Lightning player that can test unrestricted free agency next season. Jonas Johansson, Zemgus Girgensons, Charle-Edouar...
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