LIGHTNING DRAFT PICKS
STEVE STAMKOS
POS: C.
ROUND/OVERALL: 1/1.
HT/WT: 6-1/184.
AGE: 18
HOMETOWN: Unionville, Ontario.
THE SKINNY: The consensus best player in the draft will enter camp as the No. 2 center.
JAMES WRIGHT
POS: C.
ROUND/OVERALL: 4/117.
HT/WT: 6-3/175.
AGE: 18.
HOMETOWN: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
THE SKINNY: Wright was ranked the 35th North American skater by Central Scouting. Why did he fall to the fourth round? "He didn’t have the year," head scout Jake Goertzen said. "And he also had mono, and that hurt him." Wright also admittedly needs to get stronger and contribute more offensively after getting 13 goals and 36 points with 21 penalty minutes in 60 games for WHL Vancouver.
DUSTIN TOKARSKI
POS: G.
ROUND/OVERALL: 5/122.
HT/WT: 5-11, 185.
AGE: 18.
HOMETOWN: Humbolt, Saskatchewan.
THE SKINNY: Tokarski had an exceptional season and led WHL Spokane to the Memorial Cup title and was MVP with a 4-0 record, a 1.72 goals-against average and .953 save percentage. The No. 9 North American goalie had 30 victories in 45 regular-season games, six shutouts and only 10 regulation defeats. He tied for the league lead with a .922 save percentage. "As you know we’re not huge fans of goalies who are under 6-foot," Goertzen said. "But he has the heart of a lion, and his numbers are phenomenal."
KYLE DE COSTE
POS: RW.
ROUND/OVERALL: 5/147.
HT/WT: 6-1, 178.
AGE: 18.
HOMETOWN: London, Ontario.
THE SKINNY: Goertzen sees De Coste as an eventual fourth-line NHL player. "He’s a bit of a project," Goertzen said. "But he’s a big kid, works hard and is honest." De Coste, the 115th ranked North American skater, had 10 goals, 22 points and 48 penalty minutes in 66 games for OHL Brampton.
MARK BARBERIO
POS: D.
ROUND/OVERALL: 6/152.
HT/WT: 6-0/201.
AGE: 18.
HOMETOWN: Montreal.
THE SKINNY: Needs to work on his skating, but Danny Flynn, coach of QMJHL Moncton, called him a "fierce" competitor. Barberio, the No. 134 North American skater, had 11 goals and 46 points with 75 penalty minutes in 70 games last season for the Wildcats.
LUKE WITKOWSKI
POS: D.
ROUND/OVERALL: 6/160.
HT/WT: 6-2, 200.
AGE: 18.
HOMETOWN: Holland, Mich.
THE SKINNY: A tough guy, who had three goals and 13 points with 139 penalty minutes in 58 games for USHL Ohio.
MATIAS SOINTU
POS: RW.
ROUND/OVERALL: 7/182.
HT/WT: 5-10/154.
AGE: 18.
HOMETOWN: Tampere, Finland.
THE SKINNY: And we mean that literally as, given his weight, Sointu must look like a blade of grass. Central scouting downgraded him to 42nd from 27th among European skaters, but he still had 21 goals and 40 points in 40 games for Ilves Jr. Goertzen called him "a finisher."
DAVID CARLE
POS: D.
ROUND/OVERALL: 7/203.
HT/WT: 5-11/180.
AGE: 18.
HOMETOWN: Anchorage.
THE SKINNY: Carle, the No. 60 North American skater, recently was diagnosed with a heart condition and withdrew from the draft. But prospective Lightning owner Oren Koules, whose son attends the same high school, Shattuck St. Mary’s in Minnesota, from which Carle graduated, said, "The kid worked his whole life to be drafted in the NHL, and I didn’t see a reason he shouldn’t be."
