BRANDON — Goalie Adam Wilcox said he always knew in his heart he would stay with the Lightning organization.
Forward Matthew Peca wasn't exactly sure what would happen, but at the end of the day, he wanted to remain with Tampa Bay.
Both former college standouts and Lightning late-round draft picks in 2011 had a chance to become unrestricted free agents this year, but they elected to sign two-year, two-way deals with the Tampa Bay on April 1. The transactions might have seemed like small footnotes as the Lightning prepared for a playoff run. But to the team's management, they were a coup.
"Two huge signings for us," said Stacy Roest, the director of player development.
Roest said Wilcox (University of Minnesota) and Peca (Quinnipiac) have been two of the best players on the ice during this week's development camp at the Ice Sports Forum and each is expected to make significant contributions next season with AHL Syracuse.
"Both had great college careers," general manager Steve Yzerman said. "Matthew, we love his all-around game, a wonderful skater, great athlete, smart player, good hockey sense. We're excited about his potential.
"Adam had a tremendous college career. He did well in the (junior) USHL, did very well in college, and next step is let's see how he does in the AHL. He's had success at every level,"
Peca, 22, is a 5-foot-9, left-shot forward selected in the seventh round (201st overall), seven picks before Ondrej Palat. He grew up in Petawawa, Ontario, idolizing former Lightning captain Marty St. Louis (5 feet 8). Peca saw a seriousness in the Lightning when it came to overlooking size, most recently with All-Star center Tyler Johnson and fellow forward prospect Brayden Point, both 5-9.
Peca is a playmaker (143 points in 157 college games) with soft hands and strong vision, but he also does the dirty work as a relentless forechecker and a shot-blocker on the penalty kill.
"I think it's something I've gotten better over the time, playing in the (defensive) zone, just being in the right spots," Peca said. "It's something I take a lot of pride in. At the next level, it's tough to be a top-six forward. You've got to be able to do everything. It's gotten me here."
Wilcox, a sixth-round pick, left Minnesota after his junior season, having established himself as one of college hockey's top goaltenders. Though he posted a career-high 2.42 goals-against average last season, he led the Golden Gophers to the Big Ten tournament title. Wilcox and Minnesota went through a sizable midseason slump, winning just five of 17 games. Wilcox joked that fans were panicking but said the experience made him stronger, especially mentally.
"If I had one little bad stretch in three years of college, I would take that," Wilcox, 22, said. "There's so many ups and downs in a season. It was good to go through some adversity, something I didn't see the first two years (at Minnesota). I learned a lot."
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Explore all your optionsWilcox, at 6-1, knows his main adjustment in Syracuse will be dealing with bigger bodies in front of the net. But goalie coach Frantz Jean said he has seen Wilcox made tremendous strides in his fifth development camp.
"I remember the first year he came in, you could see a little bit of a diamond in the rough," Jean said. "He had good skills, but he used a lot of his athleticism to make saves, more of a battler. Four years later, he's become a goalie that's a little more technical and uses his positioning to make saves, and still has that battling ability."
The Lightning seems pretty set in goal with No. 1 Ben Bishop and future No. 1 Andrei Vasilevskiy. Wilcox will split time with Kristers Gudlevskis for the Crunch.
"They've got a lot of goalies in the system, and the question is, 'Why would you go here?' " Wilcox said. "But every place is going to have great goalies, and it's good to be here."
Contact Joe Smith at joesmith@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_JSmith.