EP Rinkside 2021-22 Prospect Pool Rankings: No. 30-ranked Tampa Bay Lightning

It's going to be exceptionally difficult for the Tampa Bay Lightning to pull off the three-peat as Stanley Cup champions, especially given all the players they lost this off-season. The best hope they have of extending their window is by developing their prospects to take on some of those assignments.

Today, we're going to look at some of the prospects and try to determine what they might contribute to the cause in Tampa.

The Lightning’s recent draft history is a bit confusing; they seemed to have opted for size and tenacity over skill and hockey sense with certain picks, often passing on higher upside bets in the process.

That leaves the Lightning's system in the same precarious place as last season, right near the bottom of our NHL rankings. It's lacking in high-level talent and upside, and most of these players are likely to top out as depth players at the NHL level if they get there at all.

The Lightning still have an elite, relatively young core in place, and if some of these prospects can hold their own in depth roles, that just might suffice. They just have to prove they're up to the task in the coming years.