2025 NHL Draft First Round Tampa Bay Lightning Fan Guide – Hockey Writer – Tampa Bay Lightning

It is officially the 2025 NHL Draft Week. The Tampa Bay Chargers will sit down on the first day of the game because they don’t have a first-round draft pick again. The next day will be busy as they try to make the most of the second, fourth, fifth and fourth round picks.

Don’t worry, the lightning is there. Even without a first-round draft pick, the lightning angle can still be found on the first day of the draft. It just requires you to look a little deeper. Fortunately, this deeper dig has been completed.

Beware of Nashville

The Nashville Predators have the Lightning first-round draft pick. A few seasons ago, Lightning indeed, I mean really want this Tanner Jeannot guy and willing to send out a conditional first round, with more (check records) to get him.

I will be completely transparent and say I defended the deal at the time because the price of winning is now. That was probably my frozen burn. Anyway, fans may also see the Predators earn their 23rd draft pick in the draft.

This draft pick may be a teammate of the Lightning Legend and is now Predators forward Steven Stamkos. He has three years of contract, which offers some potential overlap. It may not be next season. Later first round players often waited to sign their entry-level contracts. But, there is a chance.

The Predator provides several angles for Lightning fans to view drafts from; of course more than others.

Legend of Lightning to gain more influence in Montreal?

Lightning Legend became Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, who put his team into the playoffs for the first time in his tenure. Coincidentally, this is the first time the Canadians have entered the playoffs as they lost to the Lightning in the 2021 Stanley Cup final.

Montreal has back-to-back first-round picks this season (16th and 17th overall). According to NHL insider Pierre Lebrun, the Canadians “no footsteps” before the draft (from ‘NHL Rumblings: Why it could be a long summer, plus the latest news from Canadains, Pettersson, Rust, etc.,’ sports, June 24, 2025). It is possible that they use these draft picks to provide St. Louis with some major upgrades for another playoff game next season.

The Canadian lost five games to the Washington Capitals in the first round. They had a fight in the series, but the offensive struggled to keep up. Canadians general manager Kent Hughes hopes to add six-piece depth to give better advantages to the head coach and team next season.

Key competitors have top ten

Beware, the arrival of new Boston Bruins players is about to hate in the coming years. After two seasons of playing, they broke the standings and failed records after being regarded as a true Stanley Cup favorite, the Bruins stumbled and now earned their seventh overtake draft pick in the draft.

Related: Lightning: 5 Best Yzerman-ersa Draft

They are ready for the future with this draft pick, and Lightning fans can get to know him as soon as possible. They will eventually see him a few times for the foreseeable future.

A former Lightning defender is gaining new top teammate

Now named Utah’s fourth pick in the Mammoth Draft. Not sure the draft pick will play immediately, but he will eventually become a teammate of former Lightning defender Mikhail Sergachev. Last offseason, then-named Utah Hockey Club acquired Sergachev in exchange for forward prospect Conor Geekie, defensive JJ Moser, 2024 seventh-round pick and 2025 second-round pick.

Fun fact: Lightning no longer has that choice. They shipped it to Seattle as part of a deal for the Yanni Gourde reunion and Oliver Bjorkstrand in March.

As the Mammoth hopes to build itself in the NHL, Selgachev’s new teammate’s choice will go a long way toward achieving this.

To actually see the Lightning Picking Players, you have to wait until the next day. But just because Lightning has no draft picks doesn’t mean there is no lightning = the adjacent storyline that happened in Round 1.