The festivities in Nashville this weekend are a bit of a misnomer. By definition the Tampa Bay Lightning don’t have that many actual rookies making the journey. Of the 23 players on the roster, exactly zero of them are guaranteed to make the roster to start the year. If things break right, maybe six see a call-up at some point during the season. The one player that has the best chance to make the roster, Emil Lilleberg, exceeded the games played mark for rookie status last season.
Now that we’re done being pedantic about the name of the tournament, let’s break down what we’re hoping to see over the next few days at the Lightning prospects take on fellow youngsters from Nashville, Florida, and Carolina.