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Wednesday, November 8, 2000
Tampa Bay Lightning
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First Round Picks: No. 5, No. 8 (from Rangers)
1999-2000 Record: 19-54-9 (7), 54 points (27th overall)
What they need
While Tampa Bay is working their way up the ladder, it's a slow climb. They were still in the
bottom five in offense (2.49 goals/gm., 24th) and defense (3.73 team GAA, 27th), so shoring up both ends of the rink is a
likely priority for Rick Dudley and the Lightning front office.
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HOMEGROWN LIGHTNING
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Lightning draftees who played over 20 games with Tampa Bay in 1999-00: (All stats with Lightning) |
| Name (drafted) |
GP |
G-A-Pts |
Vincent Lecavalier
(1st in '98) |
80 |
25-42-67 |
Pavel Kubina
(179th in '96) |
69 |
8-17-25 |
Chris Gratton
(3rd in '93) Traded to BUF |
58 |
14-27-41 |
Paul Mara
(7th in '97) |
54 |
7-11-18 |
In their system
Left wing Brad Richards (64th overall in '98) was signed just before he would've been a draft
re-entry. Richards, a former teammate of Vincent Lecavalier at Rimouski (QMJHL), led all of major junior hockey in
scoring last season with 71 goals and 186 points. He also helped Rimouski to the Memorial Cup Championship.
Another Quebec League scoring ace is Dimitry Afanasekov (72nd overall in '98), who had 56 goals and 99 points in
60 games at Sherbrooke. Another winger who saw action at the Memorial Cup was right wing Sheldon Keefe (47th
overall in '99), who helped Barrie (OHL) reach the tourney by scoring 48 goals and 121 points in 66 games.
On the blueline, Medicine Hat's (WHL) Brett Scheffelmaier displayed a physical presence, racking up 277 penalty minutes in
70 games for the Tigers.
Recent draft history
Tampa Bay will select in the top ten for the seventh time in nine drafts. After choosing
Czech defenseman Roman Hamrlik with the first overall choice in 1992, the Lightning have gone the North American
route with their top choice in each of the subsequent Entry Drafts.
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FIRST-ROUND SELECTIONS (LAST FIVE YEARS)
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| YEAR |
PICK |
PLAYER |
POS. |
'99 TEAM |
'99 G-A-Pts |
| 1998 |
1 |
Vincent Lecavalier |
C |
Lightning (NHL) |
25-42-67 |
| 1997 |
7 |
Paul Mara |
D |
Tampa Bay (NHL) |
7-11-18 |
| 1996 |
16 |
Mario Larocque |
D |
Detroit (IHL) |
5 pts., 234 PIM |
| 1995 |
5 |
Daymond Langkow |
C |
Philadelphia (NHL) |
18-32-50 |
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ALSO SEE
Lightning first-round history
Team Needs: Atlanta Thrashers
Team Needs: Carolina Hurricanes
Team Needs: Florida Panthers
Team Needs: Washington Capitals
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