Tampa Bay Lightning target offensive help in 2023 NHL Draft
View of a Tampa Bay Lightning logo on a jersey worn by a member of the team during the Tampa Bay Lightning versus the Montreal Canadiens game on March 21, 2023, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Lightning’s five picks in the 2023 NHL draft featured four forwards and a defenseman.
With the 37th pick in the draft, the Lightning selected Ethan Gauthier. Coming from AHM Drummondville and hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, the 18-year-old right-winger stands at six-foot, 183 pounds.
The forward is a second-generation NHL player, following his father, Denis Gauthier, and cousin, Julien Gauthier. In his final seasons with the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix, Gauthier recorded 30 goals and 39 assists over 66 games.
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The Lightning acquired the 37th pick via a trade sending forward Ross Colton to the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday morning.
They followed this by acquiring Minnesota Mr. Hockey Jayson Shaugabay with the 115th pick. They received the selection after moving Chicago’s 2024 fourth rounder, which they received in the Hagel trade, to Nashville.
The 5-foot-9, 168-pound center out of Warroad High School ranked 55th in the final NHL Central Scouting ranking for North American players.
The Lightning then added their first and only defenseman, Warren Clark, with the 179th pick in the sixth round. The 18-year-old Canadian is committed to St. Cloud State University.
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Two more forwards, Jack Harvey and Ethan Hay, heard their names called by the Lightning in the final round of the draft.
Harvey, selected 193rd, is a 20-year-old who spent his previous season with the Chicago Steel, netting 40 goals with 34 assists throughout 62 games. He is currently committed to Boston College for his collegiate career.
Hay, selected at 211, is an 18-year-old from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Standing at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, Hay spent the last two seasons with the Flint Firebirds of the OHL. In 123 games over two years, Hay scored 25 goals and 22 assists.
The Bolts made one more move during Day Two of the NHL Draft by sending pending unrestricted free-agent Corey Perry to the Blackhawks for a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.