The Tampa Bay Lightning came into the year with room on their roster for young players to capture, and now a few notable names have done just that. Rookies Dominic James and Charle-Edouard D’Astous joined the Lightning lineup at a time of great adversity. The Lightning record upon James’ entry into the lineup was a dismal 1-3-2, joining the Lightning for their 4th loss of the season against the Blackhawks on October 23rd.
D’Astous would slot in next game, and since then, the pair of D’Astous and James have known nothing but victory in their young NHL careers. The Lightning record with both rookies in the lineup has improved dramatically to 7 wins and 1 loss, and have rocketed them back into contention in the Atlantic after their slow start.
Though these wins are the culmination of full team efforts, Tampa’s strong play can be attributed in part to the energy boost given by Tampa’s rookie newcomers.
Charle-Eduard D’Astous
D’Astous signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning as an undrafted free agent on a 1 year, league minimum deal. The 27 year old was a low risk signing, with very good potential upside. D’Astous has excelled in almost every league he has played in, and has a trophy case to prove it.
D’Astous has been awarded Defenceman of the year in the QMJHL, ECHL, SHL, and the Finnish Liiga. Notably, in 2021-22, playing in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies, D’Astous put up over a goal per game in his 18 playoff games with the club, recording 19 goals and 11 assists for 30 points.
It’s surprising then that D’Astous has never been given a real shot with an NHL club until now, but for the Lightning this surprise is a pleasant one. Thus far, in D’Astous’ 8 games with the Bolts, he has recorded 1 goal and 4 assists, while also providing steady defence. Although D’Astous took a couple games to find his footing, he has proven quickly to be a reliable defenceman in almost all situations.
D’Astous is for now, still playing fairly sheltered 3rd pair minutes, but Jon Cooper is extending his trust in the 27 year old defenceman more and more. In Saturday’s win against the Washington Capitals, D’Astous recorded 19:37 of ice time, the most for him thus far in the season. D’Astous also recorded 2 assists in the game, including on Brandon Hagel’s game winner.
Dominic James
James has taken a little longer than D’Astous to find his footing, but has now begun to find his stride. The 23 year old was a former 6th round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, signing with the Lightning this past offseason on a two year deal with the Bolts. In the four games James played with the Syracuse Crunch, James had a strong showing, tallying 3 goals and 2 assists, earning himself a call-up when needed.
James has since played 9 straight games with the Bolts, and has quickly garnered more and more ice time and a rise up the forward lines. Although his impact was not appearing on the scoresheet right away, his defensive steadiness and willingness to play the body has kept James up with the big boys.
James finally exploded onto the scoresheet last Thursday in the Lightning’s win over the Vegas Golden Knights, in which James had 1 goal and 2 assists. James was dominant in Thursday’s late game against Vegas, seemingly everywhere he needed to be, all the time.
James kept his momentum with another strong game against the Capitals on Saturday night. Playing some of the game up on the 2nd line, filling in for Anthony Cirelli who is day-to-day with injury, James tallied another assist on the eventual game winning goal.
Final Thoughts
Tampa Bay came into the season with the notion in mind that there would be a spot or two up for grabs for anyone who wanted it. Especially with the injuries to Nick Paul and more recently Anthony Cirelli, there is plenty of room to give guys looks in the NHL, and see who has the compete and drive to stick around. These young players are not guaranteed any length of time in the NHL, so seizing every moment, every game, every play, is so important. The Lightning are gonna look to extend their winning ways Wednesday night as they host the New York Rangers.
