Czata, Future Bolts on Display at Prospect Tournament

The immediate future of the Tampa Bay Lightning will get underway this month when the franchise opens its 2025-26 training camp in preparation for the upcoming National Hockey League season. However, Tampa Bay fans will be able to catch a glimpse of the longer-term future this weekend.

The Lightning will host the four-team 2025 NHL Prospect Tournament Friday through Monday at AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel. Joining Tampa Bay will be prospect squads from Carolina and Nashville, as well as Atlantic Division rival Florida.

Tampa Bay conducted its first practice on Wednesday.

Each team may dress 18 skaters, as well as two goalkeepers for each of its three games (no games on Sunday), but the Lightning have invited 21 skaters and three goaltenders to participate, including their top draft selection from the 2025 NHL Draft, forward Ethan Czata.

“I really wanted to go to Florida,” Czata said after being drafted in the second round.

For clarification, he meant the state, not the Panthers.

Czata will join forward Sam O’Reilly, who was the player received by Tampa Bay from Edmonton this summer in exchange for heralded prospect Isaac Howard, as well as top prospect Dylan Duke, who played in a game with the Lightning last season and scored on his first shot in the NHL.

Czata won’t turn 19 until after the 2025-26 season and played nearly 70 games last year with the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League.

“Niagara was a great spot to play,” Czata said. “Everyone there just wanted the best for me. Every day, I would get great advice from coaches and the players.”

He ranked fourth on the IceDogs for goals (21) and points (55), while his 34 assists were fifth on his squad. He played on special teams and was tied for second for power-play assists (12) and tied for fourth for power-play goals (4).

“Every day,” Czata continued on being an IceDog, “the guys just came to the rink and were just being friendly to me in my first year. The older guys really helped me kind of feel at home this year (his second with the team).”

Czata notched a pair of assists in five OHL Playoff games last spring.

At the international level, he helped Team Canada win a gold medal at the 2025 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship. In that tournament, he tallied four assists and five points in seven games.

“Everyone (at Niagara) just believed in me,” Czata said.

Czata also took part in the Tampa Bay 2025 Development Camp in July with many of the same players who will be skating this weekend.

The camps are an opportunity to improve individually, but also to build a cohesive bond among the (hopefully) franchise’s future players.

That type of chemistry was the key to Niagara’s success last season, according to Czata.

“It shows on the ice,” Czata said of having chemistry with each other. “It shows in the stats, too. (Niagara) was really close together. That is the most important thing to have on a winning team. It’s having a team that is kind of like a family.

“Just seeing everyone grow as a player, really excites me.”

Czata will be the third-youngest participant in this week’s camp behind defensemen Maddox Labre (an invited player) and Grant Spada (a 2025 seventh-round selection). All three players are 18.

For the Lightning fans, who are curious what they’ll see from Czata, he gave a self-scouting report during the earlier camp.

“I would say that I am a 200-foot centerman,” Czata said. “I am someone, who likes to hit, has good skating skill, enough to make plays, and takes pride in the penalty kill.

“I kind of have an edge to my game.”

The benefits of participating in this camp will be numerous for the development of Czata. However, he says the personal aspect of such opportunities is as enjoyable as the professional ones.

“The connections you make,” Czata said of playing hockey. I’ve put on (sweaters) for a lot of different teams, and Team Canada teams, and just meeting the people, who I would never even meet in my life, from across the world and across Canada.

“I’ve made friendships and connections that will last a lifetime. That is something that is super great and super nice in hockey.”

The Lightning will open this week’s competition on Friday at 5 p.m. against Nashville.

On Saturday, Tampa Bay will face Florida at 5 p.m.

The team will close the experience on Monday at 3 p.m. against Carolina.

The rosters for each team include players on an entry-level contract (or less), provided they are 24 or younger and have less than 20 games of NHL experience.

The games are regulation length with three 20-minute periods. A five-minute, three-on-three overtime period will determine a winner if games are tied after regulation. Games will conclude with a five-player shootout regardless of the final score.

All Lightning games will be broadcast live on The Spot – Tampa Bay 66 (WXPX-TV) and will also be streamed live on www.TampaBayLightning.com.

The games are open to the public and free to attend.