Photo by Alexis Boucher

A shortened season means an abbreviated training camp. With their season opener set for Saturday night, the Lightning coaches have to decide on their roster by the 3 pm deadline on Friday. The deadline to place players on waivers to be reassigned to the AHL is noon tomorrow. On top of all those time restrictions, a smaller camp means fewer positions up for grabs.

That doesn’t mean guys aren’t making an impact. All of the news about Cory Conacher has been positive. He’s spent a large amount of time playing on a line with Teddy Purcell and Vinny Lecavalier. Coach Boucher has been impressed.

“He’s got speed, he does things at a very, very high pace,” Lightning head coach Guy Boucher said. “Now we want to look at what he can do with guys that play NHL high pace that are high end guys. I think he did a good job (in scrimmages), he pushes the pace with them and that’s what I’m looking for.” (Quote Source: Tampa Tribune)

Another player getting a long look is Kyle Wilson. The often overlooked part of the Anders Lindback trade, Wilson scored two goals in two days during intra-squad scrimmages. A scoring touch is always nice to see, but Coach Boucher is sure to be looking for more.

The way the lines have been rolling so far, the team appears to be looking primarily for forwards. One to work on the top six and a few more to round out the 3rd and 4th lines.  Could it be Conacher? Could it be Tyler Johnson? Could Labrie break through to the show and bring a new physical edge to the Lightning’s game? Only the coaches and GM really know.

Boucher did offer some advice for the camp participants:

“There’s a huge fight with a lot of guys,” coach Guy Boucher said, adding, “Don’t come in and try to be somebody else. You come in and do what you do best. You’ll be evaluated on that. If you’re trying to be somebody else, you’ll be evaluated on that, too, and it might not be too good.”(Quote Source: Tampa Bay Times)