Slater Koekkoek photo by Jason Haas

- Lightning prospect Slater Koekkoek played just 2 games with the Windsor Spitfires before being shut down. Koekkoek lost time with the Peterborough Petes last season after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. After a trip to Tampa where he was examined by team doctors, it was determined a second operation was needed. Expected healing time is 4-6 months. Tough break for a kid who played just 26 games last year due to the same injury.

-The Syracuse Crunch traded future considerations to the Florida Panthers yesterday. In return the Crunch add forward Jean-Francois Jacques to their ranks.

“We felt like we needed to add a power forward to our group,” Crunch general manager Julien BriseBois said. “Someone who brings some size, some grit, and who can score.” (Quote Source: Official Lightning Site)

While the Crunch gained Kyle Wilson following Tampa’s training camp, they lost Cory Conacher and Pierre-Cedric Labrie to their parent club. This move will add some more depth for them as Syracuse moves towards the playoffs.

-The Bolts will honor captain Vinny Lecavalier’s 1,000th career game with a pre-game presentation. As part of the festivities, Reebok is giving away 1,000 tickets to the game against the Ottawa Senators. You can enter the contest at the Lightning’s Facebook page.

Slater Koekkoek photo by Jason Haas

Junior hockey fans on Twitter are all…a-flutter over a tweet from Barrie Colts beat writer Gene Pereira: Lightning prospect Slater Koekkoek has requested a trade from the Peterborough Petes.  Pereira also says that Alan Quine (Red Wings) and Nick Ritchie (not yet draft eligible) have requested trades as well.  Petes Insider also tweeted this rumor.  Even if this proves to be untrue (of course there will be denials), it is easy to believe given that Peterborough is dead last in the OHL with a record of 8-23-3-1 through 35 games. » Continue reading “Rumor Mill: Slater Koekkoek Requests Trade From Peterborough”

Slater Koekkoek photo by Jason Haas

It was a draft pick that caught everyone off guard.  With highly touted forwards like Filip Forsberg and Teuvo Teravainen still on the board, Steve Yzerman announced his team’s 10th overall selection this past June – defenseman Slater Koekkoek from Peterborough in the OHL.  Koekkoek has undeniable talent, but was considered a very risky pick after a severe shoulder injury in November of 2011.  Yzerman has shown the hockey world that he’s not afraid to gamble on young players with injury histories.  In two of his first three drafts, Yzerman’s Lightning drafted a player in the top 10 with injury concerns: Brett Connolly, 6th overall in 2010 and Koekkoek.

Thus far, Connolly’s hip problems haven’t been an issue.  However, it took all of one game back for Koekkoek’s injury history to rear its ugly head.   During the Peterborough Petes’ first exhibition game, he took a huge hit from Oshawa’s Boone Jenner (Columbus) and, after serving a delay-of-game penalty later in the shift, left the ice and didn’t return.  Had Yzerman bet the house and lost? » Continue reading “For Petes’ Sake: Slater Koekkoek Injured in Preseason Action”

Cédric Paquette Photo by Jason Haas

The Lightning’s 2012 development camp came to a close Saturday morning with an energetic 3-on-3 tournament. This year’s camp was a little bit different as there were few AHLers in attendance. There were a lot of new faces, new draft picks, and one young man with family ties in the Bay area.

Vladislav Namestnikov, Slater Koekkoek, Nikita Nesterov, and Cedric Paquette comprised Team Hedman and ended the week as winners of the mini-tournament. It may not have been the Stanley Cup, but Lightning forward Dana Tyrell brought their hardware onto the trophy while wearing white gloves.

The victory came in the shootout, when Koekkoek put the puck through goaltender Pat Nagle’s legs.

“It was an awesome experience. We got off to a slow start on the day, but made it to the final, and it was cool to win it and go out on top. I don’t think I could have asked for a better way to end camp,” Koekkoek said.  (Quote Source: Lightning Official Site)

Couldn’t make it to camp? Here’s a few thoughts from what I saw on Saturday.

- Koekkoek was really super intense. REALLY intense. It was kind of scary, but he plays tough and came to win. Can’t argue with that kind of effort. Also, I have nicknamed him Walrus because of the Beatles.

- Cody Bradley didn’t look out of place at all. It was also really neat to see a name on the camp roster with a hometown of Tampa, Florida.

- Nice to see Luke Witkowski back again. He’s been at development camp the last few years and you can really see how his play has improved. He and Koekkoek had some intense battles going on in front of the net.

- JT Brown was just incredibly loose. So smooth when it comes to his playing. He is going to be in the mix for a main roster spot, mark my words.

Welcome Slater Koekkoek!

Now that the Stanley Cup has been awarded, the offseason happenings can begin for the rest of us. The first round of the 2012 NHL Draft took place in Pittsburgh this evening. The Lightning went into the evening in a great position, holding two picks in the top 20. There were a lot of rumblings about Steve Yzerman trading away the 19th pick as part of a trade package, but he ended up using both of them in shocking fashion.

When Tampa’s pick came around at the number 10 spot, Stevie Y pretty much shocked the room by taking defenseman Slater Koekkoek out of the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League. Koekkoek played 26 games last season recording 5 goals, 18 points, and 17 penalty minutes. He missed the rest of the season due to a torn labrum.

» Continue reading “Tampa Drafts Koekkoek & Vasilevski In 1st Round”