How acquired: Selected with the No. 56 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft
2025-26 season: Niagara (OHL): 63 GP, 25-28-53
Czata, 19, will return to the OHL for another season, with the Lightning hoping he continues the growth and development progression he showed last season. The 6-foot-1, 179-pound forward also played three games with Syracuse in the AHL last season; he did not have a point and had 17 penalty minutes. Tambellini said Czata needs time for his body to develop. He said the Lightning are not going to rush him into the pro game because they want to give him time to add more strength to play a strong two-way game.
Projected NHL arrival: 2028-29
How acquired: Selected with the No. 108 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft
2025-26 season: Tappara (Liiga): 59 GP, 25-52-77
Rautiainen was 20 years old when the Lightning selected him in the 2025 NHL Draft. He went on to dominate Finland’s top pro league last season, leading Liiga in scoring, setting a record for the most points in a single season by a player 21 years old or younger, and being named the league’s most valuable player. He led Tappara to the Liiga championship. Tambellini said Rautiainen, who turned 21 in June, will start this season with Tappara, come to Tampa Bay for a rookie tournament and training camp to ideally get into a few NHL exhibition games, and then go back to Finland for the remainder of the season — unless he plays well enough to make the NHL roster.
Projected NHL arrival: 2028-29
How acquired: Selected with the No. 126 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft
2025-26 season: Syracuse (AHL): 72 GP, 32-27-59; Tampa Bay (NHL): 1 GP, 0-0-0
Duke led the Crunch and was third in the AHL with 32 goals last season, but the 23-year-old projects more as an undersized, two-way, bottom-six energy forward in the NHL, Tambellini said. He said he will have a chance in training camp to prove he can play that type of role for the Lightning this season, likely in the range of 9-12 minutes per game, possibly getting some short-handed minutes, which he got in Syracuse last season. He is 5-foot-10 and 184 pounds, but his skating and speed have improved, Tambellini said.
Projected NHL arrival: This season
