Lightning trade up to take forward Lucas Edmonds in third round of NHL draft

The Lightning have proven over the years that they know when to make a move during the draft.

In 2014, they sent third- and seventh-round picks to the Wild to move up one spot in the third round, where they grabbed center Brayden Point with the 79th overall pick. Point went on to lead all players in goals during the 2020 and ‘21 postseasons as Tampa Bay won back-to-back Stanley Cups.

A year ago, they believed they might have found first-round value in Dylan Duke, a left wing with the U.S. National Team Development Program, whom they traded up to get in the fourth round.

The Lightning made another move Friday, jumping up into the third round on the second day of the draft in Montreal to take right wing Lucas Edmonds of Kingston of the junior Ontario League. Tampa Bay sent fourth- and sixth-round picks, Nos. 103 and 169 overall, to the Kings for the 86th overall pick.

Al Murray, the Lightning’s director of amateur scouting, said the organization thought it was important to move up to get Edmonds because it thought he would be gone before their fourth-round pick arrived.

“He’s a combination scorer but a really good playmaker, really smart,” Murray told media in Montreal. “Not the fastest guy, but the skating won’t be an issue for him. But (he is) a really smart, skilled offensive player who will be able to come in and play, we think, in (AHL) Syracuse right off the bat.”

The Lightning’s scouting department considered signing Edmonds as a free agent during last season before the NHL’s Central Scouting department notified teams that the 21-year-old would have to be drafted, Murray said.

Edmonds, of North Bay, Ontario, spent much of his early development in Sweden, where his father, Randy, played. The Lightning weren’t as interested in him at the time but continued to follow his progress and were pleased with what they saw after he received an invitation to play in the Ontario League last season as an overage player.

“For us, it’s when you get good is when we want to draft you,” Murray said. “We don’t look at your birthday. We look at how you’re playing. And we’re not going to hold it against him, because he worked hard and got good.”

Edmonds won the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy as the Ontario League’s top-scoring right wing. He led the league with 79 assists and finished third in scoring with 113 points in 68 games. He had 11 points, including six goals, in 11 playoff games.

“I don’t know if the (Ontario League) is easier than the Swedish leagues he was playing in. I don’t think it is,” Murray said. “But some guys just develop at different times.”

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Chris Peters, draft and prospects analyst for the website FloHockey, said he didn’t rank Edmonds but had him on his list of late-rounders to watch.

“(He’s) more of a finisher than a driver, good release on his shot, good-enough strength,” Peters said. “(His) feet are average at best, but his numbers were legit. He puts himself in good positions a lot and showed he could play with elite players, as he spent a lot of time on a line (last season) with (fourth overall pick) Shane Wright.

“Get him to Syracuse or maybe the ECHL to start and see where he goes. (It) might even be worth letting him go back to Sweden. He’s a good player.”

Edmonds, who was passed over in the three previous drafts, was thrilled to be selected in his fourth year of eligibility. The only thing better than hearing his name called was the name of the organization that was calling it, he said.

“An unreal feeling,” Edmonds told reporters in Montreal. “I kind of was hoping, actually, that I would get picked by Tampa, so I couldn’t be more happy to get picked by such a great organization.”

Edmonds said he wasn’t surprised the Lightning picked him because of conversations he had with the team during the season and what he called a “really positive meeting” at the scouting combine.

“I kind of had somewhat of an inclination that I might go to them,” Edmonds said. “It was really awesome to hear my name called by them.”

Contact Mari Faiello at mfaiello@tampabay.com. Follow @faiello_mari.

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