Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois spoke on Wednesday during the second on-ice day of 2025 development camp, addressing the team’s early approach to this offseason.

BriseBois spoke on a number of topics, including a pair of free agency signings from Tuesday and offseason plans.

We also caught up with one of the newest draftees in 2025 second-round pick Ethan Czata as well as 2024 draft pick Joe Connor, a forward who just finished his freshman season of college hockey.

BriseBois: Untapped potential in free agents, Finley could earn NHL chance this season

The Tampa Bay Lightning signed one external player to a one-way NHL contract after NHL free agency officially opened on Tuesday, adding 26-year-old forward Pontus Holmberg to the organization. The team then signed 24-year-old forward Jakob Pelletier early Wednesday morning, inking a three-year contract that begins as a two-way deal before converting to a one-way deal in seasons two and three.

Both players entered the offseason as restricted free agents with their respective teams but went unqualified due to holding arbitration rights. BriseBois and the Lightning believe both carry untapped potential.

Holmberg, who scored seven goals and 19 points in 68 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, can slot in at center or on the wing. The Swedish forward is most known for defensive acumen and speed, and the Lightning targeted Holmberg when they learned he was headed to unrestricted free agency.

Holmberg played with Lightning captain Victor Hedman at the World Championship, and the team heard positive reviews in their scouting process.

“Right now I like the makeup of our team…This was a really good team,” BriseBois said, “and I think Holmberg makes us an even better defensive team on what was already a really strong defensive team.”

Holmberg will likely spend time at center and on the wing throughout the year.

Tampa Bay signed Pelletier to a three-year contract in the early hours of Wednesday. The former first-round pick by the Calgary Flames in 2019 scored seven goals and 19 points in 49 NHL games between Calgary and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Pelletier’s contract is a two-way deal in 2024-25 and then pivots to a one-way contract for the final two seasons. Pelletier has scored 130 career points in 139 career games in the American Hockey League.

BriseBois said injuries hampered some of Pelletier’s development at a young age, but the Lightning see potential in him. Syracuse Crunch head coach Joel Bouchard knows Pelletier from time with Hockey Canada.

“Everyone that we talked to over the years (said) he’s high, high character, really competitive, really driven. So we think the person’s worth investing in because he’s going to do everything on his end to get us a return on that investment. And the skillset is there because he’s skilled, he’s competitive, he can make plays…keep working with him, try to get him to be a better version of what he is today. And if we do that, we’re going to end up getting a really good, young NHL player at a really good contract.”

Tampa Bay didn’t expect Holmberg to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, so they jumped to sign him when he became available. Other than that, Tampa Bay has been leading up to a quiet offseason for months.

The Lightning made their 2025 trade deadline acquisition of Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde from Seattle—and then re-signed Gourde—partly because they anticipated this summer’s free agent market being a lighter group and both players can fit up and down the Tampa Bay lineup.

BriseBois said the team will keep looking for ways to get better, adding their projected $1.95 million in cap space is a benefit. BriseBois did maintain that it will likely be a quieter offseason compared to the previous 12 months.

“We will remain on the lookout between now and the start of the season, between now and the trade deadline. It’s (cap space) a luxury we haven’t had in the past. It might also mean we can carry more players and there’s more internal competition for ice time, which is also healthy, but I don’t expect us to be very active.”

Some of that internal competition could be in the bottom six and include Jack Finley.

The organization believes in the 22-year-old forward, who played his first career NHL game last season. The right-handed center could push for an NHL roster spot in 2024-25 after scoring 14 goals and 28 points in 40 AHL games in Syracuse last season.

“Jack Finley’s in the mix now,” BriseBois said…”I am fairly confident he’d already be in the NHL if it weren’t for the injuries he suffered over the years, and now he’s at a point where he’s going to be given that opportunity. He’s done it really well at the AHL level. He’s been that penalty kill, right-shot face-off guy who excels in the dot, and we’re going to give him the opportunity to grow into that role at the NHL level.”

Czata takes to Lightning ice for first time

Four days after being selected by Tampa Bay with the 56th overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft, forward Ethan Czata took the ice in a Lightning jersey for the first time on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old spoke prior to his on-ice session, saying he is happy to be with the Lightning this week after scoring 21 goals and 55 points with the Niagara IceDogs in the OHL last season.

“In my time being alive they’ve won a couple cups, so I think it’s a winning organization,” Czata said. “Everyone here wants to win, and I think that’s something I want to do, too, is win a Stanley Cup eventually in my life. So this is the place I want to be.”

He said touring AMALIE Arena on Tuesday was exciting, adding he hopes to play in front of the fans in Tampa in the future.

The first few days of camp have been about meeting his fellow Lightning prospects and learning along the way. His big takeaway so far has been drilling down on the process.

That began through video work with Lightning skating coach consultant Barb Underhill.

“They’re really big on details here. I think that every little detail helps you become a better hockey player. We’re about to go on for skating, and I was with (skating coach Barb Underhill) looking at my skating stride the other day, and I kind of realized that ‘m always able to get better. I can grow way more. It’s awesome kind of just having those resources and the people that want to help you.”

After getting drafted in Los Angeles last Saturday, the Brompton, Ontario product is happy to be one step closer to reaching the NHL.

“It’s kind of surreal still. It’s kind of crazy I’m in the Tampa Bay lighting practice facility, putting on Tampa gear and going on the ice with a bunch of Tampa staff,” Czata said. “So it’s pretty awesome. Obviously this is something that I’ve dreamed of, and to finally be able to get closer and closer to my dream is awesome.”

Connor reflects on freshman season

After being selected in the seventh-round by Tampa Bay in the 2024 NHL Draft, forward Joe Connor ended his first season of NCAA hockey with a big team honor at Northeastern University.

Connor’s teammates and coaches chose him to receive the Rookie of the Year Award after he scored seven goals and 17 points in 37 games during his first season of college hockey.

The New Hampshire native’s seven goals were fourth-most on the team. He led the roster with 47 penalty minutes.

“Not the end we were looking for, but I think I improved tremendously on my skating and defensive zone play,” he said at development camp Wednesday. “Just playing in the system and learning the system just helped progressively so much throughout the season.”

This is Connor’s second development camp with the Lightning, and he feels more prepared this time around.

“Everything’s going great,” he said. “Getting on the ice for the first time today felt good. I’m way more comfortable than last year, and getting to know the younger guys is cool.”

The 20-year-old forward described himself as a “hard-nosed forward that likes to get gritty in the corners” but can also make plays with the puck.

He hopes to build on that this week at development camp as well as in his second year at Northeastern. The Howlin Huskies will look to improve on their 14-20-3 record last season.

“Honestly I think it just starts with getting to know the new guys. We’re going to have a lot of new guys coming in and just want to hit the ground running and being motivated from what happened last season.”

GLOUCESTER, Mass.—The American Hockey Coaches Association (ACHA) announced its Krampade All-American Scholars on Monday afternoon. Five Dartmouth women’s hockey student-athletes earned the prestigious honor.

To be eligible student-athletes must have obtained a 3.75 GPA or better in each semester of the 2024-25 season and must have played in at least 40% of games.

Cally Dixon, Hamilton Doster, Maura Fiorenza, Laura Fuoco, and Lauren Messier each earned the honor.

Dixon skated in 29 games for the Big Green while scoring seven goals and adding four assists in her junior season.

Doster scored twice while adding three assists in her sophomore season. She has skated in 52 career games and has tallied seven goals and four assists.

Fiorenza skated in 28 of 29 games for the Big Green and served as a key member of the Dartmouth defense core as she blocked 31 shots.

Fuoco was a second on the Big Green in scoring as she had 16 points on eight goals and eight assists in 29 games. She closes her Dartmouth career with 116 career games, 28 goals, and 35 assists.

Messier served as captain as she played in all 29 games for the Big Green as a senior. She led the team in scoring with eight goals and nine assists. In 117 career games she scored 23 goals and notched 25 assists.

The ECAC recently announced the conference schedule for the 2025-26 season and Dartmouth season ticket deposits are now available by clicking here. The full Dartmouth schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

WALTHAM, Mass. – Four players from the 2024-25 Bentley hockey team were named All-American Scholars by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) on Wednesday. The quartet is A.J. Hodges, Ryan Mansfield, Colton Cameron and Oskar Bakkevig.

The criteria for being named an All-American Scholar is a student-athlete must have attained a 3.75 GPA in each semester and have appeared in 40 percent of his team’s games.

Hodges, Mansfield and Cameron are all repeat selections from 2023-24.

Hodges, who graduated in May with a degree in finance, had nine goals and nine assists last season and was named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament team.

Mansfield will be a junior next season and scored eight goals to go along with 10 assists. He is majoring in corporate finance and accounting.

Cameron is a defenseman who played in 38 of Bentley’s 40 games last season. He is majoring in finance and is entering his junior season.

Bakkevig completed his freshman year and notched 10 goals and six assists. He was voted the team’s Rookie of the Year.

Hodges and Bakkevig previously received the Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award from Atlantic Hockey for having a 4.0 GPA in both the fall and spring semesters.

 

By Joshua Boyd / USPHL.com

Boston Jr. Rangers goaltender Beckham Dempsey is truly excited to be able to show the different ways he can help the NCAA Division I Colorado College team. The Tigers see in Dempsey a never-give-up attitude that they hope will be infectious around the locker room.

“I began talking with Colorado College after I was admitted as a student. They reached out, we set up a visit, and the rest was history. What they liked most about my game wasn’t my speed, my tracking, or even my win/loss record. They didn’t care how many games I started or who I played for. They cared that I kept playing after continuous setbacks. They cared that on every play, I did what I could to make a save and give my team a chance to win,” said Dempsey, a 2004-born native of Wayne, Ill. “They realized that my tenacious personality contributed to my game, which is what they know I can bring to their team.”

He is looking forward to being part of a strong Tigers program in one of the toughest conferences, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

“The innovation and purpose are what I like most about Colorado College, both on the ice and in the classroom,” said Dempsey. “Ed Robson Area, home of the Tigers, boasts everything a student-athlete could dream of. A 3,000-plus capacity, state-of-the-art training and recovery facilities, and even an academic lounge. Not to mention, CC’s block plan, where students take one class at a time, gives me the confidence to fully indulge myself in my studies.”

Dempsey comes out of his single season with the Jr. Rangers after previously playing in the NCDC with the Pueblo Bulls and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. He finished his career with a .904 save percentage over 23 games in two seasons.

“Playing for the Boston Jr. Rangers this past season was an honor. Head Coach Richard DeCaprio genuinely believed in me as an athlete, which helped boost my confidence in net,” added Dempsey. “Having access to the gym and extra ice throughout the year helped develop my game the most. Whenever I felt I needed to work on something, the opportunity was there.”

The Jr. Rangers were a first-year team in the NCDC, joining from their former league which was at a lower tier of play, but they performed well and enjoyed seeing 18 players advance to NCAA hockey in their first season in the league.

“The NCDC was a fun and challenging experience for me during the two seasons I played juniors. Having played in both the East and the West, as well as in every division and against almost every team, I got a taste of it all,” he said. “The games were a highlight of my time in the league, in addition to the fan experience in the West. I met some of my best friends during juniors, and can confidently say I am more prepared for college and the real world after playing in the NCDC.”

It is a big jump from every level of junior hockey to the NCAA game, and Dempsey is laser-focused this summer on getting to exactly where the program wants him when the team workouts begin.

“In order to succeed at Colorado College, I have been working on being more explosive in movements. I am already doing CC workouts provided by the strength department to be successful upon my arrival,” he added. “This is a program where being average just isn’t enough. Head Coach Kris Mayotte knows what this program means to the College and Colorado Springs. He has done an excellent job building this program, and I can’t wait to join him alongside my other Tiger teammates this fall!”

The NCDC congratulates Beckham Dempsey, his family, the Boston Jr. Rangers and Colorado College for his commitment.

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