The reinforcements have arrived. With the Tampa Bay Lightning ailing a bit, the team recalled a couple of veterans from the Syracuse Crunch. Forwards Boris Katchouk and Scott Sabourin caught the plane ride down from the bitter cold to the chilly, but much nicer Tampa weather to help bolster a squad that is a little down right now.
With Dominic James definitely missing tonight’s action, and Pontus Holmberg probably out as well, the Bolts needed to add some depth to their bottom-six. Ryan McDonagh and possibly Victor Hedman could also miss tonight’s game against the New York Rangers, but with the team already carrying eight defenseman, no recall needed to be made for the blue line.
The recalls indicate that the team was looking to add a little physicality to the roster in the absence of James and Sabourin. Which, with the Florida Panthers on the schedule makes sense. The last time the two Florida franchises met, things got a little out of hand. Sabourin, who has served his four-game suspension and is eligible to play could have an interesting night in Sunrise if he draws into the line-up. The veteran forward is more known for his physical play, but has been chipping in offensively for the Crunch this season with three goals and two assists in eleven games.
For Boris Katchouk, a start in a Lightning uniform would bring him full circle. He was drafted by the team way back in 2016 and made his NHL debut with them during the 2021-22 season. After 38 games with the Bolts he was part of the Brandon Hagel trade to Chicago, and has spent the last few seasons splitting time between the NHL and AHL with the Ottawa and Pittsburgh franchises.
He returns to the Lightning a little wiser, and slightly more physical in his approach than he was a younger prospect, but he still has a scoring touch with four goals in twelve games this season. That follows up a 21-goal season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2024-25. It would be kind of fitting if he plays against the Rangers tonight where he would face his former teammate, and the other prospect that the Lightning sent to Chicago, Taylor Raddysh.
While the recalls are perfectly justifiable considering the roles along with what is hopefully a short stay in Tampa, it is worth pointing out that those two players might not have been on the top of some fans’ recall list. Dylan Duke (14 points), Jakob Pelletier (14 points), Conor Geekie (10 points in 9 games), and Wojciech Stachowiak (9 points) are all off to strong starts this season, but didn’t get the call. It is worth noting that all of those players did play in the Crunch’s 6-3 win over Utica on Tuesday (Duke had his first career hat trick) while Katchouk and Sabourin were scratched.
There might be more of a philosophical reason behind the moves, though. Would it be nice to reward the play of Pelletier with a NHL call-up? Sure, but the young player has had a bit of a tumultuous few seasons in Calgary and Philadelphia. Perhaps the team feels it’s better that he stays in Syracuse rather than uproot his routine for six minutes of ice time for one game in Tampa. There is no doubt he is part of the team’s long-term plans, and maybe they feel stability is the best option for him right now.
That could also be a reason for not recalling Geekie as well. Let him keep building confidence in the AHL before recalling him for a longer stay instead of bouncing him back-and-forth for short stays. Whoever plays during the recall is going to be on the fourth line, that’s not Geekie’s future with this team so let him keep getting those top-line minutes in Syracuse.
It is possible that these recalls are just for insurance, and Coach Cooper goes with the players already on the team in Curtis Douglas and Jack Finley. If Victor Hedman is okay to go, they could get by with an 11/7 line-up as well.