DULUTH — Former Minnesota Duluth captain Dominic James finally has himself an NHL contract,
sharing on his Instagram account Friday evening
that he’s signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Lightning had not announced James signing as of Friday evening.
James, who wrapped up a four-year career with the Bulldogs in March, has been an unrestricted free agent since August after reportedly turning down a contract from the Chicago Blackhawks in the spring.
Davidson says the Blackhawks offered Dominic James a “pretty damn good opportunity,” but it currently seems like he’s going to free agency in August. “No ill will.”
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) April 17, 2025
A native of Plymouth, Michigan, James was drafted by the Blackhawks in the sixth round, No. 173 overall, of the 2022 NHL Draft after he posted six goals and 12 assists as a freshman at UMD. A strong first semester also landed James on the U.S. National Junior Team at the 2022 World Junior Championship.
After scoring 10 goals and 18 assists as a sophomore, it was expected that James would sign with the Blackhawks after his junior season at UMD, however, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury just two games into the 2023-24 campaign.
James returned to UMD as captain in 2024-25 and led a young Bulldogs team in scoring with team-highs of 14 goals and 30 assists. He had two goals
in UMD’s season-ending losses at Arizona State
in the NCHC playoffs.
“He was great down the stretch,” Sandelin said of James after the season. “I thought he had a good year. He had a little bit of a hole that him and I talked about in the middle, but I thought his last four games were exceptional. He’s got a great future.”
Technically, James did have the option to return to the Bulldogs in 2025-26 if he applied for a medical redshirt for 2023-24, however,
he indicated early on that 2024-25 would be his last season
in college.
NHL training camps got underway on Wednesday, with the Lightning hitting the ice Thursday.
Co-host of the Bulldog Insider Podcast and college hockey reporter for the Duluth News Tribune covering the Minnesota Duluth men’s and women’s hockey programs.