The EliteProspects Rinkside 2020-21 Off-Season Prospect Pool Rankings: the No. 29-ranked Tampa Bay Lightning

That the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in September is no mistake. They’ve been the model franchise for drafting and developing homegrown talent, and that’s their reward.

That they’ve managed to accomplish this feat while effectively lighting most of their non-lottery first-round picks on fire in the process makes it all the more impressive.

In much the same way that their ability to develop top-of-the-lineup talent in-house shares some causality with their ascension to the top of the hockey world; their ascension to top of the hockey world bears some correlation with their bottom-tier prospect pool.

You can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need, etc.

To wit, the Lightning’s prospect pool isn’t an especially strong one, but it’s pretty well-suited to their needs. T