Lightning Select Stepan Shurygin 186th Overall in 2026 NHL Draft
With the 186th overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning picked Russian goaltender Stepan Shurygin of the Saginaw Spirit in the Ontario Hockey League.
Video Transcript
I think everybody can agree that they're, you know, Mc- McDavid or Kucherov both were, were good choices.
What do you think, Ryan?
Yeah.
Kucherov was number one on my ballot.
Okay.
And then as soon as the playoffs started, I am, I regretted putting him number one.
But it is a regular season award.
and Tampa had so many injuries, and he had so many points, that it was hard to- Right deny, you know, how important he was to Tampa Bay even making the playoffs this year.
That's fair.
Yeah.
Kucherov was You know, I don't wanna say the right choice because probably, there were probably three or four right choices this year, right, Ryan?
Yeah.
For sure.
Yeah.
Like, Nathan MacKinnon could have been the right choice.
I think Macklin Celebrini if- Yeah maybe San Jose makes the playoffs, that could've been the right choice.
But, I like this one.
You know, Kuch is the guy that you always look at in terms of who's gonna be the scoring leader.
And, you know, this year he didn't win the scoring, race, but to your point, Ryan, with all the injuries, what a impressive show it was.
And, just a little aside, like, I'm writing a feature on Kuch for, the magazine coming up, and when I spoke to his agent, and literally the day after, Tampa Bay Lightning were eliminated in game seven against Montreal Canadiens, Kucherov was talking to his agent saying, "Book me some ice.
I need ice for the summer.
I wanna get back on the ice."
And literally- Yeah two weeks later he was already back skating and going through the process.
So, you know, you wanna be a, an MVP, that's sort of the mentality you need to be an MVP.
