LIGHTNING STRIKES, ISAAC HOWARD TAKEN IN FIRST ROUND BY TAMPA BAY

Montreal, Qc – With the 31st overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected incoming Minnesota Duluth men’s hockey forward Isaac Howard on Thursday evening in Montreal, Quebec.

With his first-round selection on Thursday, Howard becomes the fifth Bulldog in program history to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft. Howard joins a list that includes Riley Tufte (25th overall by the Dallas Stars in 2016), Dylan Olsen (28th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2009), Matt Niskanen (28th overall by the Dallas Stars in 2005), and Larry Wright (8th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1971).

The Hudson, WI native just wrapped up his final season with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. During the 2021-22 campaign, Howard recorded 33 goals and 49 assists for 82 points in 60 games with Team USA. At the U-18 World Championships this past May, the 5-foot-10, 181-pound forward rolled off 11 points (6G-5A) in six games for Team USA. Howard’s 11 points was a team-high for USA at the event.

Rounds 2-7 of the draft will take place on Friday, July 8 in Montreal. Fellow incoming freshmen Cole Spicer and Aiden Dubinsky will look to have their names called as well. Spicer entered the draft at No. 121 on the NHL’s Central Scouting list. Playing alongside Howard, Spicer tallied 39 points (20G-19A) in 58 games with the USNTDP last season. A former member of the Tri-City Storm, Dubinsky was ranked as the No. 176 best North American skater according to central scouting. In 59 USHL games last season, the 6-foot-0, 185-pound defenseman secured three goals and 12 assists for 15 points.

A live tracker of the 2022 NHLDraft can be found here.