Lightning Prospect Report: Kurth, Gauthier, Mercuri & More

The Lightning’s sixth-round selection of the 2022 NHL Draft has appeared in three games with the Crunch. He picked up his first point as a professional on April 11 when he assisted on a Tristan Allard goal in a 2-1 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He has played significant minutes in his three games in Syracuse and spent some time on their power-play units.

Lucas Mercuri

Mercuri informed the Carolina Hurricanes late in March that he would not be signing with the team. The Lightning acquired the 23-year-old from the Hurricanes in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in 2025. He signed a two-year entry-level NHL contract beginning with the 2025-26 season. He reported to the Crunch and will play the remainder of the 2024-25 season on an AHL tryout. Mercuri, 23, skated in 40 games with the University of Massachusetts this season, recording 10 goals and 31 points with a plus-14 rating and two power-play tallies.

With the Crunch, he has already shown himself as a player who isn’t afraid to mix things up. He can be a force around the net, often taking space away from goaltenders. The physical forward has appeared in three games with the Crunch and is frequently paired on a line with Kurth. Both players will be instrumental in the team’s success should they reach the playoffs for a Crunch team that has seen more than its fair share of injuries this season.

Ethan Gauthier

Gauthier joined the Crunch after his season with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), which ended earlier this month. He posted 62 points (25g, 37a) in 50 games during the regular season and added another 12 points (6g, 6a) in seven playoff games before being ousted by the Halifax Mooseheads.

Gauthier was selected by the Lightning with their first pick, 37th overall, at the 2023 NHL Draft. In four QMJHL seasons, he earned 241 points (109g, 132a) in 245 games. His dad, Denis, played 554 NHL games for the Calgary Flames, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, and Los Angeles Kings. He has appeared in one game for the Crunch and is not shying away from the physical part of the game. During one shift in his first game, he laid two big hits on the Laval Rocket.

Cooper Flinton

Lightning signed Flinton to a two-year entry-level NHL contract beginning with the 2025-26 season. He reported to the Crunch and is now on an AHL tryout for the remainder of the season. The Lightning’s seventh-round draft pick in 2021 skated in 32 games with Dartmouth College this season, recording 11 goals and 24 points with two shorthanded tallies and four on the power play. He has played in three games with the Crunch and has yet to pick up a point.

Aiden Hansen-Bukata

The Crunch signed the 25-year-old defenseman on April 3 to an amateur tryout contract. Hansen-Bukata skated in 38 games with Ohio State University this season. His 31 points ranked fourth on the team and first among defensemen. He also led the team with 29 assists. Before this season, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound blueliner played four years at R.I.T. from 2020 to 2024. He accumulated 109 points (11g, 98a) and a plus-59 rating in 170 career NCAA games. He has yet to appear in a game for the Crunch.

The Lightning do not have the deepest prospect pool in the NHL, but they continue to draft, sign, and develop talent that will someday make significant contributions to the roster. The critical thing to remember about prospects is that development is non-linear. Some players take longer to figure it out than others, and some players never do. Still, the Lightning have been encouraged by the play of their prospects, which will hopefully come to the newest members of the organization who are now getting their first taste of professional hockey in Syracuse.