LIGHTNING MAKE EIGHT PICKS DURING DAY 2 OF 2025 NHL DRAFT

WHPT 102.5 The Bone 2025 NHL Draft Tampa Bay Lightning
LIGHTNING MAKE EIGHT PICKS DURING DAY 2 OF 2025 NHL DRAFT

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning made eight picks during Day 2 of the 2025 NHL Draft today at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. The Lightning’s 2025 draft is presented by Florida Blue.

With the 56th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Lightning selected forward Ethan Czata from the Niagara Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League. A native of Brampton, Ontario, Czata ranked fourth for scoring among Ice Dogs skaters last season, posting 21 goals and 55 points in 68 games. Czata, 18, also saw action in five playoff games and recorded two assists. The 6-foot-2, 178-pound forward represented Team Canada in the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championship, posting four assists and five points.

In the fourth round, Tampa Bay traded its own 2026 fourth-round pick to the Boston Bruins in exchange for the 108th pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, which it used to select forward Benjamin Rautiainen (ROW-tee-eye-nen) from Tappara of the Finnish Liiga. A native of Tampere, Finland, Rautiainen led all Tappara rookies in scoring (10-23—33 pts.) and ranked sixth among all Tappara skaters. The 20-year-old forward skated in seven games for Team Finland at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship and recorded two goals and four points.

With the 127th overall pick, the Lightning selected forward Aiden Foster from the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League. Foster, 18, appeared in 68 games with the Cougars in 2024-25, tallying 11 goals and 20 points in addition to logging 136 penalty minutes, the third most in the WHL last season. The 6-foot-2, 182-pound forward also appeared in seven playoff games for Prince George and registered six assists, tied for the most among all Cougars skaters.

The Lightning selected defenseman Everett Baldwin, 151st overall, with its lone pick in the fifth round of the 2025 NHL Draft. Baldwin, 18, spent the majority of his 2024-25 season with St. George’s School of the United States High School Prep League, accumulating 10 goals and 20 points in 22 games. The right-shot defenseman also saw action in seven United States Hockey League games, split between the USNTDP Juniors and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, registering three assists. Baldwin is committed to play college hockey at Providence College in 2025-26.

Tampa Bay selected goaltender Caleb Heil 193rd overall with its first of four picks in the seventh round. A native of Victoria, Minnesota, Heil spent the 2024-25 season with the Madison Capitols of the USHL and posted a 25-10-4 record with a .896 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound netminder also appeared in six playoff contests with the Capitols going 3-3 with one shutout. Heil is committed to play college hockey at the University of North Dakota, beginning in 2026-27.

With its second pick in the seventh round, Tampa Bay selected forward Roman Luttsev, 206th overall, from Loko Yaroslavl of the MHL. Luttsev, 19, skated in 50 games for Yaroslavl as alternate captain last season and led the team in goals (30), assists (33) and points (63). The 6-foot-0, 170-pound Russian forward also appeared in eight MHL playoff games and posted two goals and three points.

The Lightning selected defenseman Grant Spada with the 212th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Spada, 18, appeared in 58 games for the Guelph Storm of the OHL in 2024-25 and recorded six assists, while leading all OHL rookies for penalty minutes (85).

With the 215th pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, Tampa Bay used its final pick to select forward Marco Mignosa from the Soo Greyhounds of the OHL. Mignosa, 20, led Soo in goals (36), assists (49) and points (85) in his fourth OHL season. A native of Vaughn, Ontario, Mignosa has played a total of 238 regular season OHL games and has tallied 81 goals and 200 points. The Toronto, Ontario native has also played in 26 career OHL playoff games and owns five goals and 13 points.

Please visit the new Tampa Bay Lightning Video Share for video interviews from today’s media availabilities. Interviews are with draftees Ethan Czata, Benjamin Rautiainen and Aidan Foster, director of amateur scouting John Rosso and vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois.

Lightning Selections at 2025 NHL Draft

Round 2 – 56 overall (from Los Angeles) F Ethan Czata Niagara (OHL)

Round 4 – 108 overall (from Boston) F Benjamin Rautiainen Tappara (Liiga)

Round 4 – 127 overall (from Edmonton) F Aiden Foster Price George (WHL)

Round 5 – 151 overall D Everett Baldwin St. George’s School (USHS-Prep)

Round 7 – 193 overall (from San Jose) G Caleb Heil Madison (USHL)

Round 7 – 206 overall (from Utah) F Roman Luttsev Loko Yaroslavl (MHL)

Round 7 – 212 overall (from Minnesota) D Grant Spada Guelph (OHL)

Round 7 – 215 overall F Marco Mignosa Soo (OHL)

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