Center Sam O’Reilly, the Lightning’s No. 1 prospect, is among the training camp cuts announced by the club today. He’ll return to the OHL’s London Knights for a third full season in the major junior ranks.
While there were some who believed O’Reilly could challenge for a nine-game trial with a strong training camp, an early return to juniors isn’t a huge surprise. The 19-year-old pivot was the last selection of the first round by the Oilers in last year’s draft, but Edmonton traded him to the Bolts in July in exchange for the signing rights to reigning Hobey Baker Award winner Isaac Howard.
Howard was previously Tampa’s top prospect, but a disagreement over the role he would play in 2025-26 led him to decide not to sign with the club – essentially forcing a trade unless they wanted to lose him for nothing in free agency next summer. O’Reilly was a shrewd consolation prize, albeit a younger one who needs a little more runway before he’s ready to make an NHL impact. The 6’1″, 190-lb pivot projects squarely as a bottom-six piece long-term. He’s a strong playmaker, registering 79 assists in 130 games for the Knights over the past few years, but his top calling cards are his physical involvement and defensive acumen.
That boosts his opportunities for making an NHL transition – unlike some young first-round talents, a fourth-line workload wouldn’t be detrimental to his development if that’s where he first lands upon cracking the Bolts’ roster. Nonetheless, more junior development isn’t the worst thing in the world to see if he can improve his offensive skillset as well and gain the tools necessary to push for a more sound middle-six role in Tampa long-term.
O’Reilly will be turning pro in 2026-27. Whether that’s because he cracks the NHL roster out of camp next fall or starts in AHL Syracuse remains to be seen. Assuming O’Reilly does not reach 10 NHL games this season – an overwhelmingly likely scenario given the early nature of today’s cut – his entry-level contract will slide for a second consecutive campaign. Tampa Bay will still owe him his $96K signing bonus. As a result, his ELC will carry a decreased cap hit of $900,333 when it does go into effect for 2026-27, down from its initial cap hit of $964K had O’Reilly been in the NHL since signing the deal with Edmonton back in October 2024. He’ll be a restricted free agent at age 23 in the 2029 offseason.
Having to continue to have 19 year olds play against 16 year olds does no one any good. The whole AHL age limit crap continues to ruin prospect development
The median average age of OHL rosters is 18.86, and only one team is below 18.5. Worth pointing out that it’s really much closer to playing in your age group than people realize. Although yes, for those 1-2% of elite prospects, it’s more advantageous to have the opportunity to play against seasoned pros in the AHL. That’s the spirit of the upcoming exception that will hopefully come into effect for 2026-27. I’m not sure the Lightning would use that on O’Reilly even if it was available to them, though. Does O’Reilly – even as their top prospect in a thin pool – really slot into that top 1-2% tier?
Prospect camp and pre season game. Very impressive player. Can easily be a number 2 center. He beat some seasoned nhl guys on the dot last night and is a solid hockey player all the way around.
Sam O’Reilly has a really bright future ahead of him. He was impressive overall against a Nashville team that played the majority of their staters last night as he logged the most minutes for Tampa. His potential talent could get him to be a true 2LC but will probably start as 3LC early in his eventual NHL career.