The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired the rights of forward prospect Jack Pridham from the Chicago Blackhawks. The 20-year-old Pridham was not expected to sign with Chicago before the 5 P.M. deadline on June 1st, which would have terminated Chicago’s holds over his player rights after a third-round selection in 2024. Tampa Bay has sent a 2027 third-round pick back to Chicago in exchange for Pridham’s rights.
Additionally, the Lightning announced that Pridham will announce an NCAA commitment in the coming days, which will extend his NHL rights until his graduation or departure from school. That will give Tampa Bay plenty of time to decide if they would like to ink Pridham to an entry-level deal. The young forward was previously committed to Boston University; a commitment that he has since rescinded.
Pridham took home the CHL’s Memorial Cup with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers on the eve of his trade to Tampa Bay. He was a true star for Kitchener all season long, racking up a team-leading 46 goals and 90 points in 65 regular season games. That dominance continued into the postseason, when Pridham totaled 17 points in 18 games – fourth-most on the team. The performance was an exciting step forward after Pridham’s OHL debut last season. He scored 54 points, split evenly, in 48 games of his first OHL season after spending just over one season in the BCHL.
The young forward has long used his strong, 6-foot-2 frame to battle for space and protect the puck. This season, he added an encouraging layer of speed to his game, and found more space operating off of stellar additions to the Rangers lineup, including fellow Bolts prospect Sam O’Reilly, who won the OHL’s regular-season MVP, playoffs MVP, and Memorial Cup MVP. The two-way center, and two-time Memorial Cup-winner, put in a lot of the hard-work needed to open space for scorers like Pridham.
Now, Tampa Bay will hope the duo can one day rediscover their spark in the NHL. First, Pridham will pursue a career in college hockey. He will stand as, perhaps, the top available recruit and could be a strong addition to the Boston circuit, Big Ten, or a trailblazer in the NCHC. Pridham is the son of former Toronto Maple Leafs’ assistant general manager Brandon Pridham. That NHL experience should drive the younger Pridham towards big goals, though his ability to reach them will be rooted in his ability to keep the scoring rolling through a step up in competition next season.
Actually kind of surprised they got a a 3rd back for his rights since he was originally a 3rd round pick. That’s actually another nice move by Davidson.
Jack Pridham is another promising Chicago prospect acquired by Tampa (the stats and metrics show it). This follows Tampa’s successful trade for Brandon Hagel from Chicago, which has yielded excellent results. Similarly, Tampa picked up Dominic James from Chicago in a comparable situation to Pridham, and that move appears to be another shrewd acquisition. Pridham is likely to develop into an NHL-caliber player under Tampa’s guidance, as the team has demonstrated a strong ability to nurture talent, regardless of the round in which players are drafted. This is a win for Tampa more so than Chicago.
Facts are he was a 3rd round pick who looked at the Hawks prospects and saw what they have now and what they have coming, 4 1sts and 5 seconds in the next 2 years and figured out he could go to another team that was basically older and had traded away a bunch of their draft picks to compete. Actually a pretty smart move on his part. He’ll get a much better look in Tampa than he would have in Chicago. I don’t blame him. Hawks got back equal value when they could have ended up with nothing. It’s fine.