TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Lightning traded up six spots to grab forward Oleg Kulebiakin with the 52nd overall pick at the 2026 NHL Draft, securing a player Director of Amateur Scouting John Rosso called the franchise’s top choice since midseason.
The Lightning sent a second and fifth-round pick in this year’s draft to the Edmonton Oilers to move up and land Kulebiakin, one of six selections Tampa Bay made on Day 2. The haul included three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie — a full restocking of the prospect pipeline for a franchise that went without a first-round pick for a fourth straight year.
“It was a guy that we had targeted, I’d probably say about midseason, that we thought we might have a chance at at that spot. We had multiple guys go watch him, and everyone was kind of on the same page,” Rosso said.
Rosso described the trade-up as a straightforward calculation once the scouting staff aligned on Kulebiakin as the clear target at that range.
“Every year I feel like if everyone’s on the same page on the player, it just makes it easier to make the pick, so on that one it was pretty obvious that that’s who we wanted, and then we traded up…We thought the price was fair and the value was fair, and we got the player that we really wanted,” Rosso said.
The Lightning’s draft strategy has followed a consistent pattern over the past four years: no first-round selection, followed by aggressive maneuvering on Day 2 to add depth across positions. This year’s six picks gave Tampa Bay coverage at every position group, with the Kulebiakin selection serving as the centerpiece.
The Lightning’s newly drafted prospects are expected to report to development camp in Tampa later this summer.