Bolts Beginnings presented by BRANDT is an original Lightning video series that takes fans to our player's hometowns to meet the people and see the places that shaped their early years.

The Season 3 premiere features a trip to Georgetown and Caledon, Ontario to see where defenseman Darren Raddysh grew up.

Welcome to the third season of “Bolts Beginnings,” a series aimed at transporting you, the fans, back in time with some of your favorite Tampa Bay Lightning players.

The series has provided Bolts Nation with a deep dive into questions they may not have had an answer for in the past. Who had an impact on Anthony Cirelli as a child? How strong is the connection between Victor Hedman and his home country of Sweden? What is the significance of the “Golden Handshake” for Darren Raddysh? You’ll have to watch this episode for the answer to that last one.

Raddysh, a defenseman in his second full season with the Lightning, is the star of this episode of “Bolts Beginnings.” We had the honor of touring his hometown with him and his family in July and it could not have been a better experience.

Hi, Lightning fans. It’s Gabby Shirley here and I’m going to be sharing some of the most memorable moments from this shoot with all of you. While I have been debating which moments to highlight, I certainly did not have any trouble identifying the top moment. That brings us to Lorraine Emerson, Darren’s grandmother.

Lorraine lives in a retirement facility in Georgetown, and she is definitely one of Darren’s favorite people. When he is there in the summer, he prioritizes spending time with her and that does not surprise me after meeting her on our trip. An absolutely lovely woman, Lorraine is chatty, witty and forever proud of her family. We had the pleasure of interviewing Lorraine in her home as she sat on her Chesterfield next to Darren. Yes, she calls a couch a Chesterfield. That was a new one to me!

Following that interview, we gathered our gear and walked to the main entrance together to say our goodbyes. I specifically remember Lorraine requesting a photo of all of us, but it was not for a picture frame in her living room. It was for the “pamphlet” that, from my understanding, would be distributed to the residents of that facility in the near future. Darren may have been the star of this episode, but Lorriane nearly stole the show!

Before you knew Darren, you probably knew his younger brother, Taylor. Taylor was drafted by Tampa Bay in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft and, while wearing a Lightning sweater, made his NHL debut on October 12, 2021.

Less than three months later, Darren was making his NHL debut in similar fashion after signing with the Bolts as a free agent in July of 2021. While the two brothers are extremely competitive, they are also extremely close, and it was special to see that bond. We followed them from hole to hole at The Pulpit Club, which is where they typically play golf in the summer. I had a front row seat to some fantastic swings, some hilarious chirps, and, as you would expect, some sweet stories. Although, they did mention a brotherly brawl that apparently happened in the middle of a round the previous summer.

Finally, I would be doing all of you a disservice if I did not paint you a picture of Darren in his high school lacrosse uniform. It was not navy and white nor black and gold. It was cow print! Why? As Darren told us, the school was surrounded by farmland and wanted to embrace its surroundings. You herd it here first.

Those were some of my top highlights from the trip, but reading this article alone simply won’t do Darren’s story justice. Bolts fans, click play, sit back and relax. I hope you enjoy watching this episode as much as we enjoyed putting it together!