When Jake Guentzel signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning this summer, plenty of fans were excited that the 30-year-old forward was a perfect fit for Tampa Bay.
Defending Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov is one of the most dangerous players in the NHL. Center Brayden Point reached the 90-point mark in each of the past two seasons and has 21 goals in 26 games this season.
How would Guentzel fit with two of the NHL’s most prolific attackers?
Thirty games into the 2024-25 season, the answer appears to be: seamlessly.
Just ask an NHL scout, perhaps one who knows Guentzel better than anyone—Jake’s father, Mike, is a pro scout for Utah Hockey Club. He watched Jake and the Lightning on Thursday night at AMALIE Arena, a game that ended as a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.
“For me personally, I thought it took some time,” Mike Guentzel said from the press box on Thursday regarding Jake learning to play with Point and Kucherov.
With Point and Kucherov having played together for years, their familiarity is established. Guentzel had to learn some of their common traits and approaches in the offensive zone.
“I thought maybe he overpassed a little bit early,” Mike said, “but I think he's become more comfortable now knowing where they're at, knowing where he's got to be in his spots.”
Tampa Bay’s top-scoring line attacks the net often, and Guentzel has played a part in that. Through 30 games, Guentzel sits second on the team in goals (18) and fourth in points (33). His 18 goals are tied for eighth-most in the NHL this season as of Friday morning.
Guentzel has the NHL’s longest scoring streak this season, scoring goals in seven consecutive games before Thursday.
Guentzel has nine goals from the high-danger area directly in front of the net, according to the league’s data tracking website, NHL Edge. That places him just outside the league’s top ten in high-danger goals.
The NHL scout in Jake’s family doesn’t think that’s by coincidence.
“He understands where to go. Jake is obviously not the biggest guy in the league, but he plays in the strong, hard areas,” Mike Guenzel said of his son. “And to have success in this league I think you have to play at the net or inside the dots and Jake has always had the ability to try to get in there and battle. Sometimes he gets outmuscled, but most times he ends up out-positioning guys and outsmarting guys. And he finds quiet ice well.”
Mike is in his seventh year as an NHL scout after beginning with former Arizona Coyotes general manager John Chayka. He continued when Bill Armstrong took over GM duties in Arizona and stayed for the move to Utah this offseason.
Mike knows some other Lightning players already—rookie Conor Geekie and JJ Moser were both Arizona draft picks before being dealt to Tampa Bay in a trade. Tampa Bay defenseman Emil Lilleberg was also an Arizona draft pick before signing with Tampa Bay in free agency.
Through his scouting assignments with Utah, Mike has been able to see Jake play on a few separate occasions this season, including a pair of games in December and two more in November.
“I never take it for granted,” the longtime hockey coach at the University of Minnesota said of having a career in hockey and sometimes getting to watch his son play as a result.
“You always realize when you’re watching some high-end players like (Cale) Makar, (Nathan) MacKinnon, (Kirill) Kaprizov, how competitive the league is. Sometimes I’m probably not giving Jake as much credit for what he’s been able to do based on the fact that he’s my kid and I have higher expectations, but you realize how good this league is.”
Father. Hockey fan. Pro scout.
Regardless of which lens he uses to watch the Lightning, Mike said there is no denying the danger of Tampa Bay’s new Guentzel-Point-Kucherov trio up front.
"Obviously that line can possess the puck. They have the puck a lot and they understand where each other are at. Kucherov is a unique player, and he plays a lot on the half wall, whether it's power play or 5-on-5. Jake has gotten back to where his strength is, to go to the net and screen the goalie and look for rebounds and deflections and things like that. And Point is so good at opening up the ice, so I think that helps Jake."
