Lightning select F Isaac Howard with pick No. 31
Howard is committed to play collegiate hockey at University of Minnesota-Duluth next season
A native of Hudson, Wisconsin, Howard led the NTDP Under-18 Team last season with 82 points in 60 games. His 33 goals ranked third on the team and his 49 assists were the second-most among all skaters.
Howard won a silver medal with Team USA at the 2022 IIHF Under-18 World Championship, recording 11 points in just six games with six goals and five assists.
The 5-foot-10, 181-pound forward is committed to play college hockey at University of Minnesota-Duluth, who won the NCAA National Championship in back-to-back years in 2018 and 2019.
Howard has put up points at every level of his career to this point. In his U14 year with Shattuck St. Mary's, he recorded 78 points in just 53 games with 49 goals and 29 assists.
As a 15-year-old the following season at Shattuck, Howard played with the U16 team and picked up 64 points in 38 games with 31 goals and 33 helpers.
From there, it was on to the NTDP. In his first year, Howard saw time with both the U17 and U18 teams as a 16-year-old, first-year player. With the U17's, he recorded an even split of 27 goals and 27 assists for 54 points in 34 games.
With the U18 team, he still averaged over a point per game with 19 points (5G, 14A) in 17 games.
The following season, Howard skated strictly with the U18 team and led the team with 82 points in 60 games. His 33 goals ranked third among all U.S. skaters, while his 49 assists ranked second.
Howard went on to win a silver medal with Team USA at the 2022 IIHF Men's World Championship and led all U.S. forwards with 11 points (6G, 5A) in six games. Only two players in the entire tournament recorded more than Howard's 11 points and only two players scored more goals than his six.
With all those points under his belt, Howard certainly doesn't lack confidence. He sported an all-white suit on Thursday night with a blue turtleneck underneath his jacket and an American flag belt buckle to top it off.
"I'm the best-looking guy here and I dress the best," said Howard. "Dress to impress."
In NHL Central Scouting's final rankings for this year's draft, Howard was ranked the ninth-best North American skater. He was ranked the 20th best player overall by TSN's Bob McKenzie.
Selecting Howard at 31 feels like a steal for Tampa Bay, who are acquiring a really strong offensive talent that would certainly agree with that assessment. After being selected by the Bolts, Howard was asked what makes his new team so special.
"I think they've got the best draft picks," said Howard. "I think that's the steal of the draft right there and that's why they're the best organization."
Howard is a great skater with a really nice scoring touch. Often known for that ability to score goals, scouts have said that Howard also flashed serious playmaking ability throughout this past season, as evidenced by his 49 assists.
Watching film on the Wisconsin native, you can see the compete level in his game. He's not afraid to go to the dirty areas of the ice and has scored a lot of goals using his speed and driving hard to the net.
Howard's got really nice hands and has shown a knack for finishing off a lot of plays in tight. He has the ability to beat the goalie with a quick wrister or a nice backhand-forehand move.
His skating, passing, and finishing ability all stand out watching him play. If he's not scoring goals, he's scanning the offensive zone and making great passes to his teammates. That aspect of his game can sometimes feel similar to Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, who Howard has said is his favorite NHL player.
Likely heading to UMD next year, it should be fun to watch what steps Howard can take in his development as he looks to pave his path to the NHL.
On Friday, the Lightning have six more selections to make with draft picks in the fourth round (103rd overall, from Chicago), fifth round (160th overall), sixth round (169th overall, from Detroit and 192nd overall) and seventh round (223rd overall, from New York and 224th overall).
Round 2 is set to begin at 11 a.m. ET on Friday morning and will run all the way through the conclusion of Round 7.
Shortly after the draft, the Bolts will open their 2022 Development Camp when players hit the ice on Monday. A formal schedule and roster will be made available at a later date.
