The first-round pick (No. 31) didn't have any hockey equipment with him. So he ended up using Nikita Kucherov's stick for the week.
"He had the closest bag to mine," Howard said. "It's pretty cool. It's got a lot of points and a lot of goals on it."
Howard would love to replicate Kucherov's success with the Lightning one day. The 18-year-old from Hudson, Wisconsin, had 101 points (38 goals, 63 assists) in 77 games in two seasons with the United States National Team Development Under-18 Team.
"I'm a goal-scoring winger who loves to create offense every time I'm on the ice," Howard said. "I think that's super important. Scoring goals ... that's how you win games."
Winning games, and championships, has become synonymous with the Lightning, who won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021 before losing in the Cup Final to the Colorado Avalanche in six games last season.
Howard (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) excelled in tournament play when he had 11 points (six goals, five assists) in six games to help the United States finish second at the 2022 IIHF Under-18 World Championship.
He also drew a lot of attention at the draft for his white suit and American flag belt buckle. He was a little more low-key at development camp.
"I am kind of running out of clothes here," Howard said. "But you get some team gear, so it's good. I am just trying to take it all in. Just being in this organization, putting on the jersey. I got to do some power skating and a little skill work."
Lightning assistant general manager and director of player development Stacy Roest said it was important not to put too much on Howard for his first camp.
"It's about getting to know the person and the personality," Roest said. "We want to see what he needs, see how he is in the gym, see how he's moving. We'll send him home with some homework for the summer and then he goes to school and we'll keep watching and keep in touch with him."
Howard will be a freshman at Minnesota-Duluth this season. He said that the plan is for him to play two seasons in college before turning pro.
He'll work on building his game in college, but the allure of playing for the Lightning one day will be on his mind after his first visit to Tampa.
"I just want to be part of the culture of this team, this Tampa culture," Howard said. "It doesn't even seem real that they could have this great of an organization in Florida. It's like I'm on vacation and still doing what I love. I went to the beach already, I've gone in the ocean. The weather is great."
