Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Isaac Howard is coming off an excellent World Juniors tournament. Not only did he produce nine points (seven goals and two assists), but he stood out when his team needed it most. Howard scored two goals in the gold medal game against Sweden, taking home the player of the game award for his heroics. Just how good was he?
Tampa Bay Lightning Prospect Isaac Howard Stands Out At World Juniors
The Lightning have a notably poor prospect pool. While they do have some notable names, none have more expectations and hope behind them quite like Howard. For one, the man called “Ice-Man” is one of the very few first-round prospects that still remain with the Lightning.
This season, the Lightning depth has been tested, and their forward depth of late has been questioned. They lack younger guys who can step in and make a positive impact on a consistent basis. With few draft choices this season, specifically at the top of the draft, that’s not about to change. That’s why Howard’s performance was so important.
Isaac Howard’s Stand-Out Traits
Howard has notably been a smart off-puck player, consistently finding pockets of space in the offensive zone to set up as a scoring threat. From there, his teammates can find him and almost assuredly set up a high-danger scoring opportunity. That was put on display at the World Juniors.
Using Mitch Brown’s tracked data, Howard generated the fourth-most individual scoring chances. Those are chances he created himself with his own shot. In total, he had 21 total chances himself, adding an additional eight shot assists. Shot assists are passes that set up a shot, and those eight count only scoring chances generated off shot assists. In total, throughout the tournament, he created 29 scoring chances, sixth on the team. Additionally, he was good for fourth on the team in expected goals at five-on-five, with 2.8.
Howard’s Weaknesses Still Need Some Work
Ahead of his selection in the 2022 NHL draft, this writer talked about how Howard’s transitional game was merely average among his draft class. Not only that, but Howard struggled in his own end quite often. That was usually due to skating up ice a bit too early, cheating for offence. Howard’s transitional stats were not quite what one would hope.
Again, looking at Brown’s tracked data, Howard generated 12 controlled entries in the tournament, which ranked tied for 15th on the Americans roster. His five controlled zone exits were also tied for 15th on the team. That said, Howard’s transitional abilities did not hinder his game, and likely won’t moving forward. However, the one big takeaway, it can be argued, is that it means he won’t be able to drive his own line. Superstars can drive their line and make plays happen. Howard looks like someone who can be paired with a star and shine alongside them. Which, in Tampa Bay? Might be all they need.
Defensive Impact
Meanwhile, on the defensive end, the same story exists. Howard hardly made any positive impacts. He was the only player on the entire team to not register a single mark in entries prevented on Brown’s data. The only one. In fact, the only positive mark he received was one single defensive zone breakup. Cutter Gauthier was the only other player who had just one defensive zone break-up, while every other player had two or more.
What This Means for Tampa Bay Lightning Prospect Isaac Howard
Howard was drafted for his offensive upside. His constant ability to slip into high-danger areas and capitalize on chances is simply impressive. While he did have a good World Juniors, and is currently producing at over a point-per-game in the NCAA, it’s clear he still has some flaws. For one, he needed to transfer from the University of Minnesota-Duluth to Michigan State, after a rocky freshman season, to find his footing in college. Then, in the World Juniors, he displayed that same ability to find space and finish plays with regularity.
But he also showed that he isn’t quite the high-end forward that he had the potential of becoming. For the Lightning, Howard can still develop into a top-six forward. If he is slotted next to Brayden Point in the future or joins a line with one of Brandon Hagel or Nikita Kucherov, he could be a ton of fun to watch. But if he’s expected to lead his own line and add strong depth behind the stars, that may not work out. Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Isaac Howard is a strong prospect to have, with legitimate 20+ goal potential. But after his World Juniors performance, as good as it was, he also showed he will likely need some help making it to his ceiling.
Main Photo: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
