from Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province,

When Steve Yzerman took over in Tampa, he issued a mandate to the organization’s scouts and player development department that sounded a lot like the directive issued by every NHL franchise.

The Lightning, ta da, would build their team around fast, skilled, hard-working players. Great. Real bombshell there, Stevie Y.

But it was the subtext of Yzerman’s decree that was the real story in Tampa. The Bolts would draft for speed and skill, irrespective of the size of the player. Again, a lot of organizations preached the same thing but the Bolts actually put Yzerman’s dictum into practice.

Ten years ago, that was heresy in the NHL. Today, well, just look at the standings, where the Lightning own the best record in the NHL and they’ve done it with a forward group that is barely tall enough to qualify for the rides at Disneyland.

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