After returning winger Conor Sheary to the minors this morning, the Lightning wasted little time filling his vacated roster spot. The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Dylan Duke from AHL Syracuse.
It’s the first career regular season recall for the 21-year-old. Duke was selected late in the fourth round back in 2021 by Tampa Bay, going 126th overall. He spent three seasons at the University of Michigan, the last of which was a dominant effort coming last season that saw him record 26 goals and 23 assists in just 41 games, good for a share of 11th in Division I scoring. Duke also had a brief stint with the Crunch last season, getting into three regular season games and five playoff contests.
Duke has played exclusively with Syracuse so far in his first professional campaign. Through 36 outings this season, he has 13 goals and nine assists, ranking him tied for third in points on the Crunch while being their only double-digit goalscorer.
With the recall, Tampa Bay’s active roster now stands at 22 players but that likely won’t be the case for long. With the 4 Nations Face-Off break coming up next week, Duke will likely be returned to the Crunch at that time.
I’ll be really curious to see Dylan Duke who’s one of Tampa’s most promising prospects, perform this weekend in his first NHL opportunity. Duke has shown a lot of promise in Syracuse in being potentially a really solid bottom-six performer.