With the 14th pick in the National Hockey League draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning looked to further solidifying a defense that needs help. 18-year-old Callan Foote, from the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets was considered one of the top defensive prospects in this year’s draft, and will bring his size and pedigree to the Lightning in the years to come.
Once Foote makes the Lightning roster, it will make him a second generation NHLer, following in his father’s footsteps. Adam Foote was a first round draft pick by the Quebec Nordiques – the team that turned into the Colorado Avelanche – in 1989, and played as a defenseman in the NHL from 1991 until retiring in 2011.
The older Foote was known as a physical presence, providing a career total of 66 goals and 242 assists while also racking up 1,534 penalty minutes for the teams he played for. While those are decent statistics for an NHL defenseman of that era, the game has changed since then, and the younger Foote will have more to focus on.
Fortunately, it seems the kid will be up for the challenge. Already sporting a big league ready physique at 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 215 pounds, Foote also brings one thing that scouts say sets him apart from other prospects, an NHL ready mind.
The scouts keep saying it in different ways, such as “high hockey IQ” and “incredibly smart”, but having a mind like that at that young of an age will help Foote immensely in his career, especially at defense, one of the hardest positions to learn on the ice.
This high hockey IQ got him noticed by the head coach of the Canadian junior hockey team’s head coach, Dominique Ducharme. While he was not eligible to play in the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship, it would not be surprising to see him play for team Canada in future world tournaments.
“You look at him, he’s got size, he’s smart and you can see that he’s willing,” Ducharme told NHL.com. “He wants to be a player and he’s learning quick.”
Of course, just being smart will not be enough to get Foote ice time, and he is not lacking on the skill set either. He has developed into a solid passer, notching 51 assists last season with the Rockets. Combined with a heavy shot that gave him six goals, and Foote could become a player other teams must look for when defending.
The scouts view Foote as being a potential top line star in the NHL. If he can develop into one, it would give the Lightning a scary top blueline pair in Foote and Victor Hedman, who is already considered one of the best defensemen in the game today.
Given his top flight potential and already solid hockey mind, it would not be surprising to see Foote climb up the minor leagues and join the Lightning sooner, rather than later.