The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled forward Gage Goncalves from the Syracuse Crunch, just one day after the American Hockey League (AHL) announced that the 22-year-old will represent the North Division at the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic, which will be held Feb. 4-5 in San Jose, California. The 6-foot, 181-pound center was selected by Tampa Bay, 62nd overall, in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. He is looking to make his NHL debut tonight (Jan. 11) as the Lightning host the New Jersey Devils.
Goncalves leads the Crunch in assists (23), power-play assists (10), and points (30) through 33 games played this season. The Mission, British Columbia native has skated in 176 career AHL games, all with the Crunch, recording 37 goals and 117 points. He has also appeared in 10 career Calder Cup Playoff games with Syracuse and tallied three goals and six points.
Crunch Players Getting Auditions
Goncalves joins a steadily growing list of players recalled from Syracuse for a one-game experience. Previously, three Crunch defensemen made their NHL debuts last week for the Lightning. Declan Carlile debuted Thursday (Jan. 4) in Minnesota and finished with 11:27 of ice time and a plus-1 rating in a Lightning win. Jack Thompson and Emil Lilleberg saw their first NHL action on Saturday (Jan. 6) in Boston. Thompson finished with 11:39 of ice time, while Lilleberg had 11:48 in Tampa Bay’s loss. Carlile and Thompson are back with the Crunch, while Lilleberg remains with the Lightning and picked up his first career point by getting an assist on Tuesday (Jan. 9) in the Lightning’s victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
The team may be looking to see how some of their prospects perform in an NHL game. With the trade deadline approaching, this could indicate that the team will be making some moves, and these auditions will either give other teams a look as they may be part of a trade or if they can step in and contribute if one of the current members of the Lightning is dealt away.
