Oleg Kulebiakin didn’t just land with the Lightning in the NHL Draft. He landed with the team he grew up rooting for.
The 18-year-old Russian forward was Tampa Bay’s second-round pick, and the moment carried extra weight because his favorite player was Nikita Kucherov. Kulebiakin said he had been a Lightning fan since he was 10, and that he finally got to meet the man he’d been watching all those years during Lightning Development Camp.
"Before the second ice session, I met him. I said, 'Hi,' and my hands were shaking," Kulebiakin said.
The Kucherov comparisons have followed Kulebiakin, but Lightning general manager Julien Brisebois made it clear he sees that as a high bar rather than a clean label.
"His skill level is really high. Truth be told, any comparison to Nikita Kucherov is unfair. The one thing I hope all of our players take from Nikita is his work ethic, commitment to excellence, and being the best player he can be," Brisebois said.
There was another emotional layer to the pick, too. Kucherov himself was a second-round selection by Tampa Bay 15 years ago, and Kulebiakin said his family was watching the draft together and waiting for the Lightning’s turn.
"We watched the whole draft with my family. We waited for Tampa's pick because we all love Tampa.
When he called my name, I was crying. My mom, my dad... everybody was crying.
It was unbelievable," Kulebiakin said.
Kulebiakin comes off a strong season in Quebec, where he scored 29 goals and finished with 73 points. He is committed to the University of Massachusetts, but his eyes are already on the next step.
"I want to work more right now because my dream is to play here with the NHL players. I'm ready to work," Kulebiakin said.
For Kulebiakin, pulling on the Lightning jersey was more than a draft-day moment.
"It was a dream to put this jersey... this logo over my body. That was a dream come true, and I'm so happy to be here," Kulebiakin said.
In Other News...
Lightning Fans Just Got A New Twist On Kucherov And Vasilevskiy
The International Olympic Committees decision to lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee has reopened a path for Russian athletes to potentially compete under their own flag at the 2030 Winter Olympics, and that naturally catches the eye in Tampa Bay. For Lightning fans, any shift in the international landscape around Russia brings immediate intrigue because it could eventually affect the Olympic futures of familiar stars such as Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Still, the picture is far from settled. The International Ice Hockey Federation has not yet reinstated Russia for international hockey, and the IOC says it will keep monitoring compliance tied to Ukrainian territories and anti-doping rules before everything is fully sorted out, including the later call on the anthem and flag. So while the door is more open than it was, there is still plenty left to be decided before anyone in Lightning blue can start thinking about a clean Olympic return. [Read more 🡒]