Marco Mignosa spent his junior career giving scouts reasons to look twice.
The Lightning forward, ranked No. 17 in Tampa Bay’s Top 20 Under 25, was expected by some to go much earlier than he did after a strong run in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. Instead, he slipped to 36th in the CHL draft. A rough second season with the Soo Greyhounds may have kept him from hearing his name in his first year of eligibility, and even after he doubled his goal total, he still went undrafted.
Tampa Bay finally took notice after an 85-point season and grabbed him in the seventh round of the 2025 draft. Mignosa then followed that up with 89 points in his final OHL season as an over-ager with the Greyhounds. Now the 21-year-old is headed to Penn State University, where he’s expected to be a major part of an offense that will be missing Gavin McKenna.
The numbers tell one part of the story. Mignosa’s game is built around touch, vision, and patience.
Over 303 OHL games, he piled up 289 points, with 116 goals and 173 assists, and the appeal starts with how he sees the ice. He’s a right-shot forward who can work the puck from the circle and pick apart coverage without needing blazing speed to do it.
The comparison in the source material is a bold one, but the idea is clear: he processes the game at a high level.
His shot gives that playmaking another layer. It’s accurate, it comes off his stick quickly, and he can beat goalies with a one-timer or a wrist shot from just about anywhere. That package should translate well in college, and the source material notes it likely would have held up in the AHL too.
What keeps Mignosa from being a finished product is what still needs tightening before he reaches the pros. His defensive game is already considered fairly good, but he still needs to get stronger and faster. Penn State’s structure and the time it allows for off-ice work could make this a useful stop for him.
There should be no shortage of responsibility right away. He’s expected to land in the top six, work the power play, and kill penalties.
He doesn’t avoid contact, and added strength should help him win more battles along the boards. The source material also suggests he could be one-and-done in Happy Valley before signing his entry-level deal.
Mignosa already got a small taste of the next level when he joined the Crunch on a try-out contract after his junior career ended. Once he gets to Syracuse, the path could move quickly.
Tampa Bay’s lack of impact offensive talent only adds to the possibility that he rises fast through the system. The ceiling described here is a middle-six forward with 20-25 goal potential.
That optimism showed up in the voting too. One fan said, “Mignosa had a good year in OHL see if he can build on that in the NCAA.”
Another added, “I think Mignosa shows a lot of potential.”
His highest ranking was eighth, and 9.3% of the votes placed him 17th.
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