By Jakob Pelletier Has Dominated the AHL—Is He Ready for Tampa Bay?
By Ken Filler | Tampa Bay Sports Journal
TAMPA — At some point, there is nothing left for a player to prove in the American Hockey League.
Jakob Pelletier may have reached that point.
After producing one of the best seasons in the AHL in 2025-26, Pelletier will arrive at Tampa Bay Lightning training camp next month facing a simple question: Is it finally time for him to become a full-time NHL player?
Based on what he accomplished with the Syracuse Crunch last season, the answer should be yes.
Pelletier didn’t merely have a good year in Syracuse. He dominated.
The 25-year-old finished with 28 goals and 49 assists for an AHL-leading 77 points in 63 games, winning the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the league’s scoring champion.
He was named a First Team AHL All-Star and later selected as the AHL’s Player of the Year.
He also recorded 31 power-play points, the most among AHL forwards, tied for the league lead with five shorthanded goals, and finished the regular season riding a 20-game scoring streak, the longest in the AHL in more than 17 years.
Those aren’t the numbers of someone simply knocking on the NHL door.
Pelletier is pounding on it.
Pelletier’s Game Has Become More Complete
The most encouraging part for the Lightning isn’t necessarily the 77 points.
Tampa Bay already knew Pelletier had offensive ability. Calgary selected him 26th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft for a reason.
What Pelletier needed to prove was that he could become the kind of complete player Jon Cooper could trust.
That’s where his season in Syracuse may have mattered most.
Crunch coach Joël Bouchard said the organization spent considerable time developing Pelletier’s all-around game.
“He’s got a good mix of everything,” Bouchard told TampaBayLightning.com. “We worked a lot on some of the stuff that will help him get to the next level.”
Pelletier wasn’t just being sent over the boards when Syracuse needed a goal. He killed penalties, became an alternate captain, and worked on the defensive details that can determine whether a talented AHL scorer actually sticks in the NHL.
Pelletier credited Bouchard with helping elevate his overall game.
“I think he has taken me to another level in my game all around,” Pelletier recently told TheAHL.com.
That might be the most important development of all.
We have seen plenty of players score in the AHL and struggle to find a role at the next level.
The Lightning are not going to hand Pelletier top-six minutes and a spot on the first power-play unit simply because he led the AHL in scoring.
He’ll have to earn his opportunity another way.
And now he appears better equipped to do it.
His Brief Lightning Audition Didn’t Tell Us Much
Pelletier appeared in only five games with Tampa Bay last season, averaging 9:16 of ice time and recording four shots without a point.
It’s difficult to draw much of a conclusion from that.
Five games with limited minutes isn’t enough to determine whether a player can become a productive NHL forward when that player is accustomed to handling significant offensive responsibilities in the AHL.
And Pelletier isn’t exactly an NHL newcomer.
He has played 91 NHL games between Calgary, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, recording 11 goals and 29 points.
During the 2024-25 season, he produced seven goals and 19 points in 49 games split between the Flames and Flyers.
Pelletier isn’t a 20-year-old prospect who might need another couple of seasons in Syracuse.
He turns 26 during the upcoming season and is entering a stage of his career where the Lightning need to determine exactly what they have.
There’s a Tampa Bay Precedent Here
If there is one organization that understands the value of giving a player another opportunity, it’s the Lightning.
Yanni Gourde went undrafted.
Carter Verhaeghe spent years bouncing through the minors before reaching Tampa Bay.
Jonathan Marchessault had to fight his way through the AHL before becoming an NHL regular.
Darren Raddysh didn’t establish himself as an NHL defenseman until his late 20s.
Tampa Bay’s development system has made a habit of finding value in players who weren’t necessarily viewed as future NHL stars.
Pelletier actually arrived with a stronger pedigree than most of them.
He’s a former first-round pick who has now won an AHL scoring championship.
The Roster Battle Won’t Be Easy
None of this means Pelletier is guaranteed anything.
That’s where this becomes one of the more interesting Lightning storylines when camp opens.
Pelletier himself understands the challenge.
“It’s a hard team to go there and take a spot,” he told TheAHL.com. “You’ve got to work your way, and then if you get an opportunity, you have to take it.”
Tampa Bay remains loaded with established forwards, and Pelletier won’t be the only younger player trying to force Cooper and general manager Julien BriseBois into a difficult decision.
But there are opportunities deeper in the lineup, and Pelletier’s versatility should help.
He can provide speed, forecheck, and create offense. He has improved defensively and played both special teams.
“The expectations in the AHL are the same as with the Lightning,” Pelletier said.
That’s exactly what Syracuse is supposed to accomplish.
This Could Be Pelletier’s Best — and Biggest — Opportunity
Another factor cannot be overlooked.
Pelletier signed a three-year contract with Tampa Bay in July 2025, and his deal converts to a one-way contract for 2026-27, meaning he will receive an NHL salary regardless of whether he plays in Tampa or Syracuse.
That doesn’t guarantee him a roster spot. But it certainly makes this training camp feel different.
The Lightning didn’t make that commitment without seeing something they liked. And after what Pelletier did last season, he has given the organization even more reason to find out whether his game translates over an extended NHL opportunity.
The question isn’t whether Pelletier can dominate the AHL anymore. He can.
The question is whether the offensive creativity, speed, improved defensive awareness, and relentless energy that made him the league’s top player can make him an effective NHL forward.
The Verdict: Give Him a Real Shot
From this corner, Pelletier deserves more than another handful of NHL games scattered throughout the season.
He deserves a legitimate opportunity to make the Lightning roster out of camp.
Put him in preseason games with NHL-caliber linemates. Give him meaningful minutes. Use him on the penalty kill. See whether the offensive instincts that produced 77 points in Syracuse survive against NHL competition.
Maybe Pelletier becomes a third-line winger who can provide secondary scoring.
Or an energy player who moves throughout the lineup.
Maybe there is even more offensive upside there than we’ve seen so far.
But it’s time to find out.
Bouchard certainly seems convinced Pelletier’s NHL opportunity is coming.
“He’s still a prospect, and he really embraced everything,” Bouchard said. “He’s dedicated and he bought into everything.”
And then the Crunch coach offered the sentence Lightning fans should remember heading into September.
“He’s going to get there.”
Pelletier believes it, too.
“I want to be an NHL player, and I want to be a difference-maker,” he said. “I want to show to everybody that I belong there.”
Now comes the opportunity.
For years, the Lightning’s success has been built partly on finding players others overlooked and turning them into valuable NHL contributors.
Jakob Pelletier doesn’t need to become the next Gourde, Verhaeghe or Marchessault.
He just needs the chance to become the first Jakob Pelletier.
