What makes Lightning top draft pick Jan Golicic so intriguing to Bolts?

BRANDON — At first glance, Jan Golicic looks more like a basketball player than a hockey prospect. He is 6 feet 6, long and lean, a lot of arms and legs.

But on the ice, the potential he carries because of his size is unmistakable. Hockey is a big man’s game, and he has yet to fill out since his adolescent growth spurt. When you watch him skate, you can’t help but think of another big European defenseman the Lightning drafted 15 years ago because of his length.

It’s a bit unfair to compare Golicic, the Lightning’s first pick in last weekend’s NHL draft at 118th overall, to star Victor Hedman, who had a good 25 pounds on Golicic and was already a NHL-ready player when he was drafted second overall in 2008.

But Golicic, who turned 18 on Sunday and barely weighs 200 pounds, still has plenty of room to grow, and the Lightning are intrigued by his promise.

Golicic certainly stands out at this week’s development camp, which includes players who were just drafted as well as ones selected in recent years.

“It’s been amazing,” Golicic said. “It’s everything you can dream off. They have coaches for everything, so you can develop so much at this thing. So I’m just trying to enjoy my time here and just (improve on) the weaknesses I have and I think it’s the perfect place for that.”

The 3-on-3 tournament, held over the final two days, is wide open. There’s no hitting, so it’s not necessarily made for a player like Golicic, but there’s still the opportunity there to stand out.

“I know that guys are good,” he said. “So it’s going to be fun to see what’s going to happen. The physicality, I know we can hit, but I’m just gonna try to be a defensive defenseman just shut down the guys fast.”

Golicic is the first player the Lightning have drafted out of Slovenia and only the eighth player overall to be selected out of the country. He’s the first since 2017. Only three Slovenian-born players have gone on play a game in the NHL, most notably Kings forward and future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar.

After playing above his age divisions in Slovenia and Austria, Golicic had his first taste of North American hockey last season playing for Gatineau of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, recording three goals and 26 assists in 65 games. The transition was certainly a valuable learning experience as a 17-year-old.

“Definitely 100%,” Golicic said. “You just want to be tough to play against. I know because I’m a tall guy, guys are going to try to knock me off my game and just try to be physical with me. So I liked that. It gets me in my game and I think once I get some weight on, I think it’s going to be even more fun.”

Golicic initially struggled in his first season at Gatineau, posting a minus-15 in his first 34 games. But when the calendar flipped to the new year, he started finding his two-way game, recording a plus-11 in his last 31 games. He showed growth, and Golicic will return to Gatineau this season.

“It’s completely different,” he said. “The game’s faster, players are more skilled and fast. So you just have to adapt. At the beginning of the season. I was struggling a little bit. I wasn’t used to the game. And as a year went on, I kept progressing. I think I got used to it pretty fast.”

While Golicic said he models his game after Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola, a hard, physical stay-at-home defenseman out of Finland, he said Hedman was always his idol. He has studied the way he plays and shown similar aspects to his game, getting up the ice quickly with his offensive capabilities highlighted by a strong shot from above the circles. He is focused on improving his skating, always a main theme of development camp.

“I like (Hedman’s) mindset, his IQ, he makes nice passes tape to tape and he’s reading the game so well,” Golicic said. “His positioning is awesome. He gives forwards no space and time. ... So it was really nice when I got drafted here.”

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