Observations:

January – The 2013 seventh rounder has been marinating in the Lightning’s farm system since his draft year. Despite scoring less in the AHL than other Lightning prospects, he’s earned a respectable rotation into the banged up Lightning squad at the midway point. His production is largely due to his ability to spot offensive zone gaps and quietly make a positional adjustment. In his season debut, Vermin was allocated 16:13 of ice time and earned two assists. Now that the Lightning are getting back to health he has been returned to Syracuse until his next opportunity. Vermin could eventually slot into a depth role, but before getting too excited, let’s wait until we’re able to see a larger sample size of the 24-year-old. Bryaden Olafson

Fantasy Outlook: C-

Bottom six streaky scorer. Could become more valuable to the team as they bring in other rookies to play more minutes and look for cap relief in the form of depth.

Footage:

Joel Vermin Syracuse Crunch Highlights:

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