How a ‘life-changing’ summer has Taylor Raddysh poised to make the Lightning’s roster

Taylor Raddysh had some rather hard conversations with his trainer in the summer of 2020.

The sports world had just shut down due to COVID-19, and prospects like Raddysh didn’t know when their next game would be. That period could be career-changing for some players, depending on how they handled it.

Raddysh, 23, was four years removed from being drafted in the second round by the Lightning in 2016. His shot and his scoring ability are special, which is what put him high in the draft and on Canada’s World Junior team. But after two pro seasons with AHL Syracuse, he was at a bit of a crossroads.

“Are you going to be a guy that bounces around the AHL and ends up in Europe?” athletic performance coach Dan Noble asked. “Or are you going to become the player you know you can become?’

“And Taylor took it and ran with it.”

That is now evident from watching Raddysh in Lightning training camp. Sure, the elite shot is there. But Raddysh also is leaner and faster. He’s first on pucks in battles and he’s flying around the ice. He got called up by the Lightning last year during the regular season, and while he didn’t appear in a game due to salary-cap reasons, Raddysh made a strong impression.

“He looks like an NHL player,” said Lightning color analyst Brian Engblom, a two-time Cup-winning defenseman. “He’s built like an NHL player. He shoots like an NHL player. Is he?”

There are a few forward spots available for the opening night roster, and Raddysh has a good shot at claiming one of them.

“He’s paid his dues,” coach Jon Cooper said. “He’s been much along the lines of (Ross) Colton — the guys that played in the minors and got their shot and made the best of it. He hasn’t played here yet, but if this is any indication, he’ll have every opportunity. He looks poised and ready, both physically and mentally, to take the next step.

“Now it’s up to him.”

It’s not like Raddysh was fledgling in the minors during his first two seasons. He scored 18 and 19 goals, respectively. He was a force on the power play. At 6-foot-3, 198 pounds, he was a rare power forward on the Crunch.

“The biggest thing is that Taylor looks like (Rob) Gronkowski,” Noble said. “He’s a big man. And he probably carried too much weight in the past.”

Raddysh was a solid AHL player, but he was too inconsistent. One night, he’d lead the way. Another night, he wouldn’t be noticed as much. He had too much talent for that to be the case. He needed to be able to create space for his own shots. He had to win more battles. He couldn’t be one-dimensional.

The work started while the Lightning were on their 2020 Stanley Cup run in the bubble. And it continued after. Raddysh usually trains in the offseason at Grit Athletics outside of Toronto with Noble in a group that includes the Leafs’ Mitch Marner, the Islanders’ Michael Dal Colle, Anthony Cirelli and his brother, Darren Raddysh.

Amid COVID-19 protocols, the workouts went virtual.

Noble set up video conferences with all of his guys, splitting his computer screen. In one corner, there was Marner. Another corner was Cirelli. Another featured some players from the women’s national team. And another was Raddysh, who worked out in his garage.

“It was like a circus,” Noble said. “Everyone was locked inside. Then we got to go inside the gym, and we were sneaking in backdoors of rinks. Nothing was easy. Training in masks for 12 months, inside doing conditioning, that’s not easy stuff. But I’ll be honest, that’s what changed him.

“He doubled down on himself and went to a different place, mentally and physically. It was definitely a life-changing summer for him.”

Noble said Raddysh cleaned up his diet, eliminating junk food and limiting alcohol. “It was not a dramatic lifestyle switch,” Noble said. “Momma’s cooking had to go. It’s just eating clean and not coming home and having a beer on a Tuesday.”

But Raddysh hit the gym hard, focusing on his explosiveness and speed. There was a lot of running, hills and jumps. After his on-ice workouts, he rode the bike when he got home. He’d work with the Lightning’s skating coaches, too. But dropping approximately 15 pounds made it a lot easier.

“That was the main thing — the speed of the game is so fast,” Raddysh said. “To make that change was a big help for me. That’s the biggest area of my game I needed to work on, and have been working on since I got drafted by the Lightning. Getting a little faster was the main goal.”

Taylor Raddysh in workouts in Ontario, Canada. (Courtesy of Dan Noble)

AHL Syracuse coach Ben Groulx sensed the difference in Raddysh and teammate Boris Katchouk, so much so that when Colton got called up, Groulx made the two part of the Crunch’s leadership group. Raddysh had 29 points (including 12 goals) in 27 games with the Crunch.

“They were our best players,” Groulx said. “Very consistent. They came back from home more fit, better than ever. It showed on the ice. When you’re home for so long, it’s a test for our players to know who is going to take a big step or a step back. Who is going to stay the same? Those two were among the guys who took a big step. They took it very seriously. It showed maturity. Both of them are good 200-foot players, they were the drivers on our team.

“I feel they can go in the NHL and play.”

Raddysh saw former Crunch teammates like Colton and Alex Barre-Boulet get their callup and chance to play in the NHL. It was motivating. Raddysh got called up to the taxi squad in March and spent a significant amount of time practicing with the team. Cooper said he wished he had been able to get Raddysh in a game, but the Lightning were hampered by salary cap issues.

“He was a little upset he didn’t get to play, but that’s the way hockey is,” said Taylor’s brother, Darren, a Lightning defense prospect. “And it just made him hungrier this year to earn a spot and make sure he gets in a game.”

Raddysh said just being around the Lightning during the Cup run was a very beneficial experience.

Veteran players like Pat Maroon made him feel comfortable right away. There were subtle conversations, tips during drills, or guys like Maroon just handing out his phone number in case he was needed. It’s part of the pay-it-forward culture of the organization. “From the time I got called up, they made me feel like part of the team, like I was playing every night,” he said. Raddysh learned a lot about how stars like Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov practiced. He got a feel for the NHL lifestyle too, including the road trips.

“It was really cool to be part of,” Raddysh said. “What their everyday life was like in the playoffs, just being there for the whole ride, was an awesome time for us. You get a taste of what it’s like, how much fun it is. To see the joy on their faces, it gave me and the rest of the guys there, we felt like we were part of it. It gives you a lot of motivation to be there, to be able to win a championship.”

Cirelli believes Raddysh is close to getting his chance with the Lightning, noting all the improvements he’s made during the offseason workouts together. “He’s stronger on the pucks, winning battles,” Cirelli said. “He scores every time in the summer skates.” While the summer of 2020 served as a turning point for Raddysh, there weren’t any doubts, at least in his mind.

“He’s always believed he can play in the NHL,” Darren Raddysh said. “I just think he needed to put all the things together and he’s finally done that. You can see it on the ice in practice. He’s one of the fastest guys out there, he’s making plays.”

Noble said Raddysh is now below 10 percent body fat — “He’s shredded,” Noble said — and that’s going to help him as he adjusts to playing in the NHL regularly.

“When you get rid of that dead weight, people underestimate the impact on your ability to move, the lateral quickness,” Noble said. “His ability to get in and out with the puck and not lose any strength. He’s as strong as he was before, just significantly faster and quicker.”

Darren and Taylor have helped each other throughout this process because both are trying to make the team. Darren said they are on the same floor at the downtown Tampa hotel they’re living in during camp, and they often will grab dinner together. They played together in juniors and as kids, so “it’s natural,” Darren said.

Darren didn’t make it to Tampa for the Stanley Cup, but he said he would have gone if Raddysh had gotten in a game. Raddysh video-called him from the Amalie Arena ice after he got to hoist the Stanley Cup, but it was so loud, they couldn’t hear each other. The next day, Taylor tried again. Darren laughs remembering how “rough” Taylor looked after a night of celebrating.

Darren told Taylor during the run that being on a Cup team is “something that may never happen again,” and that he should try to enjoy it.

“You didn’t get in a game,” Darren said, “but you’re part of this team. Enjoy every moment.”

Before they hung up, Taylor told Darren: “Next time, I’ll be playing.”

(Top photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)