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Tampa Bay Lightning: Player Evaluation Part 9: Erik Cernak

Let’s go a little younger as well, and look at rookie defenseman Erik Cernak.

Cernak was called up due to injuries after the year had already gotten under way, and he never looked back. He went from a temporary roster player, to being rotated with other defenseman on the bottom pair, to being a mainstay in the top 4, and finally being paired up with Ryan McDonagh, who I previously evaluated.

But, just how good was Cernak this season?

The Basics

Cernak played 58 games at the NHL level, where he scored 5 goals (0.