tbl-2026 Tampa Bay Lightning Top 20 Under 25: #5 Ethan Czata

Summary

The Lightning’s second-round pick from 2025 moved into the top five with another effective season in the OHL. Can Ethan Czata take the next step as he finishes off his junior hockey career? Name Ethan Czata Position Forward Age (as of October 1, 2026) 19 Height/Weight 6’2″, 179 lbs. Expected 2026-27 Team Guelph Storm Draft – Year, Round 2025, 2nd (56th) Previous Rankings 11 ( 2025 ) JustinG. Ranking 4 Final Rank 5 Stats: Our Thoughts: Ethan Czata is heading for a big season in 2026-27. After spending the last few seasons playing for the Niagara IceDogs, the 19-year-old was traded to the Guelph Storm as part of the team’s ramp up to hosting the Memorial Cup. He’s expected to be one of their leaders in what should be his final season of junior hockey. Serving as the IceDogs captain last season, he put up a respectable 53-point season, setting a career high in goals with 25. Can he build on those numbers as the Storm chase a trophy? Possibly. It will be interesting to see what his role is on a team that is deeper than the Niagara one he has played for over the past two seasons. It is possible that his numbers dip a little just because he doesn’t see quite as much ice time in prime offensive opportunities. One part of his game that won’t dip is his effort level. Named as one of the hardest workers in the league in a season-ending OHL coaches’ poll , Czata’s game is all about maximum effort. Czata is the type of forward that is annoyingly hard to play against because he is constantly in an opponent’s face whether it’s hounding the puck-carrier on the forecheck or battling along the boards for the puck. He isn’t gifted with the greatest hockey ability in the world, but his effort enhances a pretty solid set of skills that make him a complete, all-around player on the ice. There is also an abounding sense that there is more to his game than what has been realized so far throughout his career. His offense has been solid if not spectacular, and some slight improvements to his skating and passing could help take his game to the next level. At this point he projects as a very solid bottom-six forward that will aggressively defend his side of the ice. If he can unlock a little more offense, he could improve that to a middle-six role. He will likely join the Crunch on another ATO once Guelph’s season is over this spring and get his professional career rolling. The Lightning would like to see him increase his strength a little as he continues to grow into a lanky six-foot-two, one-hundred-seventy-nine-pound frame. With his physical style of play, he’s going to need to keep adding muscle as the opponent’s he likes to battle for the puck will continue to grow in size. Czata did make a brief appearance with the Crunch last season, skating in three regular season games. While he didn’t record a point, he did manage to pick up 17 penalty minutes and a one-game suspension during his brief time in the league. Fifteen of those minutes, and the hit that garnered the suspension happened in his first game. Probably not the debut he was looking to make. The AHL has suspended Ethan Czata for one game for this hit in Wednesday’s game against the Rochester Americans. – This is Czata’s third suspension of the season between the OHL and AHL. #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/Segm2cVhuQ — Future Bolts (@FutureBolts_) April 10, 2026 As the post mentions, it was Czata’s third suspension of the season between the AHL and the OHL (he was suspended for picking up a game misconduct aggressor penalty in October and another for slewfooting in March), and walking the fine line between being physical and being dangerous on the ice is one he’s going to have to keep an eye on as his career develops. Once a player gets a reputation for going over the line, it’s hard to walk it back. At the same time, playing a physical game is how Czata is going to make it to the NHL. So you don’t want to throttle that fearless instinct too much. He just has to learn when to make the right hit, and how not to let his emotions carry him over the line. Unlike some of the players around him on this list, Czata is still a few years away from making the NHL. However, once he does, he could have a nice solid career as a penalty killer and defensive forward with just enough of a touch of offense to keep opponents on their toes. Your Thoughts: Czata’s highest ranking was third (9.3% of the votes) while his most votes came in at sixth (16.3%). Their were only a sprinkling of votes outside of the top ten for him. “Excited to see O’Reilly, Pridham, and Czata in action.” “Czata could be a nice bottom six bruiser for us in the future if all pans out.” “Czata another 3/4 liner.” “Czata I think can be a solid 3rd liner down the line” Highlight Videos: Big Z with the one-t on the power play to ties things up. ⚡️ #DogCountry #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/b7KW9mxVvJ — Niagara IceDogs (@OHLIceDogs) March 29, 2026 Here Czata put one home on the power play with a nice one-timer. He’s not known for having the biggest shot in the league, but he does get it on net pretty well. Chromie clocked in⏰ #DogCountry pic.twitter.com/nuBkqbNwGg — Niagara IceDogs (@OHLIceDogs) March 22, 2026 Czata picked up a helper by making a nice entry pass through the neutral zone and then cleared space with a center-line drive to the net, but what we like about this clip is the denial he made right at the beginning as he used his stick to knock the puck away and force a reset by his opponent. Perfect pass from Patterson🤝 He feeds Ethan Czata who nets his 24th goal of the season to bring the @OHLIceDogs within two! #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/ATg9dgjxvU — Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) March 8, 2026 This is where Czata makes his living offensively, with one foot in the crease. He skated in with his head up the whole way and made a nice decision to pick up the pace just enough to get into an area where his teammate could slip him the puck around the sliding defenseman. If Czata coasts into the slot on that play, the opening isn’t there. Really nice read of the situation. Reader on the Rebound! 2-0 IceDogs #Dogcountry pic.twitter.com/ioKdIRihDU — Niagara IceDogs (@OHLIceDogs) February 28, 2026 It was a rough start to this highlight as Czata fumbled the puck at the blueline, then wasn’t able to knock the pass down in the neutral zone that allowed the other team a solid scoring chance. He didn’t sulk on the play and the action broke the other way he did a good job of corralling a tough pass on his backhand and then fed his teammate a one-timer through some traffic. CZATS DOESN'T MAKE US WAIT LONG⏰ #DogCountry pic.twitter.com/UpWa430A5s — Niagara IceDogs (@OHLIceDogs) February 27, 2026 Won a face-off in the offensive zone. Got to the front of the net. Spun off a defender to free up his stick for the rebound. Put the puck in the net. Pretty simple game, eh?