WHL Stars & NHL Debuts: Lightning strikes for Tampa Bay’s Jack Finley
Boston, Mass.- Jack Finley was dialed into practice with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch on Tuesday morning.
The team was gearing up for a key tilt against the Providence Bruins when the coaches blew the whistle for a team announcement.
Finley was being called up to the NHL.
But he wouldn’t have a spare minute to celebrate with his teammates.
The 22-year-old needed to get packed and get to the airport as quickly as possible.
“I had to get out of there right away and hop on a plane,” Finley grinned postgame. “Landed here, had a shower, and came to the rink. So it was a quick turnaround, didn’t really matter to me. Getting the shot is all I wanted.”
Rookie lap to start us off 🤝 pic.twitter.com/45GoSnwcZm
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 15, 2025
The towering 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward took the ice by himself for a rookie lap in front of a roaring, hostile crowd at Boston’s TD Garden.
The Bruins prevailed 6-2, which included two empty-net goals in a tight match.
While the Lightning would come up short against the Eastern Conference-rival Bruins, Finley finished the game with 8:25 of ice time, registering a plus-one rating, a shot and a hit.
He also went three-for-five on the faceoff dot.
Finley was on the wing when Lightning rookie and former WHL star Conor Geekie fired his sixth goal of the season home to get Tampa Bay on the board.
“It was unbelievable,” Finley beamed. “Especially playing in this building, it was rocking tonight. They’re a good team. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win, but it was a dream come true from the start.”
Finley’s father, Jeff, who played for the then-Portland Winter Hawks before going on to a 15-season NHL career, was on hand to watch his son take his rookie lap.
“He has helped me so much my whole life,” Jack added. “Growing up just following hockey around, you know, through him… It makes me pretty emotional just thinking about it. So I’m just excited that he could make it.”
Finley has since been reassigned to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, where he was two goals and four assists in 10 games this season after recovering from a pre-training camp injury.
The Kelowna, B.C. product is in the midst of his third professional season after playing parts of four seasons in the Western League.
Finley suited up for the Spokane Chiefs from 2017-2022, serving as captain in his final season before moving to the Winnipeg ICE for a playoff run in his final season of major junior eligibility.
He piled up 55 goals and 72 assists for 127 points in 191 regular-season WHL games.
Finley played a key role in Winnipeg’s run to the 2022 Eastern Conference Championship, where he picked up another 13 points (7G-6A) in 15 matches.
He picked up one goal and two assists to eliminate Prince Albert in Round One before scoring two game-winners against the Moose Jaw Warriors to send the ICE to the third round.
Syracuse (16-11-5-3) sits fifth in the AHL’s North Division and hosts the Providence Bruins (18-13-3-1) on Wednesday, January 15 at 7:00 p.m. EST.