LeafsParadise.com

(This month, Puck Daddy asked bloggers for every NHL team to tell us The Essentials for their franchises — everything from the defining player and trade, to the indispensable fan traditions. Here is Bolts blog Raw Charge , giving us The Essentials for the Tampa Bay Lightning .) By Raw Charge Player No player, past or present, epitomizes the Tampa Bay Lightning better than Martin St. Louis. Everyone said he couldn't make it, he was too small. Passed over in the NHL Draft, cut from more than one team, Marty exemplifies more than mere perseverance. Like the franchise itself, St. Louis wasn't supposed to succeed. The thing is, though, Marty's a true warrior, a believer in hard work, in showing up, in making the most of what you have. He's a skill player with the heart of a grinder, a guy who has missed only seven games in nine years. He has stuck with the franchise in good times and bad. And it's practically kismet that it was this particular player, the guy who fought the odds and won, who scored the essential Lightning goal in franchise history (see below). Just like the franchise and its fans, St. Louis is easy enough to overlook in the media driven world of hockey stardom. But just commit to watching for a little while and you'll see why Tampa Bay fans relate to Marty so powerfully. He's the heart and soul of this team. He is the engine that drives everything. He is the Lightning.