Guest Instructor Barberio Continues to Prepare for the Leap to NHL

For those of us that know Mark, it is not really a surprise that he is succeeding at the American Hockey League level. He has been goal oriented, a team first guy and has always worked on the parts of his game that need attending.
This season he has scored 37 points, 8 goals and 29 assists. He plays the quarterback on the Syracuse Crunch powerplay, makes precise passes, gets his pucks to the net...he is applying his knowledge and skills to the game well.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been watching his development and see that Mark's confidence continues to build and he is getting ready for the next step, to don the Tampa Bay Lightning jersey on a full time basis.

With the Lightning having to reduce their payroll, as does every NHL team to meet the $64.4 million salary for next season, his entry level contract will help in that manner versus some of the more expensive veteran options that the Lightning have today on their depth chart.