It didn’t take long for Jonathan Drouin to make an instant impact for the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch on Friday.
And he did so with reportedly plenty of scouts in attendance and speculation swirling after his request to be traded out of Tampa Bay became public on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Drouin, selected third overall by the Lightning in the 2013 draft and reassigned to Syracuse last weekend, scored twice for the Crunch in the first period -- the goals coming just over seven minutes apart -- against the Albany Devils.
He finished the game with a team-high five shots on goal.
Both goals were beauties, too.
Using his speed, he split the Albany defense to gain a breakaway, snapping a shot low, stick side on Yann Danis for his first goal. He then knocked down a pass and deked to the backhand, beating Danis once again later in the period.
Here’s goal No. 1:
Well that was impressive, @jodrouin27 #BelieveInBlue pic.twitter.com/OXxqhkCnEo
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) January 9, 2016
Here’s goal No. 2:
.@jodrouin27 backhands his second of the game to even the score for the second time #TwoGoalTweetOff #BelieveInBlue pic.twitter.com/dJXI5mIc55
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) January 9, 2016