The Lightning are hardly known for their defensemen, but blueliners such as Eric Brewer, Victor Hedman and Mattias Ohlund tend to receive a little more attention than some of their peers.
Fourth-year defenseman Mike Lundin works a little more quietly, but he is often commended for his consistently solid style, which has suited him well for much of the last decade.
In college, Lundin was a perennial winner at Maine, helping the Black Bears win 103 games and advance to three Frozen Fours — including a 2007 trip with his Tampa Bay teammate Teddy Purcell — during his four-year tenure in Orono.
And while Lundin wasn't an offensive juggernaut, with 13 goals and 56 assists in his collegiate career, his ice time was extremely valuable. He was on the ice during the final minute of a 1-0 national championship loss to Denver as a freshman in 2004, and over his four years he played in 160 of 163 games as a Black Bear.
"He very quietly put together a tremendous four-year career with us," Maine coach Tim Whitehead said. "He played a lot of big minutes for us for four years and helped us to three Frozen Fours at the time. I knew he could do it, but I didn't know whether Tampa Bay was going to give him the opportunity that he needed to shine because he's not the flashiest player at the NHL level. But he's very effective and tremendous defensively, has a great stick, has a great wrist shot. He does contribute offensively. He certainly did for us, and I know there's a lot of potential for his offensive numbers to increase steadily with Tampa Bay over the years. I'm confident of that. First and foremost, he's a great defensive defenseman. If you just give him the opportunity, I certainly believed he would make it."
The trend has continued in Tampa with Lundin, who played 81 games as a rookie in 2007-08 without a stop in juniors or the American Hockey League. What's more, Lundin has stuck it out in Tampa despite the fact that the Lightning have shuffled through four coaches — John Tortorella, Barry Melrose, Rick Tocchet and Guy Boucher.
"It's amazing, he played in 81 games in his first year of pro hockey, and they weren't even sure they were going to sign him," Whitehead said. "But, boy, once they got to see him in practice, I remember talking to John Tortorella at the time, and he was like, 'Man, this guy, every day his habits are so good. He’s so clean.' He plays such a clean game of hockey that he won them over on a daily basis, and now he’s one of the most dependable players on their team."
