Ross Colton

Ross Colton (born September 11, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Lightning in the 4th round (118th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Juniors
The Tampa Bay Lightning selected Colton with the 118th pick of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Colton had spent the past two seasons playing for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL. In his draft year he was second in the USHL in points and goals and 8th in powerplay goals.

On June 26, 2018, the Lightning signed Colton to a two year entry level contract. Colton spent the previous two seasons playing for the University of Vermont. Colton played in 69 games for the Catamounts, recording 28 goals and 50 points.

Professional
On October 14, 2020, the Lightning re-signed Colton to a one year contract extension. Colton had set a career high in assists (31) and points (42) the previous season with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. Colton had skated in 128 career AHL games over two seasons, recording 25 goals and 73 points.

On February 24, 2021, Colton skated in his first career NHL game in a 3–0 Lightning win over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes at Amalie Arena. Colton recorded his first career NHL goal and point in the game. Colton became the ninth player in Lightning history to score a goal in their NHL debut. Colton also joined Nikita Kucherov as the only players in team history to record a game winning goal in their first game. On March 16, 2021, Colton recorded his first career assist and a shootout goal to help the Lightning to a 4-3 shootout win over the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center.