The size and skill of Lukasz is very tantalizing. With Bock Cripps running the offensive show for the most part, Lukasz doesn’t always get those prime offensive minutes or the top PP spots to collect secondary assists off great side to side passing. He is certainly one of the most powerful skaters from a standstill in this defensive class and loves to open his posture and point his toes toward passing receptions on the offensive blueline while maintaining a proper shooting balance. In discussing the event, Lucasz stood out from stick swipes, physical shutdown play along the boards to take away skating lanes, and limit creative possession time. I thought he showed quality aggression in understandable moments to step up into the gap and make a difference. At this age, his older brother played defense like he was the last man back; choosing a safer tactic rather than a calculated risk assessment. Lukasz seems a bit more prone to step up actively.

Projection: Top 4 Defender
Projectable Skills: Skating stride, defensive intensity and detail
Development Opportunities: Offensive creativity, carrying skill through the neutral zone

Lukasz generally plays on St. George’s like offense is his secondary thought. This is the same approach that his older brother played with in his draft season as to focus attention on his defensive gaping, the fluidity of his skating stride, and his ability to get into shot blocking lanes. He is an excellent skater, tracks pucks very efficiently, and likes to lure players into traps defensively with his rush angling. There is a gentleness to his puck control which both sometimes hinders and sometimes helps him. Teams who are applying pressure rarely force him into gross mistakes and turnovers, instead he will choose to protect and try to battle back for it rather than force passes into poor situations. He covers so much ground with his first few strides and he isn’t done growing physically either which projects his skating to be the element he can lean on in the WHL to explore more offensively. He uses stick swipes well and follows up physically in defensive ways that I like and forces players to adapt to his presence. He’s another player who has all the ability to stabilize a blueline pair and continue to explore avenues offensively as he develops. He can play anywhere in the top-2 pairings and still be effective night in and night out.

Right away he showed smoothness in his crossovers to move laterally and attempted to line up a few defensive physical approaches to defend the zone. Against Sask East, I thought he made a ton of simple plays like drag moves around a player and passing to an open teammate. He didn’t attempt much offensively until near the end as he stepped into a snapshot and attempted an end to end rush off a faceoff draw. His skating stride and speed lets him break through layers when he does attempt those sorts of things but he still remains more focused on the defensive side of the puck. I couldn’t recall one moment where he got beat off the rush or down low in his own zone. He’s really developing the details there.

When I’m watching Lukasz, I’m waiting for those moments where he can shine and use his size and physical strength to his advantage aggressively. He was using those elements today with lengthy stick swipes, follow physical pushes on defending zone exits, and really engaging and guarding those early zone exits. Some moments, you can see him calculating the exit outlet passes so he can step into the gap on a well timed moment. I love it. He has those abilities to control pucks around the edges, drag pucks with patience along the blueline, and find those shot lanes through with a heavy low snap. He grabbed a goal and certainly could be part of more of their offense too. I’d argue this is one of the best games I’ve seen from him in the young year as well.