Across North America's four games, Balanyk was their most consistent offensive impact. Lucas was the heart and soul of much of Team North America's offence, as he was typically in the mix when scoring chances were created. Puck on his stick, Balanyk combined a wide array of skills and abilities ranging from fluid skating and puck handling, clever passing, and smart puck management, all to protect the puck, advance play and create scoring chances. So often, he was controlling the puck on the outside of the offensive zone zone, shielding pucks from defenders, and creating space before threading pucks to teammates in scoring positions. If no passing option was there, he didn't hesitate to attack the middle, getting to the interior for some grade 'A' chances of his own, notably scoring on a breakaway with a quick fake to stun the goaltender before blasting the puck into the net. Without the puck, Lucas was always in the right place at the right time to receive a pass or pounce on a loose puck. He always seemed to time himself perfectly into open pockets of space, being on the proper side of the puck to capitalize on a fortunate bounce, rebound or pass. This clever off puck positioning yielded plenty of scoring chances and a few goals for Balanyk over the weekend. Balanyk stood out in my early assessment of the '09 class in the winter, but he certainly exceeded my expectations over the Draft Day Showcase, being the star of Team North America.

Balanyk was one of the players on the Marlies I was really impressed with for his playmaking. Lucas was constantly able to spot open passing lanes, move pucks through the gaps in defence, and spark scoring chances and a handful of goals through his passing. While the vision to spot gaps was required to make these plays, his puck management and patience were what really stood out to open up space. There were a lot of sequences where Lucas would evade a defender with a lateral move or attack the middle of the ice, forcing defenders to converge on him before dishing the puck off. My takeaway was his ability to manage the puck perfectly set up his passing game by being the primary way he created open lanes to exploit.

A bit of an energizer, Lucas was quick darting around the ice. He skated down the middle well, using his speed to pressure the puck wherever it went. This made me effective at puck retrievals and picking up interceptions. On one such play, his pressure behind the offensive zone net led to a turnover which he dished out front with a quick and accurate backhand pass to pick up a primary. This was just one example of his quick passes, moving swiftly to the right areas thanks to how regularly he was scanning the ice.