Nutting was fantastic at all things that go into getting the puck out of his defensive zone. I noted that on so many defensive sequences, Nutting was applying pressure, taking away time and space, getting in lanes, and just being difficult to get around. He forced turnover after turnover, won back possession of the puck so many times and was crucial to the Canucks defensive efforts. After securing the puck, Nutting's head was up, scanning for passing options, and almost always hit on his outlet passes, helping his squad exit their zone with control. Similarly, retrievals were seamless when Lucas was involved, relying on his footwork to pick up loose pucks with ease and give himself plenty of time to find a forward up ice. While he created offence and had some flashes of rushing the puck, this play in his own end was the focal point of what I wanted to highlight from my views over the Silver Stick. Nutting was someone that I thought about including in my first top 20 rankings and decided to just leave him off, but after the views over the Silver Stick, he more than earned a spot in the top 20 and was the highest debut of the new additions.

Nutting's play over the Draft Day Showcase jives with my initial evaluation of his game at the Alliance All-Star game back in the winter - and that assessment was that he's a mobile defender who looks to involve himself in transition as much as possible. Almost every time he touched the puck, Lucas looked to push play forward, showing he had the confidence and ambition to execute high-end plays and consistently move the puck up ice with control. His transition success hinged on his powerful skating, which he relied on to propel him out of his zone safely and through the neutral zone with control. Almost every time he had control in his defensive end, this carry the puck out of his zone theme remained, and he was a dominating force in Alliance West's breakout efforts. If there wasn't clean ice in front of him, Nutting displayed an ability to be an effective puck mover, connecting on plenty of breakout and stretch passes to ensure his squad could transition with control. Defenders with this maneuverability, processing, and transition dominance profile are always ones that I value highly, and Nutting seems to check a lot of those boxes.

After some solid first impressions in U15 play, Nutting entered the year on my radar as someone to watch out for, and he didn't disappoint over my view of EMC at the Face-Off. My key takeaway was Lucas' mobility and how he leveraged his feet to impact the play. With the puck, Nutting was incredibly confident, always looking to explode up ice and push pucks forward. His mobility was the core of these rush sequences, as he could easily skirt forecheckers with lateral moves or blow by defenders in the neutral zone with his powerful skating, making him difficult to close down. On the defensive side, there were a few nice moments where Lucas relied on his feet to shadow attackers and take away their time and space to force turnovers, adding more to this value under his mobility theme. Nutting sparked two goals for the Canucks, one off a stretch pass up ice and then a second when his point shot created a rebound that was cleaned up by a teammate net front. The Alliance Face-Off was a good reminder of why I had a star next to Lucas' name entering the year, and I'm looking forward to watching more of him over the Silver Stick to see how he stacks up against top competition.

Lucas crossed my notes mainly for his frequent activations and eagerness to carry the puck. If an opportunity presented itself, Nutting seized the moment and rushed the puck through the neutral zone and into the offensive third. I'm always looking for this eagerness and confidence to rush the puck in the right moments, and as such, Lucas made quite a positive first impression.