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.

Nutting added value all over the ice, showcasing his well-roundedness in this one. He was breaking up plays in his own zone, hitting his outlet passes, carrying pucks up ice, and providing his usual offensive zone impact, making for a solid all-around viewing. No singular element stood out above them all, just shift after shift; Nutting was involved in making something happen at both ends of the ice and was crucial to keeping pucks away from his net and in the offensive third. He scored a highlight-reel-worthy goal, attacking in off the blueline, beating the first layer of defence with a toe drag to get to the slot and then blasting a shot high above the goaltender's shoulder. It's an interesting defence class that I'm still trying to make heads or tails of, but every time I've seen Lucas, I've been impressed, and I've always felt he's belonged in this top group of defenders.

It was a simple game from Lucas, but I thought he played well. He won pucks all over the ice and then connected on his passes up the ice to his forwards. It wasn't as often as I've seen from him in club play with EMC, but he had some flashes of showcasing his mobility and carrying pucks up ice, but for the most part he kept things relatively simple. Nutting got plenty of shots through from the point, stepping into his shots with power and ensuring oncoming forwards didn't block them.

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.