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Ty Anderson: Lucic Zeroing in on Olympic Bid |
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HockeyBuzz's Boston Writer Ty Anderson fills in for Ek today
From the moment he steps off the bench, over the boards, and on to the ice of the TD Garden, the eyes of 17,565 fixate on Milan Lucic. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, the rush of the Vancouver-born winger into the attacking zone on the forecheck starts the chorus of “Luu’s” while a subsequent crashing blow into the glass is enough to send the crowd into a full on frenzy.
Lucic, in his seventh season, has become the face of being a power forward in today’s NHL.
He’s also making an undeniably strong push towards suiting up for Canada in Sochi this February.
Truthfully, everybody and their mother knows that Lucic hits with the force of a mack truck, and everybody knows that he’s one of the most feared forwards in the entire league when it comes to all things physical. But on a Canadian roster that’s being designed with the help of Lucic’s coach and two-time Stanley Cup Finalist coach Claude Julien, it’s not Lucic’s reputation as much as his resurgence after a dismal lockout-delayed 2013 campaign that’s put him in the running for a spot.
Going against Lucic in the corners is simply bad for your health as an opposing skater, and his ability to possess the puck in the attacking zone has been a pure godsend to the Bruins this season, evident by his team-leading 11 goals and 20 points in just 27 games this year. And when it comes to Lucic in 2013-14, this simply looks like a player ready to take his game to the next level.
The next level in this case is international ice.
Unlike last year, where the hulking winger looked winded and struggled to maintain a strong run of any sort, Lucic looks like a skater in the best shape of his life. Gone is the ‘Looch’ that recorded just seven goals and 27 points in 46 contests, and in is the Looch that looks like a franchise player motivated by the honor that may await him in Russia this winter.
"I'm not gonna lie, it’s definitely one of the motivating factors," Lucic told reporters in October when asked if the Olympics were reason for his vastly improved play this season. "From being invited to the camp, you hear some kind of rumors that its a possibility that you can be on that team. It's definitely something I think you have to embrace and look forward to, and the only way you're able to fulfill that dream is just focusing on the things that's giving me a chance to be a good player.”
It’s not lost on his coach, either.
“I told him he was skating extremely well and he was doing the right things. I think the one thing I thought is that he was maybe gripping his stick a little bit tight there in certain areas and just to go out there and play,” Julien said last night when asked of Lucic’s recent play. “He was shooting pucks and going to the right places. One off the shin pad, the other one made its way into the net. When you don’t shoot them over the net, they’ve got a better chance of scoring right?”
Among a list of 25 forwards invited to Team Canada’s orientation camp this past summer, Lucic’s competition at left wing seems steep, but may in fact be manageable enough for No. 17 to work his way onto the roster. Among the natural left wingers in the race for Sochi, Lucic’s competition includes Taylor Hall, Winnipeg captain Andrew Ladd, Pittsburgh’s Chris Kunitz, and even the versatile Blackhawks sniper Patrick Sharp.
Through a quarter of the season, here’s how Lucic stacks up versus those guys:
Milan Lucic: 11 goals, 20 points, plus-10 rating, five power-play points in 27 games.
Taylor Hall: 7 goals, 19 points, minus-8 rating, four power-play points in 20 games.
Andrew Ladd: 7 goals, 20 points, plus-6 rating, three power-play points in 28 games.
Chris Kunitz: 14 goals, 27 points, plus-12 rating, 11 power-play points in 28 games.
Patrick Sharp: 10 goals, 23 points, plus-13 rating, seven power-play points in 28 games.
Behind Kunitz, you could honestly make a case that Lucic has been the second best among that core.
Unfortunately for Lucic though, it’s just not going to be that simple when it comes to cracking the Red-and-White’s stacked club. Canada’s roster is so incredibly thick down the middle that you’re going to see some talents forced to play somewhere other than center. Centermen with left-handed shots include John Tavares, Joe Thornton, Matt Duchene, and both Eric and Jordan Staal. Yet, despite the stiff competition, Lucic enters Sunday with 11 goals on the year, fewer than just eight of the players that were invited to this summer’s camp as well, with Corey Perry leading the way with 15 goals this season.
Is he Lucic better than Perry, Sidney Crosby, or Steven Stamkos? Of course not, but he’s a player with a resume and style that can back it up with the stakes at their highest. Scoring 22 goals and 54 points in 84 career playoff games, and with a combined six goals and nine points in 13 Stanley Cup Final contests in his career, Lucic is just not a player afraid of the big stage.
“He’s always been a big part of our offense and our team so it’s a big presence out there and when he makes it feel like he did tonight, I think that we all feed off of it,” teammate and 2010 Olympian Patrice Bergeron said last night when asked about Lucic’s on-ice impact.
However, as is the case with any player of Lucic’s stature, the lack of international play experience (though Lucic did captain Team Canada at the 2007 Superseries against Russia) does create yet another wall that Lucic has to break through. He could be deemed ‘too slow’ for the enlarged ice surface, putting him at an obvious disadvantage given the pace of play during the Olympics.
But it’s also something that may design a more Lucic-like role for .. well, Lucic. If Lucic does crack the Canadian roster, it’s going to be on their bottom six, as a checking forward that can go out there and impose his will physically while providing a net-crashing, goaltending-screening type of game.
All while striking fear into powerhouse defensive groups with each rush into their end.
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