LW Mario Lucia - Notre Dame, NCAA (2011, 60th, MIN)

[BagHead]

One name that wiki page doesn't show as a notable alum that is very notable in this conversation is Don Lucia. The kid is going to his dad's college, and it's definitely a factor in his decision to do so.

Should be an interesting year for Mario. It'll be eye opening for both him and Wild fans. I'm curious to see how he does.

 

[Dampland]

He will be a career AHL player at best after college. Don't see him ever getting a sniff of the NHL.

 

[sigx15]

He will be a career AHL player at best after college. Don't see him ever getting a sniff of the NHL.

well now thats a fairly pessimistic outlook on a kid who was a 2nd round pick and 3rd in the BCHL is scoring this year. me thinks his ceiling is a bit higher, he needs to fill in his frame, at 6'2" but has good hands and good vision. He'll have an immediate impact at Notre Dame next year.

 

[Billy Mays Here*]

He will be a career AHL player at best after college. Don't see him ever getting a sniff of the NHL.

I highly doubt we won't see him in the NHL at some point.

 

[Al Lagoon]

I highly doubt we won't see him in the NHL at some point.

Yeah Dampland, thats just trolling or being a negative nancy at best.

Give the kid a couple years in college and we'll see what we've got. No red flags at this point after his season in the BCHL. Lucia's coach had many positive comments about him, and given his size and attributes, there's plenty to be positive about.

 

[SauceHockey]

Dampland really gives a negative outlook. On topic though Lucia has sick hands and I hope he develops the rest of his game

 

[Circulartheory]

He will be a career AHL player at best after college. Don't see him ever getting a sniff of the NHL.

Care to elaborate?

I've heard he has good hands, good skating, and a huge frame to fill up. He also led the BCHL in PPG and 3rd in Total Points. Obviously very different from the NHL, but don't see anything but good signs, so I am wondering what are the facts that create your pessimism?

 

[IHaveNoCreativity]

Could be the fact that Penticton was like the best BCHL team ever

 

[Victorious Secret]

Dampland really gives a negative outlook. On topic though Lucia has sick hands and I hope he develops the rest of his game

I was able to watch him a few times his senior year. He had a pretty good shot, but 80% of the time he tried sniping and missed the net by a couple feet. I thought it was a joke when we took him in the second round.

 

[IHaveNoCreativity]

I was able to watch him a few times his senior year. He had a pretty good shot, but 80% of the time he tried sniping and missed the net by a couple feet. I thought it was a joke when we took him in the second round.

I was wondering who he was last year...

Penticton is a pretty good program however.

 

[Victorious Secret]

Yea, they are a bully program that has the best players. League isn't exactly fair to begin with.

 

[Circulartheory]

Could be the fact that Penticton was like the best BCHL team ever

Yes, but again, he hasn't done anything to make me doubt his potential. Yes, his team may be the "bully" team of the BCHL, but he led that bully team.

I fully understand if someone can't find the positive and remains neutral with Lucia (using the bully team as a reason) but I can't understand someone who seems to find a negative in the situation. He has done the most with what the situation he has been presented in. He also shows skills in addition.

So again, if you think he is a bad prospect, please explain exactly why. I explained why I think he is good, it is only common courtesy to return that favor.

EDIT: For example, if someone said "I like his potential but he is extremely raw and I am worried that he will meet that potential because he has 4 years minimum before sniffing NHL", then I fully agree.

But if you want to bluntly say "he is is a career AHLer", please explain. Usually and reasonable arguments would be "he didn't dominate enough at his level", "he is too slow", "his hockey sense is way off", or "he is too small". Problem is for me, none of those things ring true to Lucia.

 

[Dampland]

Care to elaborate?

I've heard he has good hands, good skating, and a huge frame to fill up. He also led the BCHL in PPG and 3rd in Total Points. Obviously very different from the NHL, but don't see anything but good signs, so I am wondering what are the facts that create your pessimism?

The OP wanted to know what people thought his potential was. I gave mine. But apparently based on all the responses here, I am not allowed to have a opinion on a MN boy, unless it is that he will be great.

But sorry, I just don't see it. Saw him play in High School, and was SHOCKED the Wild took him so high. Felt like a homer pick by the Wild. In my opinion, he does not skate well enough, nor see the ice well enough to be an NHL player. Not impressed with his choice of going to the BCHL vs going to a tougher league. I just never saw the "it" factor in him. Then he plays one year on the most loaded team in the league, and suddenly everyone talks as if he is destined to be a 40 goal scorer in the NHL.

Just because he is a prospect for my favorite team, doesn't mean I'm going to just throw out reality and see nothing but roses for our players.

But I have nothing personal against the kid, and would love to have him prove me wrong.

 

[Circulartheory]

The OP wanted to know what people thought his potential was. I gave mine. But apparently based on all the responses here, I am not allowed to have a opinion on a MN boy, unless it is that he will be great.

But sorry, I just don't see it. Saw him play in High School, and was SHOCKED the Wild took him so high. Felt like a homer pick by the Wild. In my opinion, he does not skate well enough, nor see the ice well enough to be an NHL player. Not impressed with his choice of going to the BCHL vs going to a tougher league. I just never saw the "it" factor in him. Then he plays one year on the most loaded team in the league, and suddenly everyone talks as if he is destined to be a 40 goal scorer in the NHL.

Just because he is a prospect for my favorite team, doesn't mean I'm going to just throw out reality and see nothing but roses for our players.

But I have nothing personal against the kid, and would love to have him prove me wrong.

You have every right to express your opinion. Saying "he sucks" isn't considered a very well-thought out one.

For example, you stated you were not impressed with his skating or his hockey IQ. You were also not impressed by his level of competition and his lack of 'dominate factor'. All interesting points, every single one of these absent from your original post.

This post, however, is fine. I disagree with many of it, but at least I know what I'm disagreeing with and not just a sentence. Because a well-thought out post, positive or negative, will be taken seriously. Otherwise, you're lost in the crowd of "crazy people" or "hockey parents".

Now that we have that out of the way, here are some things I would argue against

• He choose the BCHL because if not the USHL, he would break NCAA rules and not be eligible for his scholarship for the following season. You may argue, "why not the USHL then?". From what I can see, his rights belonged to Sioux Falls, which seem to be (from what I can tell of its last 5 years) not the best place for developing high-end prospects. The Penticton Vees however has some notable names from there as well as being a championship team for the single year Lucia is going to be there. Why not spend a year with a championship team rather than spend a year with a struggling team?

• No one is thinking Lucia is going to be a 40 goal scorer. I think you maybe the only one I've heard projecting him to be that. However, many think he is very talented but very raw. He has size and skill, but will need at least 4 years developing. Alot of things (good or bad) can happen in 4 years. Cross our fingers...

• And of course you shouldn't put on rose colored glasses. Sometimes its hard to do, but Lucia isn't one of those guys. We have so many other prospects we are in love with, I barely see any love for Lucia, so I don't agree that many Wild fans are biased with Lucia. It seems we don't even think about him enough to be biased lol

This is how I see Lucia, a big boom-or-bust type of player. All the tools to become a dangerous player, but again, needs alot of time developing. It took a single season for guys like Jonathan Huberdeau and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to rise to a top draft pick, imagine all the good and bad things that can happen in four seasons of development in Lucia. He's high risk/high reward.

 

[xyz1]

A little background on Mario Lucia/Sioux Falls: Sioux Falls held his USHL rights. However, about a year and a half ago, Craig Sarner, a U of M alum who worked for Sioux Falls' front office (he was, I believe, Sioux Falls' director of player personnel) was very active in a group of former Gopher hockey players that was trying to get Don Lucia fired. You can guess from this that it might have been just a bit uncomfortable for Mario to go play there, and the conventional wisdom is that this is why Mario left Sioux Falls and chose to play in Penticton.

Also worth keeping in mind, as far as Mario not going to the U of M, is that the general belief is that Tony Lucia's time playing for his dad at the U wasn't that pleasant in some ways, with rumors swirling of jealousy in the locker room and whispers among ill-informed fans about favoritism. I have no idea what actually happened, and think Tony Lucia fully deserved to be there (he was the least of the team's problems in those seasons), but this might have played a part in Mario thinking it was best to play elsewhere.

 

[Victorious Secret]

What are his weaknesses?

 

[MN_Gopher]

What are his weaknesses?

Same that could be said for anyone in a lower league. Lack of competition, not tested. Can beat up on BCHL and MNHS goalies but "how good is he against better competition."

His biggest weakness is if he is not scoring goals he his not doing a whole lot. He is an ok passer, ok in his own end, not a super forechecker, not overly physical. Those are things he can work on and learn. You cant teach his release.

He talked alot with his brother about going to UofM. Tony said it was tough, but awsome. The trash talk was a little personal for Tony but he was a lil scrapper. tdon went to Nore Dame so its not all that off. Notre Dame is a good school. Before Mario committed, tDon was almost on a frozen four appearance or lose his job. Mario did not want to drag on and he chose Notre Dame.

 

[sigx15]

Lucia had a hat trick today against Finland in the US WJEC, making a big statement on his possible inclusion on the team. Here's Chris Peters breakdown of his game today via the Unitedstatesofhockey.com

Mario Lucia — The hat trick is a good indication of how Lucia played. He still needs to work on his D-zone play, but the way his offense was clicking, his deficiency on D is easy to overlook. On his second goal, Lucia converted from distance on a rebound chance, but the third was the jaw dropper. He bore down right up the center of the ice with options on either side on the 3-on-2, but made the wise decision to use that nasty release. Lucia has good enough size and speed. He’ll need to adjust to the pace just a hair better, but he’s also made a strong statement in camp.

 

[GuillaumeLetsundress*]

I can only remember not being very impressed watching him play against some of my friends at the RBC cup...

 

[gopherman23]

LW Mario Lucia (Notre Dame, 2011, 60th overall, Minnesota)

Didn't see a thread for him so I thought I'd start one. He is having a very good jr season for Notre Dame. He is second in The Hockey East conference and tied for 9th overall in college hockey with 17 goals. It'll be interesting to see if he forgoes his Senior year and makes the jump to the AHL.

 

[WILDTATE10]

Didn't see a thread for him so I thought I'd start one. He is having a very good jr season for Notre Dame. He is second in The Hockey East conference and tied for 9th overall in college hockey with 17 goals. It'll be interesting to see if he forgoes his Senior year and makes the jump to the AHL.

Looks like he has the Jason Zucker syndrome with the high goal to low assist total this year

 

[gifted88]

4th year in college and is off to a pretty good start. What are the current expectations for him?

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

How is he progressing now? I've always had my eyes on him since he was drafted.

 

[Sticktape]

I was just thinking of bumping this thread yesterday. From what I've read I thought he was going to be more of a project even in the AHL but he seems to be doing well. Also interested to hear from someone who may have seen him play this year or for Notre Dame.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

22 points in 44 games, is it safe to say he's not going to amount much?