Prospect Info: At 18th Overall the Winnipeg Jets Select C Chaz Lucius

[Royale With Cheese]

Dude is a complete bust. Oh well, can't hit on every pick every year.

He hasn't played a game in the NHL yet and he's a bust?

 

[bustamente]

Dude needs to stay healthy, unfortunately he just can't at this point of his career, maybe it changes this year

 

[JetsFan815]

When I saw this thread on the front page... I muttered to myself "please don't let it be related to an injury, please don't let it be related to an injury,"

 

[Buffdog]

Wouldn't make a whole lot of sense for Chaz to risk re-injury in a nothing tournament vs a bunch of guys who will likely never play in the NHL

 

[FlappyGiraffe]

Wouldn't make a whole lot of sense for Chaz to risk re-injury in a nothing tournament vs a bunch of guys who will likely never play in the NHL

I'm with you on that, feels like Calgary is always icing some goon trying to take out our guys

 

[Thechozen1]

Personally, I think he needs to play a minimum 60 games this year to re-establish himself as a legit prospect in the organization. The talent is there but he unfortunately has the brittleness of an egg.

 

[ps241]

At this point I have discounted Chaz to zero which is a shame because I really like the kid but the evidence is overwhelming. He does not have the body type for contact hockey. If he plays a full season in the AHL then I will revisit.

I wish him great luck.

 

[RustyCat]

Wouldn't make a whole lot of sense for Chaz to risk re-injury in a nothing tournament vs a bunch of guys who will likely never play in the NHL

That is my thought as well. I'm not going to write him off if they are just being cautious with rehab.

 

[tbcwpg]

Still would've preferred Wallstedt at this pick instead of Lucius.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

Still would've preferred Wallstedt at this pick instead of Lucius.

He would be asking for a trade right about now

 

[tbcwpg]

He would be asking for a trade right about now

His trade value would be higher than Lucius' value at anything right now, though I think that could've given you freedom to move Hellebuyck if he really didn't want to re-sign. There is some hindsight there but I did say I'd rather have Wallstedt at the time of the draft so I've been consistent on that.

 

[Jets]

He hasn't played a game in the NHL yet and he's a bust?

I don't see him magically becoming NHL ready anytime in the next few years and at that point, he's going to be mid twenties and still toiling aimlessly in his career. That's not exactly what you expect from a first round pick - hence you can basically declare him a bust.

He's only played like one seasons worth of games in the last 3 seasons of hockey since being drafted, so he's essentially entering what would be his D+2 season when it's already his D+4.

There's potential for him to put it all together and become a bit of a late bloomer, and we hope for his and the jets sake he does, but in order for that to happen he has to show he can be healthy for an entire pro season, and that he can catch up on his lost development time. Both of those are much easier said than done, especially in his case where nagging injuries have carried on and where his durability to prevent new injuries seems non existent.

 

[surixon]

I don't see him magically becoming NHL ready anytime in the next few years and at that point, he's going to be mid twenties and still toiling aimlessly in his career. That's not exactly what you expect from a first round pick - hence you can basically declare him a bust.

He's only played like one seasons worth of games in the last 3 seasons of hockey since being drafted, so he's essentially entering what would be his D+2 season when it's already his D+4.

There's potential for him to put it all together and become a bit of a late bloomer, and we hope for his and the jets sake he does, but in order for that to happen he has to show he can be healthy for an entire pro season, and that he can catch up on his lost development time. Both of those are much easier said than done, especially in his case where nagging injuries have carried on and where his durability to prevent new injuries seems non existent.

Yup, the kid hasn't put together a full season of games in the last 6 years. That is a tonne of missed development time in the most crucial years of development.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

The guy is 21 and has given us some tidbits of what his potential could be. He needs a full season or close to a full season and we probably forget that he was injured. Don't really care that he isn't playing at the youngstars but he needs to come to camp and compete. People writing him off this early when he has a ton of talent need to pull back a bit.

 

[Buffdog]

I've been trying to wrap my head around his injury history....

In his draft year, he only played 12 games at USTDP due to knee surgery

In his only year at college (D+1), he played 24 games due to an ankle injury (can't find specifics)

In his D+2 year, he split time between the Moose (12 games) and Portland (6 games) before being shut down with a shoulder injury (also requiring surgery) in January

Last season (D+3) he played 17 games before going for ankle surgery, which I assume is related to his injury in college that was never completely resolved

So in his last 4 seasons combined, he played 61 games plus whatever at the WJC and has undergone 3 surgeries (knee, shoulder and ankle)

I'm curious as to the exact nature of his injuries and which procedures were performed. For example, labrum repair on the shoulder has a different rehab timeline than rotator cuff repair (which I had the pleasure of experiencing in January). Was it a high ankle sprain? How could that have been chronic? Or was it a fracture? I'll assume the knee was some form of ACL and/or meniscus (often injured together).

Anyway, I've returned to pre-surgical state and old farts like me heal a lot slower than young bucks like him. Hopefully he can make a full return to pre-injury status for all his bionic parts

More importantly, I wonder what his mental status is. Here's a kid that hasn't played a full season since he was 16. Does he even believe that he can be fully healthy again?

 

[KingBogo]

I've been trying to wrap my head around his injury history....

In his draft year, he only played 12 games at USTDP due to knee surgery

In his only year at college (D+1), he played 24 games due to an ankle injury (can't find specifics)

In his D+2 year, he split time between the Moose (12 games) and Portland (6 games) before being shut down with a shoulder injury (also requiring surgery) in January

Last season (D+3) he played 17 games before going for ankle surgery, which I assume is related to his injury in college that was never completely resolved

So in his last 4 seasons combined, he played 61 games plus whatever at the WJC and has undergone 3 surgeries (knee, shoulder and ankle)

I'm curious as to the exact nature of his injuries and which procedures were performed. For example, labrum repair on the shoulder has a different rehab timeline than rotator cuff repair (which I had the pleasure of experiencing in January). Was it a high ankle sprain? How could that have been chronic? Or was it a fracture? I'll assume the knee was some form of ACL and/or meniscus (often injured together).

Anyway, I've returned to pre-surgical state and old farts like me heal a lot slower than young bucks like him. Hopefully he can make a full return to pre-injury status for all his bionic parts

More importantly, I wonder what his mental status is. Here's a kid that hasn't played a full season since he was 16. Does he even believe that he can be fully healthy again?

We will likely never have answers to any of these questions as it is very unlikely Chaz would ever want the full details of his personal health information released. And I can’t imagine the organization would want it either so they wouldn’t pressure him to do so.

 

[GaryPoppins]

The guy is 21 and has given us some tidbits of what his potential could be. He needs a full season or close to a full season and we probably forget that he was injured. Don't really care that he isn't playing at the youngstars but he needs to come to camp and compete. People writing him off this early when he has a ton of talent need to pull back a bit.

I would say this year is a make or break year for him. Another shortened season with a major injury and he himself might make the decision to leave the game; it’d be a terrible way to leave constantly rehabbing 24/7.

Poor kid.. lots of potential if he can stay healthy.

 

[gojetsgo]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1835024406789411285

 

[Gil Fisher]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1835024406789411285

Good news. I believe Chaz was just waiting for @ps241 to discount him to zero before shedding the non-contact jersey.

 

[ps241]

Good news. I believe Chaz was just waiting for @ps241 to discount him to zero before shedding the non-contact jersey.

As I said I have discounted chaz to zero for now (as an asset). I will happily revisit my position if he can make it through a full season. That is the dream scenario.

Love the kid but there is nothing in his body of work since his draft year that would indicate he has even a faint hope of making it through a season healthy. He reminds me of that character in a Movie a while back that had some rare disorder where his bones were super fragile (I am thinking Samuel L Jackson).

Good luck to Gil (Paul Heyman) and his new client “CHAZ LUCIOS” I am very much hoping to be proven wrong.

 

[TS Quint]

I've been trying to wrap my head around his injury history....

In his draft year, he only played 12 games at USTDP due to knee surgery

In his only year at college (D+1), he played 24 games due to an ankle injury (can't find specifics)

In his D+2 year, he split time between the Moose (12 games) and Portland (6 games) before being shut down with a shoulder injury (also requiring surgery) in January

Last season (D+3) he played 17 games before going for ankle surgery, which I assume is related to his injury in college that was never completely resolved

So in his last 4 seasons combined, he played 61 games plus whatever at the WJC and has undergone 3 surgeries (knee, shoulder and ankle)

I'm curious as to the exact nature of his injuries and which procedures were performed. For example, labrum repair on the shoulder has a different rehab timeline than rotator cuff repair (which I had the pleasure of experiencing in January). Was it a high ankle sprain? How could that have been chronic? Or was it a fracture? I'll assume the knee was some form of ACL and/or meniscus (often injured together).

Anyway, I've returned to pre-surgical state and old farts like me heal a lot slower than young bucks like him. Hopefully he can make a full return to pre-injury status for all his bionic parts

More importantly, I wonder what his mental status is. Here's a kid that hasn't played a full season since he was 16. Does he even believe that he can be fully healthy again?

All I see is a bunch of joint injuries. That's not good.

So far the only stats that have mattered since his draft year is time spent on IR. I'll look at him again if he ever plays a full year.

 

[Luc Labelle]

....
Love the kid but there is nothing in his body of work since his draft year that would indicate he has even a faint hope of making it through a season healthy. He reminds me of that character in a Movie a while back that had some rare disorder where his bones were super fragile (I am thinking Samuel L Jackson).

Good luck to Gil (Paul Heyman) and his new client “CHAZ LUCIOS” I am very much hoping to be proven wrong.

Great assessment but I corrected the part in bold.

You meant to write:
"...but there is nothing in his body that works since his draft year"

 

[SLAYER]

He reminds me of that character in a Movie a while back that had some rare disorder where his bones were super fragile (I am thinking Samuel L Jackson).

You're thinking of "Unbreakable," which is a great movie. It's actually the first of a trilogy with "Split" and "Glass" being released 16 and 19 years later. Excellent movies.

Re: Chaz, the kid needs a healthy season so badly. It's a shame he's chronically injured because he looks great on the ice.

 

[WolfHouse]

I've been trying to wrap my head around his injury history....

In his draft year, he only played 12 games at USTDP due to knee surgery

In his only year at college (D+1), he played 24 games due to an ankle injury (can't find specifics)

In his D+2 year, he split time between the Moose (12 games) and Portland (6 games) before being shut down with a shoulder injury (also requiring surgery) in January

Last season (D+3) he played 17 games before going for ankle surgery, which I assume is related to his injury in college that was never completely resolved

So in his last 4 seasons combined, he played 61 games plus whatever at the WJC and has undergone 3 surgeries (knee, shoulder and ankle)

I'm curious as to the exact nature of his injuries and which procedures were performed. For example, labrum repair on the shoulder has a different rehab timeline than rotator cuff repair (which I had the pleasure of experiencing in January). Was it a high ankle sprain? How could that have been chronic? Or was it a fracture? I'll assume the knee was some form of ACL and/or meniscus (often injured together).

Anyway, I've returned to pre-surgical state and old farts like me heal a lot slower than young bucks like him. Hopefully he can make a full return to pre-injury status for all his bionic parts

More importantly, I wonder what his mental status is. Here's a kid that hasn't played a full season since he was 16. Does he even believe that he can be fully healthy again?

In his draft year, he was in a wheelchair for six weeks and then heavy braces for six weeks and had to re-learn how to walk. How we drafted him in the first round is probably the question that should be asked...

Sounds like it was a bone lesion from a shot that ended up requiring cartilage from his back.Looks like he rushed his rehab to recover for the 2021 draft

Don't see how he makes the NHL after missing all these dev years.

 

[Buffdog]

In his draft year, he was in a wheelchair for six weeks and then heavy braces for six weeks and had to re-learn how to walk. How we drafted him in the first round is probably the question that should be asked...

Sounds like it was a bone lesion from a shot that ended up requiring cartilage from his back.Looks like he rushed his rehab to recover for the 2021 draft

Don't see how he makes the NHL after missing all these dev years.

The only upside that I can think of is that the parts of the past seasons that he has actually played, he has shown extremely well.

Two years ago he had a great performance at the world juniors and then he briefly made the WHL his bitch. Then last year he had 13 points in 17 games with the Moose