Former Bruins Jakub Lauko
- Thread starter Over the volcano
- Start date
-
HFBoards is well aware that today is election day in the US. We ask respectfully to focus on hockey and not politics.
nORRis8
The NHL, the stupidest League ever.
3 year for sure. Absolutely love him. Will not look out of place on line 3 next year if need be
unkempt
Registered User
- Oct 19, 2006
- 266
- 107
Mamrd
Registered User
Agree 100% and let me just say I love this kid and how he goes to the net! Maybe some of our veteran players should take note. Also like that when he has the chance to shoot he fires it, no looking for a tip from an area where no Bruin usually goes.
By adding a scrappy edge to his game, Bruins’ Jakub Lauko gets minutes and results - The Boston Globe
The fourth-liner is making the most of his shifts, pestering opponents into taking penalties and giving his team an emotional lift.
www.bostonglobe.com
Jakub Lauko doesn’t necessarily have time on his side when it comes to proving his mettle in the NHL.
A fourth-liner tasked with landing welts on the forecheck, Lauko doesn’t have the luxury of 17 or 18 minutes of reps in Jim Montgomery’s rotation. No power-play shifts are prescribed.
Of the 19 games he has played this season, Lauko has eclipsed 10 minutes of ice time on only six occasions. Against Columbus Thursday night, he spent just 4:53 on the sheet.
“My upside is not like [David Pastrnak’s] upside or [Brad Marchand’s] upside,” Lauko said postgame. “So I was like, ‘If I want to keep playing here. I just need to change the way I’m playing a little bit and do what I do best.’ ”
So against the Blue Jackets, Lauko continued to retool his identity as a fly in the ointment against the opposition.
If the 23-year-old winger is going to get over the boards only a couple of times per night, he’s going to make those shifts count.
He didn’t get on the scoresheet in the 2-1 victory over Columbus, but Lauko’s second-period scrap with Hanson native Billy Sweezey stirred up a Bruins team sleepwalking through another game in late March.
“At the start of the whole second period, I just felt like we were kind of flat,” Lauko said. “So it was a great opportunity and great moment to get the guys going, get the crowd going.”
Less than five minutes after Lauko and Sweezey fought, the Bruins erased a one-goal deficit with a power-play tally by Tyler Bertuzzi.
A cross-check delivered by Lane Pederson to Patrice Bergeron sparked most of Thursday’s bad blood. And Trent Frederic’s one-punch retribution against Pederson was an emphatic response. But Montgomery was quick to credit Lauko, too, for shifting the momentum.
“By no means were we at the standard that we’ve seen most of the year,” noted the coach. “But what I like is how Lauko did that. How Frederic didn’t let our captain get abused. There’s something to pay for that when you come to Boston and do something like that.”
Lauko’s ability to operate in Grade A ice has yielded solid offensive returns (4 goals, 6 points in 19 games this season), but his north-south acceleration and willingness to stick his beak into any scrum are giving the Bruins an edge in penalty differentials.
In total, Lauko is averaging 4.09 penalties drawn per 60 minutes of five-on-five play. Among the 726 NHL skaters who have at least 150 minutes, Lauko ranks first.
Second place? Oilers power forward Klim Kostin — at 2.74.
Lauko’s transformation to fourth-line scrapper has been necessary for him to earn a spot.
“If I had, like, 10 chances when I was young, I scored on some of them,” Lauko said of his early years back in his native Czechia. “And here, I’m not going to have 10 chances per game.
“I just said, ‘Hey, I need to change the game a little bit. I need to be more hard-nosed and just skating and forechecking.’ And that was the biggest difference between last year and this year.”
“I know how the lineup is looking here when Hallsy and Fliggy are going to be back,” he said. “It’s going to be hard to crack the lineup. But these games, I’m [trying] to show everyone that if something happens or the coaches are going to make a different decision, I’m ready.
“They can rely on me, that I can repeat that play for the playoffs. I can play that kind of hockey. I can be like a Boston Bruin for the playoffs.”
ON3M4N
Ignores/60 = Elite
Good for Lauko. Was unfortunately hit with the game management penalty on Tkachuk in the playoffs but played well enough. He is ready.
McGarnagle
Yes.
- Aug 5, 2017
- 30,289
- 41,525
Gonzothe7thDman
Registered User
Nothing left to prove in the AHL imo.
Give him a full time spot and let him play through any growing pains. If I am Sweeney I want to know exactly what I have in him when this new contract is up.
JOKER 192
Blow it up
Covid really threw a wrench into his wheels. I saw him as NHL ready a few seasons ago. Then IDK WTF happened but he hit a rut and couldn't get out of it. Last year he showed that form again. He's not a top 6 but he'll be a high end bottom 6 in short time. Happy he's signed, expecting good things from him.
Blowfish
Count down ...
- Mar 8, 2011
- 9,173
- 10,694
So glad he is staying and for at least two more years.
There are now spots available for him to take. His speed and tenacity are very much needed in the bottom 6.
Time to show what you got kid! Happy for him and rooting for him.
There are now spots available for him to take. His speed and tenacity are very much needed in the bottom 6.
Time to show what you got kid! Happy for him and rooting for him.
....is this a serious post? He's been fine
Work effort is there. Monty is forcing he and Beecher to work heavy defensive zone minutes: 88 percent defensive zone starts for Lauko and 90 percent for Beecher at 5v5. That's a lot to ask from two rookies.
I'm happy with their play overall but I'd like to see them with more offensive pressure. Again though, tough on two rookies who are tasked to always start on the other end.
The Hockey Tonk Man
Registered User
Yeah I thought he's been fine.
Stats don't look good, but he's passed my eye test. Good hustle, great back checking, drew a few penalties.
He seems to always log the least amount of minutes, gotta be tough to get in the groove playing 7-8mins a night
This is a guy who has Morgan Geekie as our most effective forward so far this season, so consider that when responding. I agree with you, Lauko has been fine. Not great, but as a 4th liner he works hard, skates hard, and plays solid defense. I don't know what more you want from a guy in his role with his ice time.
CharasLazyWrister
Registered User
Not sure why you are saying he’s “off the charts” bad?
I understand his stat line isn’t eye popping, but I hardly think he’s a liability out there.
If you’re expecting bottom six players to put up points with any type of consistently, you’ll be frequently disappointed. Much of the time, it’s good enough for them to hold the other team off the scoreboard.
The Hockey Tonk Man
Registered User
Fair haha.
Needs new glasses then I guess
Lindholm must also be off the charts brutal with his 0 points in 5 games
- Mar 8, 2011
- 9,173
- 10,694
Laukos speed is an xfactor. He causes havoc and is often under the opponents skin and drawing penalties. And also helps kill penalties!
All of that doesn’t show up on the stats but it’s been a big boost to that fourth line.
All of that doesn’t show up on the stats but it’s been a big boost to that fourth line.
KrejciWinger
Registered User
- Nov 3, 2015
- 1,686
- 2,262
There is some offense to his game, more than Beecher and Brown at least. Not sure he's ever gotten time away from the 4th line... He has similar tools to role players like Bunting.
Unconventional, but I'd try him on Zacha/Pasta's wing, make that line play with more pace.
Unconventional, but I'd try him on Zacha/Pasta's wing, make that line play with more pace.
