Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets There’s been a lot of buzz in the hockey world around Rutger McGroarty of late, but another Winnipeg Jets first round pick, who should garner some of that attention is Chaz Lucius. The 21-year-old showed a lot of potential coming out of Minnesota and U.S. Development Program. He was drafted 18th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. Since then, he had hardly played for the organization, however, as he struggled to stay healthy. He played his last game with the Manitoba Moose at the end of December before undergoing season-ending ankle surgery in January. He has been limited to just 29 games over the past two seasons, where he record four goals and 14 assists for 18 points. Lucius' shoulder and ankle have severely limited his playing time, but when speaking with Moose head coach Mark Morrison, the bench boss notes that his young forward is expected to be skating come development camp. Morrison did indicate, however, that there is still no timetable for the Kansas product to return to action. “We’re going to have to just wait and see how that progresses,” Morrison said of Lucius’ ankle. “I think he is just about ready to start I.R. skating at development camp, which is later this week.” There still may be a lot of upside for the youngster, as he put up big numbers with his time on the U.S. National U17 Team before being drafted. Lucius recorded 31 goals and 19 assists for 50 points in just 46 games. He outscored the likes of both Jack and Luke Hughes. Lucius is signed with the team through the 2025-26 season, with Jets fans wondering if the franchise may lose out on a young phenom due to bad injury luck. The 2021 Draft saw other players like Dallas’ Wyatt Johnston and Logan Stankoven plus Utah’s Josh Doan each get selected after Lucius. And with the constant chatter stemming from McGroarty's reported concerns, losing another first round pick does not sound like good news to Jets fans. With the hope of a stellar 2024-25 campaign on the horizon, Chaz Lucius is down to one of, if not his final, real shot.
