A 60-game rookie season gave the Chicago Steel rookie forward a valuable learning lesson as he prepares for Year Two in the 2024-25 season.
It is a tough ask for any USHL tender signing to follow up on Macklin Celebrini's historic season. Lukas Sawchyn, who was the prized 2023 tender signing for the Chicago Steel, certainly felt a little bit of the expectations, given the high-profile label entering his first USHL season.
"He had a monster year," Sawchyn said of Celebrini in an interview with The Hockey News. "I'm a different player, he's his own player,"He had different expectations for himself. I had my own expectations. So, yeah, there might have been a little bit of pressure, but I have my own path."
Added, he faced a significant learning curve entering his rookie campaign. Sawchyn knew that he would have to adjust to the fast-paced style of the USHL.
He spent the 2022-23 season with the Shattuck St. Mary's 16U team, where he scored 28 goals and 50 assists, and his 78 points were tied for the third-most on the team.
However, there is quite a jump in talent from the 16U game to the USHL. Before the season started, Sawchyn sat down with head coach and general manager Mike Garman.
The two discussed the ups and downs that the young forward would encounter throughout the season. Sawchyn embraced the challenge in front of him, wanting to polish his skill set of being more physical and valuable to his teammates, rather than just focusing on getting points.
He knew the only way of getting to where he wanted to be was having to go through the grind of a 62-game USHL schedule.
Sawchyn got off to a quick start, recording points in seven of his first nine games. However, for the remainder of the season, points came sparingly. He finished his rookie season with four goals and 15 points in 60 games. Despite the challenge, Sawchyn took it as a valuable learning lesson.
"I got experience although I wasn't putting up a point per game," Sawchyn said. "I realized at the same time I was learning a lot of other valuable things than just how to get points. There were ups and downs, but all around, it wasn't as bad as it may portray to some other people."
As far as his raw skill set, Sawchyn's physicality translated well from the 16U level to the USHL, allowing him to knock people off the puck and create space for himself and his teammates in tight areas.
And when the points were not there, he leaned on his older brother Gracyn Sawchyn, who played a year with the U.S. National Team Development Program, for guidance and support.
"He was huge," Sawchyn said of his older brother being a support system. "He had an up-and-down year with the National Program, but just being able to hear his advice on certain things, when you're at your highest, when you're at your lowest, he knows how to deal with that kind of stuff. Leaning on him and learning different stuff about how to deal with different things was really helpful."
With a year of experience under his belt, Sawchyn understands what he needs to work on when he returns to the Steel next season.
A full year in the USHL taught him that he needs to hone in on everything over the summer and not primarily focus on one thing. However, Sawchyn did offer that he particularly wants to develop the ability to shoot through screens and create shooting opportunities for himself.
With the work put in over the summer, Sawchyn has the potential and skills to make a monumental leap in his 2025 Draft-eligible season next year with the Steel.
"Lukas, my gosh is he a talented player," Garman said. "The points haven't come, but we don't look at that anywhere near as much as you'd think. I have a million stories from my time here, but Josh Doan comes to mind. I'm pretty sure he had 14 points in his first year with us, and the next year, he had 70-something (points).
"I think it goes a little underappreciated how hard this league is for young players and how much growth, naturally, they have, and I think it's really important to measure the year based on their development and growth much more than their points. We want to keep pushing Lukas to be better and better, and I know he's doing that himself, but he's a great kid with a really bright future, and we know that this year is going to be a huge building block for him going forward."