Forward Cruz Lucius, who was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the fourth round (#124) of last week’s NHL Draft, also announced last week that he had committed to Wisconsin for the upcoming season.
Lucius, who was previously a Minnesota recruit, announced two months ago that he had decommitted from the Gophers. His older brother, Chaz Lucius, was a freshman at Minnesota last season but left after one year to sign an entry-level deal with the Winnipeg Jets.
“We are excited to add Cruz to our lineup,” said Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato. ”He’s an extremely skilled and smart playmaker who can score. He will be a fun player to work with because he has a huge desire to get better and be pushed.”
Cruz Lucius is a 6-foot-1 forward who had 33 combined points (16 goals, 17 assists) in 39 games for the U.S. Under-18 team last season, including at the U-18 World Championships. Our scouts have Lucius rated as a 4.75-star recruit our NHL Draft scouts, headed by Ian Moran, had Lucius has a B-rated prospect for the NHL Draft.
At the U-18 Worlds Lucius had eight points in six games and helped Team USA win silver. Two seasons ago as part of the U.S. Under-17 team, Lucius had 42 points (14 goals, 28 assists) in 42 games.
“He’s highly skilled and creative,” our NHL Draft scouts noted. “He hits the net with 78% of his shots. It’s still not high enough but during the season he gained physical strength which allowed him to up his puck battles won from 41% to 47%.”
Added Moran, “Lucius is a very creative and highly skilled right-shot forward who did not have the season we were expecting offensively. Well that all changed over his final 10 games when he finished with 11 points including at the U18 World’s when he finished with 7 points in 6 games.”
