Cruz Lucius is an offensive-leaning winger who excels when the puck is on his stick. He has great skating ability with quick feet, allowing him to accelerate to his top speed and change his direction at the drop of a hat. He has strong puck skills and can handle the puck in tight areas to beat opponents while attacking one-on-one. But his best asset has to be his playmaking, through and through. He’s a gifted passer, with a lot of patience. He will wait for the play to develop in front of him before making an accurate pass into his teammates’ wheelhouse. There is rarely a time he forces a pass that isn’t there. His shot, while not overpowering, isn’t a detriment to his game. If he gets the puck in the high slot with some space he becomes a lethal goal-scoring threat. But he’s much more of a facilitator than a finisher. While his agility, and footwork is strong, there is no presence of elite speed in his’ game. However, the other aspects of his skating ability more than make up for the fact that he isn’t a burner. Defensively, he needs to improve. He isn’t a bad defensive player by any means, but whenever the play is in the defensive zone he becomes a non-factor. If he can get better at getting his stick and body into passing and shooting lanes, he will be able to have some defensive impact on the game. More effort while defending would be nice to see down the road, though it’s not going to transform him into an elite own-zone player. He missed a lot of time this season, so it’s hard to get a gauge on his true value, but there is no denying the offensive potential present in his game. If he can round out his all-around game Lucius will become an effective top-nine forward at the NHL level for whoever selects him at the draft.

– FCHockey’s 2022 NHL Draft Guide