Lukashevich’s understanding of the defense position is incredible. He isn’t a rover, per se, but he does a fantastic job of moving his feet and getting himself into positions that benefit his team, whether that’s jumping from the defensive zone to the neutral zone to intercept an enemy pass, trying to sneak up to the back door to make himself a shot option, or just overall moving his feet in all three zones to make himself a better pass option. He keeps his head up and scans where to best support his teammates at all times. He maintains strong positioning in his own zone without the puck, including on the penalty kill. .. He maintains a good gap between his man through matching their edgework and not biting when they try to manipulate him. He leads with his stick but plays the man when they try to blow by him, separating them from the puck. He works the boards well, sometimes against multiple attackers but often comes away with it Does a good job of getting his stick on pucks. He often leads the rush out of the zone, carrying the puck through traffic. He plays a very mature game, which can be seen not only in his defensive game, but his decision making, processing, and skating. He makes smart pinches, always keeping the puck in the offensive zone. He’s not a particularly high-end skater in any way — acceleration, all-direction mobility, or top speed — but he easily gets where he needs to be, and can make zone exits and entries if he has a little space to work with. He builds up speed with a few big pushes and then crossovers to maintain and add a level of deceptiveness. That deception can also be seen in his puckhandling, although he doesn’t show that off often in this game. In playing big minutes, Lukashevich knows how to conserve energy. He knows that he doesn’t always need to go at top speed to move the play forward, and that is a very mature way to play the game. His shot could be a weapon if he used it more often. If he can build on the confidence he has in the defensive end and apply that to the offensive side of the puck, the defender could take over games.

– FCHockey’s 2021 NHL Draft Guide