| Lucas St. Louis | Dubuque Fighting Saints | USHL | L | D | 5’9″ | 163 | Harvard | 2024 | Old Greenwich, CT | 2005 | 2022-2023: C |
USHL: Dubuque vs Green Bay, January 6, 2022: St. Louis totaled 18:17 in ice time including 4:27 while on the power play and 0:09 while shorthanded. As we’ve become accustomed to St. Louis showed high level puck poise and game awareness as on the offensive side he he always seemed a split second ahead of the player trying to defend him. He continues to have a wide skating base but he seemed stronger while protecting the puck especially while cutting laterally with a player on his back. Defensively St. Louis showed a stronger stick and used a hidden poke check to create loose pucks. He finished the game even with 0 points, 1 PP shot, 0 hits, received 1 hard body check, had 1 power play attempted shot blocked, 5 giveaways, 11 takeaways and he won 88% of his 8 puck battles.
USHL: Dubuque vs Waterloo, December 28, 2022: St. Louis totaled 18:48 in ice time including 1:27 while on the power play. He did not play while shorthanded. He is an undersized highly confident and poised left shot defender. He does not have great speed, but he has very good lateral mobility, especially while the puck is on his stick. He earned a secondary power play assist that originated by him making a quick royal road pass that isolated the weakside penalty killing forward. We like his quick release snapshot from the point as he does not need to stickhandle before releasing it, yet he changes and creates shooting lanes by subtle stick blade movements. He finished the game +2 with 1 assist, 1 PP shot, 0 hits, 3 giveaways, 4 takeaways and he won 47% of his 15 puck battles.
USHL: Dubuque vs Cedar Rapids, December 6, 2022: Not the biggest but owns a high hockey IQ and makes plays with his head up. Cerebral player as he likes to make plays with the puck and not throw it away. Clean first passes and a smooth skating stride to follow them. Has an offensive upside to his game as well as he finds the pockets in the OZ to catch and release pucks to the net. Grade: B-
USHL Fall Classic, November 15, 2022: St. Louis is a cerebral puck moving defenseman making his first start in junior hockey after a breakout season with Brunswick Prep (CT). He’s highly aware with the puck he can read a forecheck has clever escape moves and the poise to find the right seam and advance the puck. He can carry it out himself he can make the split second pass or he can look up ice and pass into the neutral zone from behind his net making him an excellent breakout defenseman. He also proved he can quarterback the powerplay making one-touch passes surveying the ice and finding passing lanes to set up his teammates. His shot has always been quick to get off but he’s added some power so that he’s not a one-dimensional passer on the power play unit. He’s not overly physical but he gaps up tight in the neutral zone and was able steal and strip pucks and was quick to move the puck and lead the transition the other way. St. Louis is both mobile and agile allowing him to play tight coverage but he could improve his explosiveness as he can get beat off the line and was susceptible to change of speed by fast forwards. He has the hockey IQ the vision and the puck play to be an NHL Draft selection in the mid to late rounds but will likely need to get stronger and tougher to play against defensively to reach his true potential. Grade: B+
USHL: Dubuque vs Muskegon, October 28, 2022: Probably the best player for his team tonight. He shows high effort regardless of the score and the time left on the clock. Down three goals with not enough time left to play he showed the effort it takes to at finish the game the right way. Besides his last minute compete, Lucas showed up the entire game, scoring a goal and leading his team with a big time effort. His motor doesn’t turn off his skating is elite and his offensive mindset is a reason why his team was in the game during the first two periods. Grade: A-
USHL: Dubuque vs Omaha, September 25, 2022: 21:42 TOI, 5:49 PPTOI, 3 SOG, 2 PPSOG, 2 Grade A, 2 PIMs. 1 hit, 2 shots blocked, 3 give aways / 8 take aways. Won 38% of his puck battles. St. Louis is an undersized defenseman who uses his brain to thrive in both offensive and defensive transition. Offensively he has very clean touches which allows him to keep the puck on his forehand ready to catch opposing forwards with their toe caps facing the wrong direction. His passes are hard well timed and easy to handle. Along the offensive blue line he is very deceptive. His eyes are up and often times he ‘fake telegraphs’ a pass which makes opposing forwards guess resulting in wide open passing lanes for St. Louis to zip passes through. In defensive transition he reads opposing forward’s routes very well and shows the anticipation to move on the pass which results in bobbled touches and turnovers. In defensive zone coverage his wide skating base allows him a low leverage point allowing him to win battles versus larger players and keep shooting lanes clear. Grade: C+
USHL: Dubuque vs Green Bay Pre-Season, September 14, 2022: Lucas made smart puck decisions nearly every time he had the puck. He loves to jump into the rush – but does so effectively and not out of control. St-Louis moves around the ice smoothly and sees the game tremendously well. Grade: A
2005s: USA Hockey Select 16s, August 12, 2021: Lucas played a poised and patient game. His feet are quick and he used them to squeeze off the rush and jump quickly to the corners. His edges are also quite impressive and his pivots are smooth. He broke up passes and used the reverse with his partner very well to facilitate zone exits. He kept his gaps tight in the neutral zone. He was patient and poised with the puck. He had some trouble at times making the easy first pass in transition the first day but that was execution not lack of vision. He has very good straight line speed and flew into scrums and even into the forecheck with no fear. He got better as the week went on. He made a pretty backhand flip pass to start transition. He did not dust the puck off. His hands are strong and he even threw a backhand pass, cross ice with ease. Lucas played a 2v1 perfectly and clearly knows how to defend. His positioning was perfect and he could carry or pass the puck up ice. He curled off an opponent in the neutral zone and took off away from him. He kept his head up ice and shot the puck with his feet moving. He handled back pressure and made some nice cross ice passes to stretch opponents out. He played with a high panic threshold and his IQ was on display every shift. He made the NZ All-Star team and the Five Nations Team as well. Grade: B+
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, May 2021: Lucas is a smart poised defender with no panic button while under pressure. He protects the puck well, using his body as a shield and his strong core to keep his eyes up after contact. He has the ability to stay over the puck while he’s picking up pucks off the wall which allows him to make good reads and be a transition machine. I said during our draft show that I love how he knows that every play doesn’t need to be a homerun. He makes the right read and waits for the opportunity to present itself. He has a smooth touch, handles bouncing pucks cleanly and walks the offensive blueline as well as anyone I saw this past Fall.
NTDP Evaluation Camp, May 2021: St. Louis was not his best in camp after an impressive showing at U15 Nationals where he led Mid Fairfield to the semi-finals. He’s small but heady, he has the vision, hockey IQ and instincts to put himself in the right positions defensively and is aware of where everyone is on the ice at all times. He’s smart with the puck on his stick, he reads pressures and makes quick, savvy decisions even under pressure. He’s an ideal breakout defenseman who can shake off forecheckers and get the puck up ice quickly. St. Louis was poised here with the puck and was able to skate the puck to ice and make clever passes through the neutral zone and make skilled area passes that few can pull off at this age. He had a few good looks on stretch passes and cross ice plays in the neutral zone but just missed and at least two went for unfortunate icing plays. Defensively he picked off a few passes with smart reads and anticipation but he was too conservative for a tryout setting and didn’t do enough to break up plays and force turnovers. He got beat outside against a power forward exposing his small stature and he struggled to move bodies around the net and settled for lifting sticks. He’s the type of player who is at his best when confident and creative and he just appeared off here missing passes he typically makes and looking unsure at times. Love the IQ and the way he processes the game but needed to play with more urgency defensively as he wasn’t hard enough to play against. Grade: B
U15 USA Hockey Nationals, May 2021: St. Louis is a quick, agile, cerebral puck moving defenseman with excellent puck poise and vision. He’s undersized but never gets rattled by forecheckers, he keeps his head up ice looking for passing lanes and has enough poise and skill to make escape moves and buy himself time for passing lanes to open. He’ll also make the simple play, he can win races back to pucks, take quick turns, see the ice and use his sense and instincts to make quick, smart decisions. He showed clever spin moves and ability to evade pressure in all three-zones and extend plays and he was particularly impressive running their power play at the point by moving well laterally, finding passing and shooting lanes and setting up his teammates in scoring areas. Defensively he’s limited by his size to play a physical game but he’s unafraid, he gets his stick in lanes, he closes gaps quickly with his quickness and agility and he’s able to read the play and anticipate. He broke up a lot of passes and intercepted in the neutral zone and stopped easy zone entries by playing tight gaps and forcing opponents to the outside. St. Louis kept his feet moving at the point and was active to get open and has a deceptively hard one-timer. He earned an invitation to the NTDP Evaluation Camp and finished with 2 assists here. Arguably the smartest puck moving defenseman in the age group. Grade: A-
HPHL 15U: Chicago Mission vs Bolts, February 2021: Smaller defensemen, grit, skating, quickness and edges. Lucas has high-level skating abilities, great edges and balances on his skates. Never backed down from bigger players and showed some grit/nastiness in front of the net. Not afraid to use his lumber and kept opponents off balance. Lucas could join the play up the ice, great quickness and ability to get back when needed. He can turn on a dime and used his inside and outside edges as he defended or carried the puck. Hard to knock off balance with a low center of gravity. Plays with patience, a smooth, calm demeanour. Lucas has to be one of the top quickest defensemen watched this season. Grade A-
Quick Hit: Top 20 Standouts from Saturday at the Yale Showcase, September 2020: Lucas has elite feet. That combined with his high IQ made him an effective defender and puck mover. His stick is quick and smart. On one play an errant pass was about to be intercepted behind his net. He saw the issue, went and negated the opponents stick and got the pass. He went off the other way. he made passes long and short on the tape. He was really tough to shake for opposing forwards as his mobility and speed kept him close to defend. he stuck like glue. His poise was exceptional and he even made a cross zone breakout pass on his back end. He laid out to block a shot on a 2v1 at the perfect moment. He is a a high-level prospect and perhaps the smartest prospect we have seen in some time.
Triple Crown Showcase (2005s), August 2020: Lucas was arguably the smartest player in the tournament; he has an exceptional mind for the game especially at this game. He reads the entire sheet, he processes instantly and makes quick, witty decisions with the puck. He lacks ideal size of a defender but he’s always in position to break up plays, he was is square between the shooter and the net and has next level anticipation skills which allows him to break up plays, intercept passes and get to the right areas. He can stop on a dime, he transitions seamlessly which is dangerous for any team that turns the puck over in the neutral zone against him as he can read the play and knows where the puck is going before it touches his stick. He’s poised and confident in his puck carrying and doesn’t force bad plays. He can maneuver his way through the neutral zone with soft hands and nifty skill and he can escape forecheck pressure with quick feet and tight turns to open ice. Half the time he gets back on the retrieval, turns up ice and makes a pass before the forechecker is even on him. St. Louis is the perfect embodiment of the phrase “playing chess when everyone else is playing checkers” because of his processor and how quickly he makes reads, decisions and moves pucks. He’s always calm and in control, he makes himself an option for his defensive partner when he’s being pressured and also fully utilizes his partner when he has the puck. He made the most memorable play of the weekend on a cross ice indirect pass through the neutral zone. He surveyed the ice and saw his only option was the cross ice pass but then he noticed instantly a defender was in between himself and the forward so he rifled a pass behind his teammates skates that went off the boards and hit him perfectly in stride on the tape. Can’t think of many ‘05s in North America who would have seen that option let alone had the skill to deliver it. The only weakness in his game was net front defense and deep in his zone covering bigger, stronger power forward types and keeping them away from the net. NTDP candidate with real upside given his hockey IQ and playmaking ability from the backend. Grade: A-
Bantam Eastern Exposure Cup, November 2019: Lucas caught our eye right away. He commands the game from the back, especially with the puck on his stick. He evaded the forecheck with ease and can skate or pass from his end. He used his partner very well as they supported each other to create ease passes up ice (this was a theme for all the MFF D.) Lucas created up ice but we really liked his transition game. He was able to make accurate passes while skating backwards or go back to front with the puck and jump into an open lane. His passes had proper pace and he can make them all; hard, indirect, feather, sauce, into space and backhand. His feet are superb which gave him the base to defend quickly and move around the ice with ease. He is a high-level prospect that stood out amongst a group of very, very good defensemen for MFF.
U14: USHL Showcase, October 2019: St. Louis was playing for his father’s team here at the Fall Classic and it’s evident that he’s a chip off the old block in terms of mobility and vision. One thing he does really well is use his feet to feed the rest of his game. Clearly he is not the biggest defenseman in this tournament but he has the ability to make up for it in coverage with his feet to keep himself in better position in order to make physical plays. In one shining example, we saw him make a great hip check to cancel out a rush because he recognized that the opposing forward was looking to sneak by him on the outside and he cut off his route by stapling him to the boards in a textbook fashion. Unsurprisingly for a player of his size he is shifty on his way up the sheet and difficult to catch flush in open ice. We also like the fact that he works hard along the walls in order to win pucks using low leverage in order to win battles. When emerging from his own zone he puts extra mustard on those passes to give his forwards a split-second of extra time to consider their options. Hard not to like his game at this age and there is plenty more to come, especially as he gets stronger. Grade: B+
STX 68 Combine, September 2019: St. Louis is smart, crafty player and he shows very good anticipation of the play. He did well to jump passing lanes and disrupt rushes. His slick, quick feet allow him excellent transition ability and also allow him to keep his gaps tight and smother puck carriers at the blue line. Very smart and effective with and without the puck. Very nimble and good acceleration. Evades contact and pressure well but is not afraid of contact whatsoever, just smart enough to know to avoid it when able.
TPE Spring Platform, April 2019: St. Louis was quite possibly the best skating defender at this tournament. There are no wasted motions in his stride and he is able to pivot and change direction very well. Does not have a lot of size at this point in his development but what he does have is an innate ability to read plays from his own end. He knows when to turn and go and carry the puck himself and went to dish it because his teammate has a better route up the ice. Offensively he is smart about when to pinch and when to back off exercising good decision-making. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in terms of athleticism.
2005 Mississauga Border Battle, March 2019: Puck mover who sees the ice better than most defensemen at this age. Most of his success comes from his skating ability and hockey IQ. Does a good job with his escapes and adds a nice first pass to his mobility. Poised on the power play, but does not like to shoot pucks. St. Louis is undersized, but makes up for it with body positioning in the corners. Son of former NHLer Martin St. Louis.
Crimson Elite Series 2005, January 2019: Smaller defenseman that played with great patience. Slows the game down and sees the whole ice. Plays with good poise on the PP and escapes pressure in the corners. Likes to be involved in the rush and is smart in transition. His feet are excellent. As he grows, so will his game. Stood out here. Son of former NHLer Marty St. Louis.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images