Chaz Lucius
Chaz Lucius is projected as one of the better centers in the draft, falling to the mid-teens on most boards. With McTavish, Beniers, Johnson (If you count him as a center) and occasionally even Cole Sillinger all ranked about Lucius on the boards, if would be quite the shock if Yzerman snagged him with at six.
While he doesn’t have the ceiling of a Lysell, Lucius does hold a bunch of potential. His most lethal strength is his goal-scoring: he has a shot for seemingly every situation. A quick skim through his tape reveals countless wristers from the point, dangerously quick one timers, the occasional slapshot and even the nasty backhander. His skating needs improvement to get to that NHL level, as well as his defensive vision and awareness.
If Lucius finds a way to transition to an NHL center, he could be a dangerously effective scoring second-line center. Detroit desperately needs that sort of depth down the middle; right now, the only real option coming through the pipeline is Joe Veleno, who tends to play a much safer (Two-way) style of hockey. Yzerman only picks Lucius at 6 if he thinks he can become an NHL center; if that’s the case, Lucius could become the next project in the pipeline.