( Photo Credit: Sportsnet )


By: Mark Allred  |  Follow Me On Twitter @BlackAndGold277
After a great 2018-19 regular season that produced a 59-8-0-1 record and 119 points, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies team seemed like the club to beat entering the postseason. The Huskies pretty much ran through the playoffs beating Shawinigan in the first-round series 4-2, Sweeping Victoriaville 4-0 in the Quarter Finals followed by another 4-0 Semi-Final sweep of Rimouski to beating the round-robin Tournament host Halifax Mooseheads capturing the organizations first ever Memorial Cup.

Boston Bruins prospect and first-year QMJHL player Jakub Lauko had a good season after the B’s organization selected him in the third round of the National Hockey League Draft last June. The 19-year-old Czech Republic native had a critical decision to make after leaving the draft podium concerning his development and how aggressive both he and the Bruins organization wanted to go. The options on the table during the offseason for Lauko was to either return to his Czech Republic country or take a stern approach and mold his skill set with a team in North America and the tighter offensive game.
Lauko was a 2017 Canadian Hockey League import draft selection in the second round so with Rouyn-Noranda holding his rights it was a no brainer to place him in the “Q” a decision that’s certainly paid dividends. During the regular 2018-19 season, Jakub posted 21-20-41 numbers in 44 games and then in 19 playoff games had 6-7-13 totals leading up to the annual round robin tournament. In the Memorial Cup tournament, Lauko certainly picked up the pace on the score sheet and his game away from the puck. In five games leading up to the Huskies championship since the clubs beginnings in 1996, the 6′-0″ 170-pound versatile forward posted 2-6-8 numbers as one of the key factors to winning it all.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The crafty forward was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract in late September of 2018 and as a rookie forward in North America he certainly capped off an impressive showing as a member of one of the greatest CHL teams ever. His effort during the regular season, a 2019 QMJHL President Cup Champion, and recipient of the CHL Memorial Cup Ed Chynoweth Award for most points in the tournament and a 2019 Memorial Cup winner have this Bruins prospect off to a good start and an impressive resume thus far. Although these experiences might be small to some out there, these are important events to a young man’s hockey career and feed the hunger for more as he takes a step closer to the NHL.
Now with all these great accomplishments mentioned above and in such short order, it leads to many speculations of his arrival and when he’ll, in fact, wear the Black N’ Gold as many fans shoot from the hip on the shiny new toy mentality and need to see this guy sooner rather than later.  To me, he’s a fantastic piece to the future of the NHL Bruins, but like all prospects, he’s a work-in-progress. The days of rushing prospects through the system are all but over unless you have that gem like a Patrice Bergeron or David Pastrnak of past years, properly developing players and using the junior and minor-pro levels to continue and mold a player to be an all-around pro.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Even though Lauko had a great year in the QMJHL that lasted from September to last night, I believe he and the B’s organization should entertain the idea of an additional season of work back with his Rouyn-Noranda club for the entire 2019-20 campaign. This will only increase the need to form a better two-way game, and I’ve heard from a few folks close to the Huskies team that he struggled and showed frustration with how he was being taught the defensive style. Something he might not have been used to under the coaching eyes of an international staff and larger ice surface he was around over a year ago. That two-way game certainly found it’s way into the young forwards head as the Huskies staff never gave up, and it definitely showed after his return from the 2019 IIHF World Juniors Under-20 team representing his Czech Republic country.
I always use Jake DeBrusk as a perfect example of proper development. Do you honestly believe a player like him would have the NHL rookie year like he did without a full season with the American Hockey Leagues Providence Bruins? Anything could’ve happened, but in my opinion, I don’t think so.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js