( Photo Credit: NHL.com )

By: Jeff Playdon | Follow me on Twitter @PlaydonJeff

The 21-year-old youngster has been lighting it up for the AHL Providence Bruins the past three years. This season so far, through nine games played, Lauko has one goal and four assists for five points, making him the sixth-highest point scorer on Providence. But with the Boston Bruins core guys getting older, like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, guys like Jakub Lauko could be getting the call up anytime soon.

Odds aren’t great with recent Offseason Acquisitions

Although the youngster displays tremendous skill and speed and has been dominating the AHL lately, the recent offseason acquisitions made in the offseason from Boston don’t stack up well for Lauko. Boston brought in three veterans for the bottom six in Nick Foligno, Erik Haula, and Tomas Nosek to try and fill in the center spot recently accompanied by David Krejci. Together though, those three have only accompanied for five points through nine games this season.

However, Lauko has the same amount of points as those three combined down in Providence. In seasons of late, Lauko has had a hill to climb. A knee injury in the ’19-’20 season and the bizarre covid-season of ’20-’21 had essentially put Lauko out of sight and out of mind for the Bruins. But with the past training camps a couple of months ago and Lauko displaying his tremendous skill set, the Lauko hype train is back on its tracks. In an interview back in September when training camps were underway, first-year Providence Head Coach Ryan Mougenel had this to say about the talented left-winger:

“When we’re talking about players, one description I always use is,’ Does he get you excited?’ And I think every time he steps on the ice, something happens. He’s had a ton of growth. I think he was a young pro coming into a men’s league, and he’s definitely put the time in with his growth as a player and a person. We’re very happy with how he’s come along; he’s a special kid, tons of energy. Just an exciting kid to be around.”

Past Season Stats for Lauko

When Lauko sustained a knee injury during the ’19-’20 season, it came just halfway through the season. With that being said, though, Lauko was having a pretty good season up to that point. Through 22 games played, Lauko scored five times and assisted four times for an average of 0.41 points scored a game. The following season, which was shortened because of COVID-19, showed that Jakub Lauko was the real deal. In the 23 games that Lauko played, he found the back of the net five times, assisted on 14 goals, posted a +/- of +11, and scored 0.83 points a game average. In addition, 19 points on the season made him the second-highest point scorer for Providence, two points behind Cameron Hughes.

Aging Boston Roster could mean Good things for Lauko

Patrice Bergeron, 36, and Brad Marchand, 33, could be nearing the very end of their playing career, as much as Bruins fans don’t want to hear that. So, with that in mind, Jakub Lauko could be debuting with Boston very soon. Just don’t expect it this season. Although Bergeron and Marchand are aging, they’re aging like fine wine. The two are currently leading the Bruins in points scored (Marchand, 14 and Bergeron, 8), with Bergeron recently scoring four goals in one game for the second time in his career on November 4th against Detroit, so he doesn’t look like he’s slowing down anytime soon.

But back to Lauko, it wouldn’t hurt the youngster to get an entire season of playing time down in Providence. Also, another note to add, other guys up there in age for Boston is Nick Foligno, 34, Craig Smith, 32, and Erik Haula, 30. So as time goes on and those players age, don’t be surprised if you see Jakub Lauko make his NHL Debut next season or even sooner.