The 2024-25 season was quite a whirlwind for one Pittsburgh Penguins' forward prospect.
21-year-old right winger Cruz Lucius was introduced to the Penguins' organization when he was traded from the Carolina Hurricanes - along with forward Michael Bunting, prospects Ville Koivunen and Vasily Ponomarev, and a conditional first-round pick that turned into Harrison Brunicke - as part of the blockbuster Jake Guentzel trade at the 2024 trade deadline.
But it's not so much his transition to Pittsburgh’s organization that has presented some challenges.
Lucius spent two seasons from 2022-24 with the University of Wisconsin Badgers - where he amassed 24 goals and 68 points in 70 games - before making the decision to transfer to Arizona State University (ASU) for the 2024-25 season. The trouble is that he was entering his transfer year coming off of surgery to repair a torn labrum, which was something that was tough for him to come back from.
Upon his return to action, he put up just two goals and 10 points in 19 games, which was below his standards. But, one year later during Penguins’ prospect development camp on Jul. 3-7, he had finally started to feel like things were normal again.
“I feel really good,” Lucius said during camp. “I think, throughout the start coming back, I had some ups and downs. But the training I’ve been doing this summer - whether it’s skates or working out - I’ve been feeling back to myself now.”
Even beyond the injury, it’s not too often that you see a near-point-per-game forward playing for a Big-10 NCAA team transfer to a smaller hockey school in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).
But Lucius could be happier with his decision, as he was intrigued initially by the growth of ASU’s hockey program and has had a great experience with the staff.
“I feel like I saw something special going on at ASU,” Lucius said. “I guess, maybe, from an outside perspective, people may think it’s not very hockey-oriented. But, when you go there, it’s what they’re all about. The training that we do, whether it’s lifting or skating, even the staff and everybody loves to be there, loves what they’re doing… I think that feeds off on the players and the energy there.
“Obviously, it was a tough decision, but I couldn’t be happier with where I’m at right now.”
And in terms of being happy with his landing spot, it’s not just about ASU. Lucius is also thrilled to be part of the Penguins’ organization.
One of the sentiments that has been echoed by many in the organization throughout the summer is that there is a major focus on development. General manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas has said it. Assistant general manager Jason Spezza has talked about it. So, too, has new head coach Dan Muse.
Director of player development Tom Kostopoulos discussed the growth of the Penguins’ development team since Dubas took the reigns in the summer of 2023.
“I think that ownership and management has built out a ton of resources available to players that can only help them,” Kostopoulos said. “And, if the players are willing to use that to help them develop, that’s where we’re seeing growth in some of the players. It’s been a lot of fun to watch the growth in the staff, then resulting in helping the players develop.”
Lucius has also noticed the breadth of the Penguins’ developmental staff. And he loves how individualized the approach from the organization is when it comes to each player, which is something that isn’t necessarily common across NHL organizations.
“The development piece of it is, from what it seems like, next to none,” Lucius said. “The amount of people that put their energy - and really, a lot of their energy - into each individual player, it’s really, really cool to see. And I think that’s something with my injury, seeing how great everyone was and how much help the organization was for even just some little things, too - before surgery, and after, and during.
“It’s just really, really good, and they just want you to get better every single day.”
Throughout development camp this summer, Lucius felt pretty good about where his health and his game were at. He pointed to his shot and his hockey sense as two major areas of strength in his game, while he is continuing to put in the work to improve his skating.
With development camp in the rearview, the focus for Lucius shifts to the upcoming Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, NHL training camp, and the 2025-26 season. And - like many of his peers - he will be putting forth his best to vie for a spot on the NHL roster this season.
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