ie Vancouver Giants loss is the Boston Bruins gain. The reason for that is Milan Lucic, just 19, the hulking 64, 220 lb. winger who is having a big impact in Beantown. Lucic played for the Giants for just two seasons, but in those two years with the junior team he has developed more rapidly than most players do in an entire career. During his tenure in the WHL, Lucic became known as one of the most fearsome fighters league wide, but he also had one of the most well rounded games around. During his rookie season with Vancouver, Lucic scored a modest nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points in 62 games for the Giants. What really got him noticed was his fighting ability; he chalked up an incredible 149 penalty minutes that first year. Those statistics also played a role in shaping the Giants WHL championship season before the team bowed out to the Moncton Wildcats in the Memorial Cup semi-finals. His year was good enough for him to be selected by the * Bruins in the second round, fiftieth overall. The next year, Lucic showed up to the Giants with a determination to improve his offensive production and to become a better overall player. With the departure of team superstar Gilbert Brule, who was drafted sixth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Lucic was able to play a more starring role with the team. He led the Giants to the Memorial Cup championship that year, scoring 30 times with 38 assists for 68 points in 70 games. He was still a fighter, recording 147 penalty minutes. Lucic was dominant for the Giants in the Memorial Cup, which was held in Vancouver. He tied for the tournament lead in scoring with seven points, and was named MVP of the competition as the Giants won it all. That summer, Lucic played for Team Canada in the 2007 Canada-Russia junior Super Series, in which Canada absolutely annihilated the Russians. Lucic was appointed captain of the Canadian side; not bad for a guy never taken in the WHL draft. With the WHL graduation of captain Bret Festerling, the Giant’s coach Don Hay named = Lucic captain of the squad. Lucic was _ expected to attend the Bruins training camp at the start of this season and “He has been compared to the legendary Lucic Making an Impact By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor winger Cam Neely. The fact 1s. Lucie as the prototypical Boston Bruin. He is a big, rough and tumble type player who loves the physical side of the game but also has offensive touch. He is a budding power forward in the making. In his first game in the NHL, against the Dallas Stars, Lucic had his first fight, and since then, he hasn’t looked back. He notched his first goal against the L.A. Kings on in the fourth game of the year, in which he also had a Gordie Howe hat trick: be quickly returned A goal, an assist, and a to junior. However, « fight. Lucic had other plans. B oston wing er He’s _ scored He surprised everyone five goals and six by sticking around all camp and eventually making the team at just 19 years old. The Giants hoped that Lucic would only be around for the first seven games, which is the junior player cut off, and then be sent back to them. Again, Lucic had a surprise in store. Lucic impressed everyone in the Bruins organization, and has had _ people comparing him to legendary Boston Cam Neely.” assists for 11 points in 44 games with Boston this year, and that was good enough to get into the YoungStars game last weekend in Atlanta, in which he scored one goal. Lucic might not have stayed with the Giants for as long as some might have hoped, but while his junior career has concluded, it looks like his NHL future is just getting started. East Beats West in NHL All-Star By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor L. the battle of the best players from around the National Hockey League, the Eastern Conference has beaten the stars from the Western Conference by a score of 8-7 in Atlanta, home of the Thrashers. Eastern Conference and Carolina Hurricane center Eric Staal was named the game MVP after a two- goal, one assist evening in a close game. Staal set up line mate Mare Savard of the Boston Bruins, who scored the game winner against the West’s Manny Legace with only 21 seconds remaining in regulation time. Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets also made a case for the MVPaward witha hat-trick performance. His first goal came just 12 seconds into the game. The All-star game has long been criticized for not being competitive and far too often being lackluster. While there was little physical intensity, the first hit came with only one minute remaining in the whole game after Phoenix’s Ed Jovanoski accidentally skated into Ilya Kovalchuk, there were a number of wonderful plays and plenty of skillful stick handling. The East jumped out to a five to 18 one lead after the first period, with goals coming from Staal, Andrei Markov, Alexander Ovechkin, Brian Campbell and another one from Ovechkin. In the second period, the West battled back with goals from Nash and Anaheim’s Scott Niedermayer. Evgeni Nabokov, the iron man goaltender for the San Jose Sharks, shut out the high powered Eastern forwards in the period with eight saves. The third was a back and forth affair between the teams. Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin had a pair of assists in the game, including a highlight reel set up to Minnesota’s Marian Gaborik. Imagine if those two could play together all the time... game One of the big stories of the game was the injuries to some of the league’s best. Sidney Crosby, Henrik Zetterberg, Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, and Dany Heatley were all absent from the affair. While many clamber for changes to the All-star game, some have suggested adopting baseball’s method of awarding home ice advantage to the conference that wins the All-star game in the Stanley Cup finals, it is probably best to just enjoy the experience for what it is. While there may not be a tonne of hitting, fans are privy to watching the best of the best showcase their offensive talents against one another. Also, it makes for a nice change from the often- monotonous pace of many of today’s NHL games. The game was a treat for fans in attendance, and those watching on television, as it was closer than it had been in years. It wasn’t nearly as lackluster as many have claimed, it was plain to see that both sides wanted to win, and the game gave viewers a glimpse of the awesome offensive potential of many players if some of the coaches would let them loose.