Lukas Svejkovsky is entering his second WHL season with the Vancouver Giants after a rookie season that saw him improve as the months went on.
“He played a lot better down the stretch for us (last season)”, said Giants Head Coach Michael Dyck. He continued by saying, “He got a lot more confidence as the year went on. He was trying to find his way early in the season.”
Missing only one game all season, he had 26 points (9G, 17A) in 67 games. He broke out during the team’s memorable run to the WHL Final, putting up 13 points (4G, 9A) in 22 playoff games.
The 2000-born forward was originally drafted by Vancouver in the second round of the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft 36th overall after playing his bantam hockey at the local Delta Hockey Academy alongside last year’s Giants teammate Aidan Barfoot and Buffalo Sabres first round pick Dylan Cozens.
Having not signed with the Giants right away after weighing potential NCAA options, the Point Roberts, Washington native put up 11 points (5G, 6A) in 16 games and added a goal in 18 playoff games in his first season of junior hockey with the Wenatchee Wild en route to winning the Fred Page Cup as BCHL champions in 2017-18.
The five-foot-nine 159 pound forward had himself an impressive 2019 preseason that showed multiple improvements in his game. He’s driving the net with more strength and speed as well as finding his spots to shoot the puck.
“Being a bit of an undersized guy, I definitely tried to hit the gym lots and trained with Ian Gallagher a lot and I think that was great for my development.” Svejkovsky continued by saying, “I gained some weight and tried getting faster on the ice….worked on my shot a lot too.”
His father, Yogi, has been the Giants’ skills coach since the franchise’s Memorial Cup winning season in 2006-07 and was also a first round pick of the Washington Capitals in 1996 (17th overall), going on to play 113 NHL games between the Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The work in the gym seems to be paying off so far through preseason.
In the Giants’ fifth preseason game, taking on the Prince George Cougars, Svejkovsky scored two goals and added an assist. Both goals were a result of hard net drives — from both sides of the crease.
In four preseason games, he put up four points (2G, 2A).
The first goal, which eventually was the game-winner, saw him burn the Cougars defender wide and snuck one past a sprawling Isaiah DiLaura’s left pad.
The second goal, the insurance marker, was a mirror image of his previous goal, finishing it off on his backhand.
“It was definitely a confidence booster,” Svejkovsky said about his big game. “I definitely put a higher standard for myself this year in terms of getting my coach’s trust and stuff like that.”
So far he’s been doing a good job of that, as Coach Dyck has taken notice of the skilled winger’s abilities.
“His expectations are going to grow here offensively,” said Dyck. “He’s a guy who can finish around the net. He’s going to get more opportunity to score and we’re going to be looking for some numbers from him.”
Svejkovsky, having been born in November, is entering his first year of NHL Draft eligibility as a 2001 birthyear. As of now, he is not currently on any draft rankings but a breakout sophomore season could easily change that. Right now, he’s focussed on this Giants team.
“One of my goals is to get drafted this year but I just try not to think about it too much, my main focus is just doing what I can for the team and contribute.”
A note for Giants fans: After wearing #28 in his rookie season, Svejkovsky has switched to #20 for the upcoming season.
Giant Thoughts…The Giants made a step in finalizing their overage situation by sending Jadon Joseph to the Moose Jaw Warriors in exchange for a pair of draft picks. Joseph had 28 points in 32 games with the Giants in 2018-19…Alex Kannok-Leipert (WSH), David Tendeck (ARI), Milos Roman (CGY) and Trent Miner (COL) have been returned to the Giants from their respective NHL clubs and are expected to be with the team for their season opener Friday in Prince George…
