Jake Lucchini

Jake Lucchini
Born (1995-05-09) May 9, 1995 (age 29)
Trail, British Columbia, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Nashville Predators
Milwaukee Admirals (AHL)
Ottawa Senators
Minnesota Wild
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2019–present

Jacob Leo Lucchini (born May 9, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Originally undrafted by teams in the NHL, Lucchini has also previously played for the Ottawa Senators and Minnesota Wild.

Playing career

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Amateur

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Lucchini played junior hockey for the Trail Smoke Eaters of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). With Trail, scored 48 goals, 69 assists for 117 points in 168 games.[1] He played National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college hockey for Michigan Tech Huskies of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) for four seasons. In his first season with the Huskies in 2015–16 season He recorded seven goals and 17 points in 37 games and was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team.[2][3] In his sophomore season in 2016–17 he appeared in 45 games, scoring 11 goals and 22 points.[3] In his junior season in 2017–18 season Lucchini was named an alternate captain and scored 16 goals and 39 points in 44 games, leading the team in scoring. He was named to the WCHA All-Academic Team.[2] Lucchini played on two Michigan Tech championship teams.[4] He was named co-captain of the Huskies in his senior year, and scored 11 goals and 26 points in 38 games.[3]

Professional

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While at Michigan Tech, Lucchini attended both the National Hockey League (NHL) Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins' prospect training camps.[2] However, he went undrafted by NHL teams. After completing his senior season with Michigan Tech, he signed an entry-level contract with the Penguins.[1] He was assigned to Pittsburgh's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, for the remainder of the 2018–19 season.[5] He scored six goals and seven points in 15 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.[3] He began the 2019–20 season with Wilkes-Barre, appearing in 53 games, recording seven goals and 15 points.[3] On February 20, 2020, Lucchini was traded by the Penguins along with Joseph Blandisi to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forwards Phil Varone and Riley Barber. He was immediately reassigned by the Canadiens to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.[6] He finished the season playing in eight games, scoring four goals and five points,[3] before the AHL suspended the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 12.[7] In the 2020 offseason, Lucchini signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Canadiens.[8] He was assigned to Laval for the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season and appeared in 28 games, scoring three goals and six points.[3] Ahead of the 2021–22 season, Lucchini was traded by Laval to the Belleville Senators, the AHL affiliate of the Ottawa Senators, for future considerations.[9] He had what was considered a "breakout" season with Belleville, scoring 20 goals and 51 points in 72 games. [4] Belleville qualified for the 2022 Calder Cup playoffs and in two games, Lucchini recorded one assist.[3]

As an unrestricted free agent, Lucchini was signed to a one-year, two-way NHL contract with the Ottawa Senators on July 13, 2022.[10] After attending Ottawa's training camp, he was placed on waivers and after going unclaimed, was assigned to Belleville.[11] During the 2022–23 season, Lucchini was called up to Ottawa and made his NHL debut on December 14, 2022, against the Canadiens.[4][12] He scored the first NHL goal of his career on January 1, 2023, against the Buffalo Sabres.[13] Lucchini was returned to Belleville after eleven games with Ottawa.[14] He finished the season with 19 goals and 53 points in 61 games with Belleville and one goal in 11 games with Ottawa.[3]

As an unrestricted free agent from the Senators, Lucchini was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild for the 2023–24 season on July 1, 2023.[15] He attended the Wild's 2023 training camp but failed to make the team. He was placed on waivers but went unclaimed and was assigned to Minnesota's AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, to begin the 2023–24 season.[16] He was recalled on December 23 by Minnesota and made his debut for the team that night versus the Boston Bruins.[17] After skating in four games going scoreless, he was returned to Iowa before being recalled to replace the injured Connor Dewar on January 20, 2024.[18] He played in four more games before returning to Iowa again. His stay in Iowa was short-lived as he was once again recalled by Minnesota on February 5.[19] He scored his first goal for Minnesota in a 2–1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on February 7.[20] He made a career best 40 appearances for Minnesota over the course of the season, notching two goals and five points. In 30 games with Iowa he registered 11 goals and 23 points.[3]

Leaving the Wild at the conclusion of his contract, Lucchini was signed to a two-year, two-way contract with the Nashville Predators on July 1, 2024.[21] He was assigned to Nashville's AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, to start the 2024–25 season.[22] He was recalled by Nashville on March 1, 2025 and made his Predators debut that night in a game against the New York Islanders.[23][24]

Personal

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Lucchini is the son of Sandy and John Lucchini. His younger brother Jeremy also played for the Trail Smoke Eaters in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and the two played one season together. Jeremy is now a professional player in Europe. His grandfather Leo Lucchini was a member of the Edmonton Mercurys that won the 1950 IIHF World Championship.[25]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Beaver Valley NiteHawks KIJHL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Beaver Valley NiteHawks KIJHL 9 4 9 13 4 12 2 6 8 2
2012–13 Trail Smoke Eaters BCHL 55 5 3 8 17 — — — — —
2013–14 Trail Smoke Eaters BCHL 55 8 18 26 12 — — — — —
2014–15 Trail Smoke Eaters BCHL 58 35 47 82 32 — — — — —
2015–16 Michigan Tech WCHA 37 7 10 17 10 — — — — —
2016–17 Michigan Tech WCHA 45 11 11 22 20 — — — — —
2017–18 Michigan Tech WCHA 44 16 23 39 8 — — — — —
2018–19 Michigan Tech WCHA 38 11 15 26 14 — — — — —
2018–19 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 15 6 1 7 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 53 7 8 15 10 — — — — —
2019–20 Laval Rocket AHL 8 4 1 5 4 — — — — —
2020–21 Laval Rocket AHL 28 3 3 6 6 — — — — —
2021–22 Belleville Senators AHL 72 20 31 51 14 2 0 1 1 0
2022–23 Belleville Senators AHL 61 19 34 53 6 — — — — —
2022–23 Ottawa Senators NHL 11 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2023–24 Iowa Wild AHL 30 11 12 23 8 — — — — —
2023–24 Minnesota Wild NHL 40 2 3 5 23 — — — — —
NHL totals 51 3 3 6 23 — — — — —

Awards and honours

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Award Year
BCHL
Second All-Star Team 2015 [26]
College
WCHA All-Rookie Team 2016 [25]
WCHA Champions 2017, 2018 [26]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lucchini gets FA deal with Pens". British Columbia Hockey League. March 12, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "2018-19 Men's Ice Hockey – Jake Lucchini". Michigan Tech Huskies. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Jake Lucchini". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Ludlum, Mike (December 14, 2022). "Former MTU Captain Lucchini makes NHL debut tonight". TV6. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  5. ^ Bailey, Jim (March 12, 2019). "NHL Penguins ink deal with former Smoke Eater, Jake Lucchini". Trail Times. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  6. ^ "Canadiens acquire forwards Lucchini and Blandisi from Penguins". Montreal Canadiens. February 20, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2022 – via NHL.com.
  7. ^ "AHL cancels rest of regular season, playoffs due to COVID-19 pandemic". Sportsnet. May 11, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  8. ^ "Canadiens, forward Jake Lucchini agree to one-year, two-way contract". Montreal Gazette. September 28, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  9. ^ "Belleville Senators acquire Jake Lucchini from Laval" (Press release). Belleville Senators. October 12, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  10. ^ "Senators sign forward Jake Lucchini to one-year, two-way NHL contract extension". Belleville Senators. July 13, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  11. ^ Garrioch, Bruce (October 2, 2022). "Garrioch: With 19 players sent to Belleville, Senators will focus on getting ready for season". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  12. ^ Garrioch, Bruce (December 14, 2022). "Garrioch: Tim Stutzle's shoulder injury isn't serious but he'll miss at least a week". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  13. ^ Warren, Ken (January 1, 2023). "Lucchini scores winning goal as Senators rebound with big New Year's Day victory". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  14. ^ "Sens place F Lucchini on waivers". TSN. January 17, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  15. ^ "Minnesota Wild signs forwards Vinni Lettieri and Jake Lucchini". Minnesota Wild. July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023 – via NHL.com.
  16. ^ "Minnesota Wild Reduces Training Camp Roster to 31". Minnesota Wild. October 1, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023 – via NHL.com.
  17. ^ Loucks, Dylan (December 23, 2023). "Jake Lucchini Excited to make Wild debut tonight vs Bruins". The Hockey News. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  18. ^ "Minnesota Wild Recalls Jake Lucchini and Jesper Wallstedt from Iowa". Minnesota Wild. January 20, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2025 – via NHL.com.
  19. ^ "Minnesota Wild Recalls Jake Lucchini from Iowa". Minnesota Wild. February 5, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2025 – via NHL.com.
  20. ^ "Marcus Foligno scores as Minnesota Wild edge the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1". ESPN. Associated Press. February 8, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  21. ^ "Predators agree to terms with four free agents". Nashville Predators. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  22. ^ "Predators Reduce Roster to 31 Players". Nashville Predators. September 29, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2025 – via NHL.com.
  23. ^ "Predators Recall Jake Lucchini, Spencer Stastney From Milwaukee (AHL)". Nashville Predators. March 1, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2025 – via NHL.com.
  24. ^ "Game Day: Preds at Rangers, March 2". Nashville Predators. March 2, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2025 – via NHL.com.
  25. ^ a b "Jake Lucchini - Michigan Tech Athletics". Michigan Tech University. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  26. ^ a b "Jake Lucchini". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
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