Wisconsin Badgers Cruz Lucius has been enjoying his sophomore season on the hockey team. On Thursday night, he was one of several prospects who were traded from the Carolina Hurricanes organization to the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
In this trade, Pittsburgh acquired Lucius, Michael Bunting, Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev, a conditional 2024 second-round pick, and a conditional 2024 fifth-round pick for Jake Guentzel and Ty Smith. Carolina is trying to win a Stanley Cup this season and Pittsburgh is trying to rebuild its franchise as they don’t have other quality prospects.
Cruz Lucius has been very good during his sophomore season for the Badgers. In 32 games played, he has scored 12 goals and has recorded 19 assists. His plus/minus rating is 2. During his freshman year of college, he scored 11 goals and recorded 23 assists, in 34 games played along with a plus/minus rating of -7.
The Badgers will begin a three-game series in the BIG10 Ice Hockey Tournament starting on Friday against the #7 Ohio State Buckeyes. The only team that finished ahead of Wisconsin during the regular season was the Michigan State Spartans. After the first round of the playoffs in the tournament, it will be a single elimination tournament.
The Pittsburgh Penguins Organization Is Getting a Talented Player With Wisconsin Badgers Cruz Lucius in the Jake Guentzel Trade
Lucius is 19 years old and he is 6’0″ and weighs 179 lbs. He has a right-handed shot and plays on the right wing for the Badgers. Cruz Lucius was a fourth-round selection (124th overall pick) by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The Athletic graded the trade for both the Hurricanes and the Penguins. Corey Pronman spoke about Cruz Lucius playing at the NHL level by saying:
“Cruz Lucius is a skilled and creative winger who has been a top forward on a strong University of Wisconsin team this season. He has legit playmaking skills at the college level, but his average size and so-so skating leads to questions about how well he will translate to the pros. He has a chance to play games but he will need to prove his game works against men.”
Lucius will potentially also have next season with the Wisconsin Badgers at the college level. It would be interesting to see when the Pittsburgh Penguins would give him an entry-level deal. The Carolina Hurricanes have a deep prospect pool and they had to deal with some talented players for Jake Guentzel.
Guentzel is potentially a rental for Carolina. They hope they can sign him to a long-term deal but that remains to be seen in the long-term because if he hits the free agent, a lot of teams will go after him. Getting Cruz Lucius in a trade for Pittsburgh was a good deal for general manager Kyle Dubas also.
