But on Thursday night, he'll get a little taste of what life is like in the minors when the Bruins take on Florida in an exhibition game at the War Memorial in Rochester, N.Y., home of the Panthers' American Hockey League affiliate.
"It will be a cool experience," said Lucic. "Even in exhibition, I haven't played in any of the AHL rinks, so hopefully this one will be a good experience.
"I think almost everyone here except me had to go through that road," added Lucic, "so it's good to see a little of what they went through."
Shawn Thornton certainly knows the AHL well. He spent 605 games in the league and racked up 2,468 penalty minutes there between turning pro in 1997 and finally reaching the NHL full-time in 2007. More than a few of those games were spent playing against the Americans in Rochester, though the highlight of those days came away from the rink.
"None good," said Thornton when asked if he had any memories of playing in Rochester. "No, actually one of my favorite restaurants in the world is there. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Pit. My favorite part of Rochester. That's it."
Beyond the pulled pork and ribs, Thornton wasn't eager to go down memory lane about his stops in Rochester.
"I had a couple bad games there I try to forget, but nothing really memorable happened there," said Thornton. "I remember chasing [Bruins assistant coach Doug] Houda around the ice. He was scared of me, but other than that I just remember the barbecue. Best barbecue I've ever had. I hope I hope I can get some when I'm there this time."
Tim Thomas, who spent four seasons in the AHL as part of an eight-year journey to the NHL that also took him through the ECHL, IHL and stops in Sweden and Finland, did have one very memorable night in Rochester while playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs in 1998-99.
"I remember one game when I was with Hamilton," said Thomas. "Martin Biron was in the other net [for Rochester] and he chased a guy into the corner and started to get in a fight and I skated all the way down the ice. It was [referee] Paul Stewart's first game back after he had cancer.
"It was my second year pro, and back then I used to leave my wedding ring on when I was playing," continued Thomas. "So I threw my gloves off as I skated down the rink and Paul Stewart, who had been watching me through the game when I drank water, knew I had my ring on. So I was about 20 feet from the pile when Stewart yells out, 'You go in there with that ring on and you're out of here.' I just froze. The fight was pretty much broken up by that point anyway, but the thought's just going through my mind, 'What am I supposed to do, take my wedding ring off and throw it on the ice?' So that was a memory."
The years spent in the minors provide players with a lifetime of colorful anecdotes. They also give them an appreciation for how good they have it in the NHL now, and the occasional preseason trip to an old minor league barn is always a good reminder of how far they've come.
"They re-did the building [in Rochester] about six years ago. It was a lot worse when I first came into the league," said Thornton. "But yeah, it's a quiet little reminder, stepping into places like that. I'm very fortunate not to have to ride the bus all hours of the night to get into those places anymore. It's something I've never forgotten, but it's nice to get a little reminder here again."
Thomas agreed.
"I like visiting those rinks," said the veteran netminder. "I grew up watching IHL hockey in Flint, Michigan, in a very small arena, about 4,000 people. Rochester's bigger than that, but I like to revisit those old rinks. To me that's a part of hockey and it reminds me of when I was just a fan."
