Jakub Lauko already had the confidence and playmaking ability.
But early on this season, the more raw tools of his have been coming together.
The Boston Bruins' 2018 third-round pick is the second-youngest player on the Providence Bruins right now -- he turns 21 on March 28 -- but possesses a lot of fascinating offense skills.
Lauko is an impressive skater, which was the first thing that jumped off the page when the Bruins drafted him. His shot is deceptive -- as evidenced by the high-slot wrister he scored on in 2018 during an NHL preseason game -- and his hands allow him to be creative with the puck.
Injuries marred his first pro season, limiting him to just 22 games, in which he posted five goals and four assists. However, late last year he returned home to his native Czech Republic and played pro there for Karlovy Vary. Lauko scored five goals with as many assists over 25 games.
Now he's hitting the ground running, beginning with a pair of primary assists in Providence's season opener last Friday.
"He's a very young player. He was a 19-year-old with us last year and obviously had a tough go with injuries," Providence coach Jay Leach said Wednesday over Zoom. "So any player at that age just needs reps. They need games, so thankfully he was able to get in I want to say close to 15 games in the Czech league before he came over.
"That and the combination of his maturity and his strength improving has really shown to have kind of put him on a different level. He's flying around out there. He's really starting to come into his own. Now he just needs some reps in North America. He just needs to get used to playing in the small rink, which to be honest probably suits him a little better in the end. He's very much a straight-line player. ... Now it's certainly time for him to get into some North American action and see where it takes him."
It's unclear what kind of offensive player Lauko will be in North America, in large part because the sample size is too small. He's been a sound facilitator that can also score in the AHL, but in his one season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, he had 21 goals in 20 assists in 41 games. The ability to do it himself is there.
Pegging any 20-year-old prospect as a possible point-per-game player is a fool's errand. But if nothing else, Lauko has the makeup of a player who could potentially be a useful scorer in the AHL and NHL.
"He certainly has the makeup for a goal-scorer. Is he a pure goal-scorer? I don't really know, it's hard to say," Leach said. "I never want to put limitations or expectations on these guys, they're so young. It doesn't really do us any good or the player. But I can tell you he's got a shot. He can make a high-end play in tight, he can make a high-end play off the rush, certainly has the speed.
"So he has a lot of characteristics of someone that can score, obviously at this level and at the next one. The potential is certainly there and I think his desire to do so is also there, so makes for certainly an interesting prospect within our organization."
Look no further than David Pastrnak and David Krejci to see that the Bruins historically have hit well on drafting Czech players, as well as finding wingers in the third round of the draft (Brad Marchand comes to mind).
Like anyone else in the American league, Lauko needs time to bake. But the early returns thus far are that the end result could be worth the wait.
