It was a long road to the NHL for Jakub Lauko, who spent four seasons working toward becoming a member of the Bruins, but the rookie winger made the most of his first opportunity on Wednesday night in Washington D.C.
Originally drafted in the third-round of the 2018 NHL Draft, Lauko toiled in the minors as he awaited an opportunity with the big club. The 22-year-old was railroaded by injuries and had his development put on pause due to a COVID-19-impacted 2021 campaign. The Czechia native barely missed out on a spot last season, but squeezed his way onto the fourth line to start the 2022-23 campaign. His first game as a member of that fourth line went swimmingly.
Lauko finished with three hits in his debut and drew two key penalties that grinded Washington's momentum on the way to a 5-2 Boston win. Head coach Jim Montgomery spoke about the impact Lauko made following the game.
"That's why we want him in the lineup," Montgomery said, as seen on NESN's postgame coverage. "Not just his ability to draw penalties but his speed and take pucks to hard areas. I thought that fourth line got us going right away in the first shift of the game. ... Really pleased."
Teammate and fellow countryman David Krejci, who was making a Bruins return, pitched in some praise of his own.
"He was great. You can tell he's an energy guy and he did just that. Really happy for him," Krejci said.
The solid NHL start was one that comes from a player who had plenty of motivation heading into the season. After not being added to the roster last season, the youngster worked hard at improving the aspects of his game that he felt were lacking. Though he wasn't perfect, Lauko did give consistent and honest assessments of his game heading into this campaign.
Boston's season-opening win provided quite the experience for Lauko and his family, one that they hope to familiar with.
