2025 NHL Draft Scouting Report #2: Lynden Lakovic, LW, Moose Jaw Warriors
Background
Lakovic is a 6’4” 190 pound left winger out of Kelowna, BC. Unlike many high end NHL prospects, Lakovic was never the most touted player in his area. He first put himself into the mix as a 14-year-old when he started playing for Pursuit of Excellence Prep in Kelowna, where Lakovic put up only 5 goals and 11 points in 29 games. However, even with the slow start to his production, there were still signs of a significantly good player lying in his game, waiting to burst onto the scene. Despite this, hope of any real breakout campaign quickly ended due to the COVID lockdown. This shortened the season to only 4 games in which he’d make due; posting 3 goals and 7 points for RINK Hockey Academy (previously Pursuit of Excellence Prep). This was enough to catch the eye of the Moose Jaw Warriors staff, who saw the raw talent in a young Lynden’s game and immediately jumped at the chance to snag him with the 27th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft.
The production hadn’t yet matched the potential, but for Lakovic, the biggest thing wasn’t the numbers, instead it was his birthday. Because Lakovic was born on December 12th - 3 months past the cut off for the NHL Draft - Lakovic got to experience a much needed extra season of development. In 2021, Lakovic would spend most the season with West Van Academy, playing for their U18 Prep team in the touted CSSHL. Finally, Lakovic would get a chance to start putting together some of his extremely raw, yet promising intangibles, posting 18 goals for West Van in 33 games. That season and the next proved to be the stepping stool that Lakovic needed to really hone his skills and piece his game together, leading to an impressive D-1 season in 2024 that saw him post 39 points in 68 games for Moose Jaw.
Now, Lakovic has proven that he truly has taken that next step in his game. On weeknights, you can often stop by the Temple Gardens Centre to find Lynden torching teams with his heavy shot and high hockey IQ.
Skating
Lakovic’s skating is an interesting conundrum. On one hand, the eye test would suggest that in a straight line, Lakovic’s lack of speed is in a sense troubling to his true potential in the NHL. His stride is small and somewhat choppy, especially for someone at his size. Not only that, but these deficiencies in his game are only holding him back more when you consider the skill he possesses, and how a lack of straight line speed severely limits his effectiveness in transition. This also limits his game on the power-play, as Lakovic is extremely good at operating from the high portions of the offensive zone, but oftentimes isn’t able to successfully carry the puck deep into the zone due to his speed; usually having to dump the puck after making it past the first layer of the defense in the neutral zone.
However, there are a couple huge bright spots in Lakovic’s game that makes his draft stock all the more intriguing. His edgework is superb for a 6’4” winger, and he’s excellent at using his long wingspan and big frame to protect the puck while he makes quick pivots along the boards before bursting out the turn with strong, powerful crossovers. When given enough space, Lakovic can create dangerous speed in the neutral zone with his crossovers. In short spurts, Lakovic’s speed isn’t a problem, as he can use those crossovers to explode into open ice, where he can dissect a defense more with his IQ and vision, rather than his raw skating.
Overall, Lakovic is a close to above average skater, especially for someone that is still getting used to his frame and still extremely raw in a lot of facets. Why I’m personally not too worried about his skating is because of his big frame. Someone with a 6’4” body naturally will be able to skate faster than most players smaller than him, simply due to their stride length, and sheer amount of force they can generate in their legs. If Lakovic can put more work into his stride and find a way to continue to gain speed in a straight line, rather than just leveling off, he’ll be a dangerous puck mover at the next level.
Offensive Game
The offensive zone is clearly where Lakovic loves to do most of his work, whether that be crossing the opposing blue line in transition, or manipulating a defense in a stand still on the power play. One of Lakovic’s major strengths is his finishing ability; no matter where he is on the ice, he’s always a threat to score. He receives passes extremely well, and the pop the puck has coming off his stick is something that should be studied. He’s a smart shooter as well - his first read is always to go low, but he’s never afraid to whistle the puck high and over the goalies shoulder.
Possibly one of Lakovic’s more admirable traits is his dual-threat ability. Someone with as good of a shot as his usually is extremely trigger happy, but not Lynden. His first read is always to make a pass, and he loves to get the puck off his stick quickly especially in transition. Once the play enters the opposing team’s zone, Lakovic’s poise starts to kick in. He always has his head up looking for potential passing lanes, and more often than not hits them.
His size is also an integral part of how he’s able to hold onto the puck, using his wingspan to shadow the puck, while, again, using those powerful crossovers of his to move past defenders. His hands are above average, not elite, but he doesn’t lack any confidence. If passing lanes aren’t open, or options are shutting down, Lakovic is great at using his crossovers to generate a speed burst in order to create space for himself. His size is also an integral part of how he’s able to hold onto the puck, using his wingspan to shadow the puck, while, again, using those powerful crossovers of his to move past defenders. His hands are above average, not elite, but he doesn’t lack any confidence. If passing lanes aren’t open, or options are shutting down, Lakovic is great at using his crossovers to generate a speed burst in order to create space for himself.
He’s very good at staying calm under pressure, which is shown constantly in the breakout where he’ll be caught flat footed along the half wall and he’ll need to make a quick dangle around an oncoming forechecker before hitting a teammate cross-ice. The only area of his puck-handling that will drastically need to improve if he wants to continue being successful in transition is his ability to make the second move. He’s fantastic at getting around one guy and either shooting or passing the puck, but if all else fails and he needs to make a play around a second guy, his speed has often leveled off and by then any elusive or dynamic edge he might’ve had over the defender originally, is gone; making it easy to stop him.
When looking at the gritty areas of his game, his effort on the forecheck is high end. He’s a hard worker and isn’t afraid to get physical, although he plays more of a finesse-style of game, even at his towering 6’4” stature. He would definitely be a much more desirable prospect if he used his frame to throw around the opposition more often, but that physical edge is something that he should naturally develop, simply because it will be to big of an advantage not to.
Defensive Game
For a winger, the defensive side of the puck is anything but a weakness for Lakovic. He’s extremely smart when it comes to closing out on defenders on the point, always taking a strong, hard angle to take away a possible shot, while applying a lot of pressure on the puck carrier. Unlike many other offensively minded wingers, you will almost never catch Lakovic unnecessarily flying the zone or looking for offense when the time isn’t right. He’s also very good at tracking the play down, and even as a winger is oftentimes the first backchecker on many opposing rushes. He’s not lazy when it comes to drifting too high in the defensive zone when the puck isn’t on his side of the ice, and always seems to have his man in check.
However, the one big annoyance in his game is a habit that is quite uncharacteristic for a player as smart as he is; his inability to fully stop on pucks especially when the play isn’t fully over. For instance, he could be closing out on an opposing defenseman and force him to chip it down low, but instead of finishing his check, he’ll loop around him, leaving open lanes for that defenseman to then attack. Another example of this occurred when he was backchecking and lost his man, causing him to float out away from the play which left a man wide open in front. Despite this, I would still consider Lakovic a rather complete player especially for his position.
Hockey IQ
Possibly the best part of Lakovic’s game, he’s exceptional when it comes to being at the right place at the right time. For starters, he’s extremely good at timing his regroups in order to put himself in the best possible position to receive the puck and then quickly make a play with it. He knows his own limitations and whenever he gets caught flat footed is able to make up for it by locating exactly where his open teammates are, or putting the puck in an area where it can easily be tracked down by one of his teammates.
His smarts really start to show however, when you watch where he puts himself in the offensive zone. Lakovic is very good at spacing himself away from traffic and parking himself where an open passing lane leads him right into a prime scoring position. He’s extremely good at getting lost in the offensive zone, patiently scanning the play and hiding behind defenders until the time is right where he can jump in and become an option. What separates him, is being able to identify how to get to these areas, and getting to them right away. Leaving him wide open, with opposing players trailing behind him because they didn’t realize where Lakovic was going until it was too late. Something that I noticed he has been able to master is always being a prime kick out option on the rush. In fact, two of his favorite areas on the ice are both of the far sides along the boards. Here, he can move the puck to a teammate who’s streaking down the middle, sucking in the defense so that he can slide down the half wall, while usually beating out an opposing player in a race to the spot in the process. From there, he’s a prime dump off option for a teammate that has drawn all the pressure to themselves and away from Lakovic, who now has all the time in the world to pick a spot and unleash one of his deadly wristers.
In the offensive zone, Lakovic likes to beat teams more with his mind and vision, opposed to his skating. Using his hands and body positioning, Lakovic can manipulate the defense into opening lanes that otherwise wouldn’t have been open before.
Player Projection
All in all, I love Lakovic’s style of play when picturing him thrown into an NHL game in 5 years. He’s the type of player that will certainly need some more time to work on the finer details in his game, specifically his stride and becoming more creative in his off-script decision making. However, he’ll surprise a lot of people due to the fact that his lack of physicality has been shrouding out everyone’s vision of what makes him such a great player. Personally, the best comparison I can make to a player like him is Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres. He’s big, not extremely physical despite his size, but is a freak when it comes to making plays with his hands, shot and hockey IQ, and has edgework that will jump off the page with how sneaky good it is. The consensus for Lakovic is that he’ll be a mid-1st round pick, as Consolidated Rankings has him 14th on their current top 32 rankings. In my eyes, you’re crazy not to consider him a borderline top 8 player in the class, and with the uncertainty in this year’s Draft, I’d be willing to take him as high as the 7th overall pick.
