The Hockey News’s Tony Ferrari lists four players which he believes will graduate from “star player” status to that of superstars, and Lucas Raymond is one of the players Ferrari believes will continue to blossom:
Detroit Red Wings: Lucas Raymond, LW
Late last season, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin was injured and the team sputtered amidst a fight for their playoff lives. The team needed a hero and like Superman ripping open his shirt to reveal the ‘S’, Lucas Raymond burst into the spotlight and put this team on his back. Whether he was scoring late tying goals to push the game to overtime, a clutch hat trick, or dramatic game-winning goals, Raymond was consistently at the forefront of their success.
While the team came up just short of the playoffs, Raymond announced his arrival to the rest of the NHL. His 31 goals were second on the team and the 72 points led the Wings in scoring. Now that he’s secured the big contract that will keep him in Motown long-term, Raymond is poised to take the next step. Challenging 40 goals and 90 points isn’t out of the question for the cerebral Swedish star.
Continued; I don’t see Raymond achieving those heights points-wise, mostly because I believe that he’s going to be asked to be a good two-way player, but I think that he’s going to be a star player for a very long time. There is more for him to give–and the same is true for Moritz Seider.
