As we start to get into the real nitty gritty of this list, Lucas Edmonds pops up in the #14 spot. It’s a bit of a fall from his lofty ranking last year and the 23-year-old will need a strong season with the Crunch to rebuild his status among the fan base.
| Name | Lucas Edmonds |
| Position | Wing |
| Age (as of October 1) | 23 |
| Height/Weight | 5’10”, 170 lbs. |
| Expected 2024-25 Team | Syracuse Crunch |
| Draft – Year, Round | 2022, Round Three (#86) |
| Previous Rankings | #6 (2023), #12 (2022) |
| Writer’s Ranking | 19 |
| Reader’s Ranking | 14 |
| Final Rank | 14 |
Stats
Our Thoughts
The main stat that sticks out from Lucas Edmonds’ second year with the Syracuse Crunch is “45”. As in 45 games played. The Crunch played 72 games last season, and for the second year in a row Edmonds couldn’t crack the 50 games played mark. Nagging injuries and healthy scratches have limited his playing time through his first two years in North American professional hockey. That has held up his development and leaves us wondering exactly what his ceiling as a player might be.
Edmonds shot up to the sixth spot on our rankings last year after a solid season where he put up 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) in 49 games. Again, that games played number sticks out, but he was productive when he was on the ice and the organization was hoping that a healthy Edmonds would build on that in the 2023-24 season. That didn’t happen. His production dropped to 9 goals and 7 assists and he went from a top-six role to healthy scratch/fourth-line.
Despite a lower-body injury that limited him in training camp, Edmonds started the year off strong with goals in back-to-back games. He’d add his third goal of the season a few games later. After that, well, there was a drought. He wouldn’t score his fourth goal until February 10th. That kicked off his strongest play of the season where he had 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 12 games.
Edmonds is a skilled playmaker with a deceptively accurate shot. How deceptive? Through two seasons in the AHL he is shooting at 23.5%, that’s a pure goal-scorer’s percentage and is likely non-sustainable. The biggest drawback is that he doesn’t shoot enough. In 45 games last season, he racked up a grand total of 35 shots, which ranked 24th on the team. Quinn Schmiemann, a defenseman who appeared in 36 games with the Crunch had 48 shots.
This is Edmonds final year on his entry-level contract and he’ll be a restricted free agent following this season. He has to show the Lightning that he’s worth an offer sheet or an extension. The only way he can do that is by being on the ice. There are spots available on the top-six for Edmonds and he needs to seize a spot. The Rookie Showcase was a good start for him as he looked engaged on the ice and meshed well with Conor Geekie and Max Groshev when he was on a line with them.
Despite the lack of production last year, he could be considered a dark horse for one of the open spots on the Lightning in camp. He can play either wing, is responsible in his own end, and can forecheck. That sounds like an ideal fourth-liner. If he doesn’t make the squad, he can have a big impact for the Crunch who will be looking for some veteran leadership.
Highlight Videos
For a player with good hands, redirections are a nifty way to score goals. During the Rookie Showcase game against the Predators, Edmonds showed off those hands for a nice goal. It was even more impressive that he managed to do it after absorbing a crosscheck that knocked him off balance a little.
His final goal of last season was a nice writer off of the rush. The key to this shot was waiting for the defenseman to screen the goaltender and then he picked the far post.
Go to where the goals are easiest. Edmonds drifted down to near post and was ready for the pass. Again, this is one of those goals that looks really easy, but takes a lot of skill to pull off. The angle of the pass didn’t leave him a lot of room to slide it past the goalie.
I’m not sold Edmonds made the right read on this pass, but he pulled it off by putting it right on Sean Day’s stick. If the pass is six inches either way, this play would have fizzled out. The safer option would have been the short pass to Daniel Walcott, and the Crunch would still have had a pretty good shot at the net, but you have to like the vision to see Day cutting on the back side.
He’s not the biggest guy in the world, but he’s not uncomfortable playing in front of the net. He is able to untangle himself from the traffic and get his stick in a position to score.
