Milan Lucic
Milan Lucic (; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played major junior hockey with the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for three seasons and captured the Memorial Cup, while being named tournament MVP in 2007. He was selected 50th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and made the Bruins’ roster as a 19-year-old in 2007–08. Three years later, he won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins. He spent the first eight seasons of his NHL career with Boston prior to being traded to the Los Angeles Kings in June 2015. After a single season in Los Angeles, Lucic signed as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers in July 2016, playing three seasons for the Oilers before being traded to the Calgary Flames in July 2019. Internationally, Lucic captained the Canadian national junior team at the 2007 Super Series. He plays physically in the style of a power forward. Early life Lucic was born in East Vancouver to Serbian couple Dobrivoje "Dobro" Lučić and Snežana Kesa. His father, Dobro, was a longshoreman in Vancouver who immigrated to North America from his native Serbia when he was 27. His mom, Snezana, came to Vancouver when her parents moved from Serbia when she was just 2. He has a younger brother named Nikola and an older brother named Jovan. His maternal uncle, Dan Kesa, is a retired NHL right winger who played for the Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars. Growing up, Lucic attended Killarney Secondary in Vancouver. He was a fan of the hometown Vancouver Canucks and has named forward Todd Bertuzzi as one of his favourite players when following the team. At age 15, Lucic was diagnosed with Scheuermann's disease, a condition that can cause the upper back to curve and has given him a hunched-over posture. Lucic played minor hockey (VMHA) in Vancouver, but nearly quit the sport after being passed up in the 2003 WHL Bantam Draft. He was invited to play for the Coquitlam Express of the Junior A British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), but was further demoralized when he initially failed to make the team out of rookie camp. He agreed to play, instead, for the Junior B Delta Ice Hawks, but later played his way onto the Express after five games. Playing career Amateur Lucic began his junior career with the Coquitlam Express of the BCHL in 2004–05. In the same season, he made his major junior debut with the Vancouver Giants, his hometown Western Hockey League (WHL) team, playing in one regular-season game and two playoff games. He joined the Giants full-time in 2005–06, scoring 19 points in 62 games. He added seven points in 18 playoff games to help the Giants to a WHL title and an appearance in the 2006 Memorial Cup. In the off-season, he was selected 50th overall by the Boston Bruins in the second round