Nick Suzuki was already in a lucky place.
He was coming off a 45-goal performance last season with a team that will be a favourite to win the OHL championship next year and he took home hardware at the CHL awards.
Then he topped all of that by being selected 13th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights.
Suzuki embodies what the National Hockey League likes. Literally.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators went head-to-head for the Stanley Cup in early June and they ranked number 1 and number two in players who were 5’11 or under.
Suzuki is listed at exactly 5’11 and 183 lbs.
Mark Edwards of Hockeyprospect.com believes it is what is inside that frame that will continue to make Suzuki successful.
“I think he is one of the smartest players in the draft. His skating isn’t elite, but I think he makes up for it using his smarts… He will wow you with his hockey sense and ability to make people better. He understands where people are going to be and does a great job moving pucks and creating offense.”
Suzuki has turned into a go-to producer at both ends of the ice for the Owen Sound Attack. The Londoner finished fifth in league scoring, helping the Attack get to the OHL’s Western Conference finals against the Erie Otters.
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He is the guy who never panics on the ice and his patience allows him to wait on opportunities.
You might not see him grab a puck and race it end to end and deke the goalie to score, but if you look at the box score at the end of a game Suzuki is in, he is the guy with a goal and two assists that you will have to think hard about to remember.
The former Jr. Knight came into this year prepared for what was coming.
“I had a really good summer (last year),” Suzuki says. “I knew I was prepared and I knew I had to step up.”
He proved to be a player who could be dropped into any situation and succeed.
Suzuki had 32 points in creating a potent Owen Sound power play and also had five short-handed goals.
He is just someone who likes to get the tap when something big needs to happen.
“I’m really competitive. I’ve always been that way. I like to win and I have been given opportunities growing up in London and then playing in Owen Sound to be in the late game situations when you either need to score or keep a goal from being scored, so I have been able to get used to dealing with that kind of pressure.”
Suzuki called one of his most memorable moments in hockey the night he scored six points for the Attack inside Budweiser Gardens in front of a number of family and friends.
That has likely been pushed down the list already thanks to the NHL Draft.
With the future Suzuki has in front of him, it might not rank that high for much longer.
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