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Post by SeaBass on Jan 24, 2024 8:16:33 GMT -5
Please keep the content in here to Lauks.
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Post by SeaBass on Jan 24, 2024 8:18:11 GMT -5
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, the Bruins have compiled a record of 94-20-14.
Several factors have contributed to Boston’s dominant regular-season run over that stretch, be it an elite goalie duo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, Jim Montgomery’s arrival behind the bench, or elite star talent like David Pastrnak.
But what about the presence of bottom-six stalwart Jakub Lauko?
After all, it’s tough to ignore the stats.
As noted by NHL Public Relations on Monday night, Lauko has appeared in 57 total games with Boston since making his NHL debut on Oct. 12, 2022. In those 57 games, the Bruins are 44-8-5 (93 points) — with his .772 winning percentage marking the highest by a skater in NHL history (min. 50 GP).
The 23-year-old winger deflected any praise when asked about his role in Boston’s sustained success on Tuesday — opting to focus more on the rest of his teammates in the dressing room.
“Last year, I [noticed] like every time when I was in the lineup, I think we lost like maybe two games last year. So I was kind of thinking about it. But I had no idea it’s a thing,” Lauko said. “It’s more people from back home are kind of making fun of me — like ‘Oh you’re the best at something, good for you.’”
“No, it’s more about the teams that I’ve been on. Last year obviously was a very special year. We’re building something special this year as well, so it’s nice to be on the winning [side] for most of my career up here.”
Lauko may be just one cog on the Bruins’ reworked forward corps. But after avoiding a near-catastrophic eye injury in October and trudging through a sustained scoring slump, he is rounding into form as an on-ice spark plug for Boston.
After spending most of the 2023-24 campaign on the fourth line, Montgomery bumped Lauko up the depth chart and slotted him alongside Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie. Since that promotion, he’s scored two goals and posted points in three straight games.
In Boston’s 4-1 win over the Jets on Monday night, Lauko lit the lamp following a sustained forechecking shift, punching a slick feed from Frederic home to open the scoring just 2:20 into regulation. He later drew his eighth penalty of the season in the third period after getting tripped up by Winnipeg’s Nino Niederreiter.
“I see someone that is winning more one-on-one battles consistently,” Montgomery said of Lauko. “I see someone supporting pucks and just going — I don’t see any hesitation in his game right now. So you see him getting on top of pucks that are chipped out — he’s got it and he’s putting it in areas or carrying and hanging on to it. So I just see a more confident hockey player.”
Lauko has pointed to several things that have sparked his recent surge: a self-orchestrated reset during Boston’s latest road trip, his elevated minutes in the lineup and… grapes?
The affable forward explained his affinity for the fruit on Tuesday.
“When I was playing back home, I usually had a lot of fruit before the game, like oranges, peaches, grapes, or whatever. I came to Providence and we didn’t have anything, so I just started bringing in fruit for a game,” Lauko noted. “I was just trying different kinds of fruit: watermelons, oranges, but I was saying — If I have an orange, I have to peel it… hands get sticky. The same with peaches, I’d bite it and juice is all over my mouth, it would get everywhere.
“I tried grapes one day and I think I scored like two goals… So I kept going with grapes and now it’s more like a meme now.”
Whatever works for Lauko apparently works for the rest of the Bruins. After all, the team seems to be better served when he’s in the lineup.
“Happy for him. He’s a buzzsaw,” Jake DeBrusk said of Lauko on Monday. “I sit beside him in the room. So a lot of grapes get thrown my way… He works for it. He’s a guy that uses his speed to get on the forecheck, takes a lot of hits to get that puck, first touch and he’s one of those guys that deserves some recognition in the sense of how he stays with the game.”
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Post by SeaBass on Jan 25, 2024 12:01:33 GMT -5
Jakub Lauko tends to wear his emotions on his sleeve.
On the ice, the 23-year-old Czech winger has ingratiated himself to Bruins fans in short order, conducting chaos whenever he hops over the boards.
The celebration is expectedly raucous when he lights the lamp. When he drops a skater with a few right hooks, the sin bin becomes his pedestal — where he beckons for applause from a riled-up crowd like a triumphant brawler perched atop the octagon.
Off the ice, the affable Lauko has woven himself into the fabric of a tight-knit Bruins dressing room — injecting the exuberance, enthusiasm and snack supply needed over an 82-game marathon.
“He’s a buzzsaw. I sit beside him in the room,” Jake DeBrusk said of Lauko. “So a lot of grapes get thrown my way.”
And given his aversion to subtlety, it comes as no surprise that Lauko’s personality and eclectic tastes are etched in ink all across his arms.
For most NHLers, the available canvas on their body is usually reserved for homages to their hometown or an abiding stamp on a memorable date or achievement.
Lauko isn’t exactly like most NHLers.
Through hours upon hours spent in a Czech tattoo parlor, Lauko has crafted a tapestry featuring Tolkien-inspired lore, Daenerys Targaryen, and a tribute to a fallen hockey brother.
All of it uniquely Lauko. All of it telling the story of a young hockey player living out his dream, and relishing every second of it.
“Everyone’s always asking, ‘What the [expletive] are you doing,’” Lauko told Boston.com of his tattoos. “I want something that I like. I don’t need to have the same thing that other millions of people have. I want to have something that’s personal to me.”
———
It takes all of a few seconds spent scrolling Lauko’s Twitter feed to glean his affinity for J.R.R. Tolkien and “The Lord of the Rings” book/film series.
A day after an errant skate blade nearly robbed Lauko of his vision in late October, he posted an update of his condition — replacing his visage with that of an orc.
Lauko walks the walk when it comes to his appreciation for Tolkien’s works.
He’s a huge fan of the films — “The Fellowship of the Ring” being his go-to pick — he’s also read all of the books, with his favorite being “The Silmarillion,” a collection of Tolkien’s tales that chronicle the history of Middle-Earth.
“It’s something that I don’t think is ever gonna be recreated, because he basically imagined this whole lore, made up three or four languages, just created a whole history,” Lauko said of his appreciation for Tolkien. “I know fantasy is not for everyone. I think it’s like one of the best movies and stories that’s ever been made.”
Given Lauko’s love of “The Lord of the Rings,” it came as no surprise that his first tattoo was a quote from Gandalf, imprinted on his left arm: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
“It’s like something I’m trying to live, day by day, you know? “We’ve got time and it’s on us with how we decide what to do with it,” Lauko noted.
Lauko has since covered that quote as part of an extensive Lord of the Rings mural featuring scenes from all three films on his arm, but he plans on inscribing that Gandalf quote on his ribs, potentially as soon as this summer.
A painful undertaking, but a quick fix — requiring only an hour or so of work.
It’s a far cry from the portrait etched further up on his sleeve.
In recognition of another popular fantasy series “Game of Thrones,” Lauko boasts a lifelike portrait of Daenerys Targaryen — crowned around a swarm of dragons.
Lauko estimates that the artwork occupying his left shoulder took 12 total hours to complete. His longest single session spent in a chair was nearly six hours.
“I just put a movie on, listen to music,” Lauko said of how he kills time during extended tattoo sessions. “But five-and-a-half [hours] was my limit. … I’m always going there being like, ‘Okay, I’m excited.’ And after two hours I’m like, ‘What the [expletive] did I get myself into again?'”
For Lauko, “The Lord of the Rings” still holds the clear edge over “Game of Thrones,” especially in terms of their on-screen adaptations.
“The end of “Game of Thrones,” I don’t think there was one person that was satisfied with it,” Lauko said. “I think they rushed it.”
Still, Lauko tabs the portrait of Daenerys as his best tattoo. He then pauses.
“There’s one that is more meaningful than this one, but I would rather not have it,” he notes.
———
The marking on Lauko’s right bicep stands in stark contrast to the intricate designs woven around his other forelimb.
It reads, “O.B. 4”.
It may be a simple script, but the weight of its meaning is not lost on Lauko.
Ondrej Buchtela, much like Lauko, dreamed of a career in the NHL.
A poised defenseman, Buchtela was often stapled to Lauko’s hip during their time together with the Piráti Chomutov organization in their native Czechia. They spent parts of five seasons together — with Buchtela keeping watch from the blue line as Lauko wreaked havoc below the dots.
Their dreams of pro hockey eventually took them down two different avenues. Lauko — taken by Boston in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft — made his way overseas to play junior hockey in Quebec.
Buchtela, who represented Czechia in the 2017 World Junior Championships, remained in his native country — eventually playing 57 games for HC Benátky nad Jizerou during the 2019-20 season.
Buchtela’s last pro game was on March 7, 2020. Two months later, he was diagnosed with cardiac sarcoma, a rare form of heart cancer.
He passed away on July 26, 2020 at just 20 years old.
Just one day after his friend and teammate’s passing, Lauko had Buchtela’s initials and jersey number ingrained into his arm — an everlasting commemoration forged after years spent together following the same dream.
“You kind of realize to not take everything for granted and we need to appreciate every day, every moment in life,” Lauko said of Buchtela. “I’m just trying to play for him, because I knew that his dream was to play in the NHL, too. So for me, I’m here and I’m just trying to make him proud.”
Two years later, Lauko’s dream was realized. He took to the ice with the Bruins for the first time in their season opener on Oct. 11, 2022. Twenty days later, he scored his career NHL goal.
The first puck that finds twine is a cherished possession, often showcased on the mantle of the family home.
Lauko had other plans.
“I think my dad and my mother … may be disappointed a little bit, but it’s going to go to [Buchtela’s] mother,” Lauko said after that first tally. “Because I promised him and promised his family as well, so it’s gonna go to him.”
During his return home over the offseason, Lauko made good on his promise.
That puck might remain in the Czech Republic with Buchtela’s family, but Lauko carries his friend’s name with him every single time he takes to the ice.
“With this one, there’s no chance I’ll ever forget him,” Lauko said of his tattoo. “He’s still with me. “I had this little sticker that I made a couple of years ago in Providence, it had his initials and [said], ‘Watch my back brother,’ because he was a defenseman. So I’ll always have this, to watch my back.”
Lauko’s knack for playing every shift as if it was his last has made him a fan favorite.
But it’s a mindset and mentality minted after years of trials, triumphs, and heartache.
Lauko already has plenty of plans for the future, be it his career with the Bruins or his next series of tattoos. But for now, he is trying to stay grounded.
All he needs to decide is what to do with the time that is given to him.
And he’s making the most of every second.
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