Tommaso De Luca

June 2023 – A late 2004 birthday who played most of last season in Switzerland’s top U-20 circuit, Tommaso De Luca has not got a lot of draft buzz this season. As a sub-point-per-game, 6-foot winger in the WHL, I suppose that’s to be expected, nevertheless, De Luca has an intriguing skill-set. De Luca is a strong all-round skater, with excellent form, stride, power, agility, and edgework. He is also highly competitive, and he shows both of these strengths in his forechecking. De Luca shows an innate drive to be the first player on every puck (and often is with his speed) and can hold his own in puck battles, leading to many offensive zone retrievals. De Luca’s speed is also an asset offensively, where he has shown the ability to break the puck out of his zone, and beat defenders wide with speed, or with intelligent carrying routes. De Luca is also a phenomenal puckhandler from a standstill and in small areas, making him a weapon off the cycle, however, his skills seem to break down frequently at higher speeds. His shot is decent, but doesn’t project to be a threat from range at higher levels. De Luca appears to be highly intelligent, scanning and shoulder checking frequently, and making deceptive passes into high-danger areas. The biggest qualms with De Luca’s game are, one, his ability to play his skill game at a high pace, and two, the execution of his passes, which while targeted to the right players, can often miss their mark. Especially if he can iron out those two aspects of his game, De Luca has attractive potential as a top-nine complimentary winger. Luke Sweeney