Blues prospect Lukas Fischer learns to lead through tough times in Sarnia

If Lukas Fischer was born a week later, he would have been drafted a year later.

Such is the curse of an early September birthday that forces a player to be selected young, but that allows for the potential of more growth in the developmental years that follow.

Fischers Sept.

9 birthday was days away from the Sept.

15 cutoff for the draft, making him one of the youngest players in the 2024 draft.

The Blues selected the left-handed defenseman in the second round (pick No.

56), and monitored his development last season as the captain of the Sarnia Sting in the Ontario Hockey League.

Fischer finished the season with 15 goals and 22 assists in 51 games and was third on his team with .73 points per game.

The Sting, though, struggled.

They missed the playoffs, finishing last in the West Division and with the third-worst record in the OHL.

It was really tough for him because they didnt have a very good team, Blues assistant general manager Tim Taylor said.

All the expectations and a lot of pressure was put upon him, especially being a defenseman and the captain.

I thought he carried himself really well.

Sometimes, the growth of these guys it helps when I dont want to say always losing, but when youre put into tough situations.

Youre never getting on the roll.

Youre always trying to dig yourself out.

Sarnia also missed the playoffs in 2023-24, meaning Fischer will return for his final season of junior hockey hoping to get a taste again of postseason hockey.

All those guys Id been there with for the last few years, so that made it a lot easier, Fischer said.

A lot of help from them stepping into that role.

My coaches really helped me and supported me this year, especially when you go through the dog days of the season and it gets long.

I had a ton of support from them to keep my head up and be the best version of myself I could be.

Fischer, who will turn 19 next month, learned plenty about himself and about how to lead: How to maintain his personal mindset in the context of the team, and how to trudge through a season that had four losing streaks of at least six games.

I think it helped me sometimes recover, Fischer said.

If I had a bad game and we lost, I think its easy to get down on yourself if you lose or had a bad game.

With being the captain, it helped me understand, Well, everybodys going through that, right? At times, I needed to be the guy that shook it off a little bit quicker and was looking forward to the next practice, the next day.

Helped my attitude, helped me be a little bit more positive after stuff like that.

Fischer was one of three Blues prospects who were their teams captains last season.

Quinton Burns captained Kingston in his last year in the OHL, and Jimmy Snuggerud was one of multiple captains named on the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Burns and Snuggerud have each turned pro.

Playing on a smaller team with a bigger frame, he had to take care of the physical part, too, Taylor said.

It was a good growth for him, and taking a leadership role with a lot of young players.

They should be better this year, but it was a good year for him getting knocked down and picking up his teammates every game, I think it helps with his maturity.

Fischer is listed at 6-foot-3 and 184 pounds and his 81 penalty minutes led Sarnia.

When Sarnias season ended, Fischer joined AHL affiliate Springfield and played three games.

Asked about his overall improvement last season, Fischer said, I think I got a little bit calmer out there.

I started using my strengths a little bit more to my advantage, Fischer said.

My confidence grew, especially from last year.

I think with the confidence growing, I can learn to slow the game down a little bit and control it a bit better.

Thats probably my biggest improvement.

Fischer is the son of former NHL defenseman Jiri Fischer, who played 305 games with the Red Wings from 1999-2006.

Jiri Fischer now works for Detroit as the associate director of player personnel, but he leaves the hockey tutelage to his day job.

Right now, hes more of a dad and a fan, Lukas Fischer said.

He knows that he doesnt really need to give it to me as much as maybe he did when I was 14, 15 years old because Ive got a lot of other people.

So right now, hes moral support and the fan in my corner, if you will..

This article has been shared from the original article on stltoday, here is the link to the original article.