Mario Lucia Survives First Round Of NJEC Cuts

Eleven players were sent home from Lake Placid, New York today but Minnesota Wild prospect Mario Lucia is not one of them.

Lucia, the 60th overall pick in 2011 by the Wild, is one of 34 players remaining at the USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp. The 18 year-old helped out his case to stay past Day 3 in yesterday's exhibition game when the reigning BCHL co-leader in goals scored a hat trick in a 4-3 win over Finland. Although Lucia was part of a defensive breakdown in the same game that led to a Finnish goal, he still looks to be considered for the 2013 World Junior Championships in Ufa, Russia.

Besides Mario, five of the other six Minnesotans at the August 4-11 camp survived the cut, including University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Travis Boyd (Washington Capitals), Brady Skjei (New York Rangers) and Mike Reilly (Columbus Blue Jackets). Only Logan Nelson (Anaheim Ducks) was sent home in a group that includes a pair of 2012 first round picks.

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