Jarid Lukosevicius embracing opportunity with Belleville Sens

Jarid Lukosevicius’ quiet, humble and understated personality tends to belie his hockey resume. Despite his considerable accolades, he quickly credits any success to his coaches and teammates. Among those accomplishments, an NCAA championship. In fact, he scored a hat trick to help lift the University of Denver to the title.

Now a member of the Belleville Senators, the 27-year-old native of Squamish, British Columbia, is not only fitting in but contributing offensively on a consistent basis. He has tallied six points (five goals and one assist) in 16 appearances. Including scoring his first career American Hockey League hat trick since he joined the organization on a professional try-out agreement from the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.

Lukosevicius, a veteran of over 100 career AHL games with the Grand Rapids Griffins and Abbotsford Canucks, points out that he has felt positively challenged in his new surroundings with the Senators.

“You never feel comfortable in this league. In general, it’s tough,” Lukosevicius said. “I want to be the best me I can be and be a good teammate to other guys. It doesn’t matter what kind of contract I’m on right now. I just have to look forward and try to play the best I can.”

True to form, Lukosevicius noted that Belleville Head Coach Troy Mann has helped ease his transition to the Friendly City. In particular, he noted that the systems used by the coaching staff made it possible for him to try new things and continue to develop his overall game to stay ahead of the curve.

“I feel like I fit right into the systems and how we want to play as a team, and I’ve just been consistently doing that. The guys are awesome in the room. It’s unbelievable,” he continued. “The forecheck is unreal, and him allowing you to feel comfortable and make plays, it feels nice as a player because sometimes you take risks and you kind of get scratched, or you pay for the mistake. He lets it develop, then teaches after, and I like that. He’s built a good culture, the guys are really good, and I think he helped develop that. I love that because it helps win games.”

Lukosevicius is correct when he mentions the AHL as a league of opportunity. Based on his first few games, his professionalism, work ethic and ability to find the back of the net are helping him to make the most of the chance that has been offered to him.

“A new opportunity is always a good start, and I love scoring goals. I did that a lot in Denver, so we’ll see. I’m just gonna try to put one foot in front of the other and work day to day and see what happens.”

Lukosevicius commented that hitting individual scoring marks is not enough. He is first and foremost committed to contributing to a winning culture in Belleville.

“We want to win. That’s the main goal. I personally don’t like losing, So we’re trying to make a playoff push, and if you’re part of that, that’s always good.”

With some luck and consistent effort, the Senators may be playing high-stakes games until the end of the season and perhaps into the playoffs. That would certainly suit, Lukosevicius, who is a proven clutch performer.