Prospect Profile: Lukasz McIsaac

Lukasz McIsaac’s biggest influence was always under his own roof. His older brother, Will, served as the conduit that put McIsaac on the path to becoming a hockey player.

“My earliest memories of hockey were going on the ice with my brother,” Lukasz said. “I’ve always watched him at the rink, and I was always so excited to get out there with him because it looked so fun. I always went to watch him practice; he was my number one role model.”

Will just wrapped up a four-year WHL career with the Spokane Chiefs, serving as their captain this past season, and now prepares to head to the University of Connecticut in the Fall.

With a three-year age gap between them, it’s not surprising to hear that things weren’t always smooth between Lukasz and Will.

“We definitely grew up as normal brothers, always fighting,” he laughed. “I think as we got older, we started becoming actual friends with each other and doing a lot of things together.”

Growing up in Vancouver, McIsaac’s family were also season ticket holders of the Vancouver Canucks. He says Alex Edler and JT Miller were two of his favorite players.

Between his brothers influence and seeing NHL stars play regularly, it didn’t take long for McIsaac to set his sights on the Western Hockey League.

“It was probably grade five or six I started seeing players going from their hometown teams to the WHL,” he said. “When I saw that I thought that’s where the best players are, so I’d love to play in that league since I want to be the best.”

When he turned 13, McIsaac joined the CSSHL ranks at St. George’s Academy in Vancouver which wasn’t far from his house.

He says having a set schedule which focused a lot on hockey was something he had dreamed of.

“The schooling was amazing and you’d go right from school to hockey, nothing better than that,” he said. “We’d either have practice at 6:00 AM before school or do practice and a workout after school. Getting up that early was tough at the start, but toward the end of the year it got a lot easier.”

With their age difference at the same time Lukasz was going through his WHL Draft year, Will was going through his NHL Draft year with the Chiefs.

Lukasz says it was awesome to see what the NHL process was like from the inside.

“We’re pretty close so he’d tell me about all the things he was going through,” he said. “It just made me want it even more because I want to get to that point in my career.”

Despite the pressure that comes with trying to impress NHL scouts, Will still had time to help Lukasz who was trying to impress WHL scouts.

“I had a ton of support throughout that process, especially from my brother,” he said. “He had gone through it before, so he was able to help with me with any questions I had.”

After 17 points (5-12-17) with his U15 St. George’s Academy team during the 2023-24 season, the WHL Draft finally arrived and McIsaac would find out where the next step in his hockey career would be.

As fate would have it, it wasn’t far from where his brother was.

“I was at home with my family watching the draft,” he said. “I kind of had a range that I thought I might go, but I didn’t want to think too much about it. It was a topic of conversation after the fact about Spokane and Tri-City.”

The Americans selected McIsaac 47^th overall in the third round and he signed his Scholarship and Development Agreement just a few weeks later.

McIsaac admits he was nervous arriving in the Tri-Cities for his first WHL training camp, but meeting one of the veteran players put him at ease.

“I was nervous for the first few days,” he said. “But I remember one of the first guys I met was Carter Savage and as soon as I met him, I was able to relax just knowing that all the guys on the team were nice and welcoming.”

Following camp, McIsaac returned to St. George’s Academy and played for their U18 team posting 10 points (4-6-10) in 31 games.

A self-described physical defenseman, McIsaac says he enjoyed the challenge of matching up against older, bigger players.

“I didn’t find the transition from U15 to U18 to be too difficult,” he said. “I more so enjoyed it. I loved working harder and going against bigger players to have a bigger challenge. It’s harder to play that physical game against bigger guys, but my mindset has always been that’s what I want to do, so I feel that makes it easier.”

This past year McIsaac began the season with the Americans, making his WHL debut against his brother on September 27 in Spokane.

It was a surreal moment for McIsaac after so many years of looking up to his older brother.

“I was definitely nervous for my first shift, but after I got out there the nerves were gone and I could focus on trying to play well,” he said. “I was told a few days ahead of time that I was going to play, and that was their home opener, so I was really excited because I know how that building can get rocking on big nights.”

Will secured bragging rights as the Americans fell 3-0 to the Chiefs that night.

McIsaac was sent back to U18 and spent this past season at Calgary International Hockey Academy. It was the first time he had played away from home, which he admits was an adjustment.

“It was tough for the first few months,” he admitted. “But I had a great billet family who really helped me.”

McIsaac posted seven assists in 23 games with CIHA’s U18 team this season before returning to the Americans for the final few weeks of the year.

Getting into two more games, he says he can lean on the experience of his four WHL games leading into next year’s training camp.

“Those games will help me a ton,” he said. “There’s so much I can learn from those and take from those games. I know I need to get bigger, stronger and faster. Mentally I can prepare for how I need to react on the ice.”

McIsaac is part of a core group of 2009-born players in the Americans system, something he says is exciting to think about moving forward.

“Knowing a lot of those guys, they’re great guys and they’re also great players,” he said. “Seeing those guys on the ice, it’s exciting to think about the potential we have over the next couple of years. I’m hoping to play a defensive role for the team. I can be out there on the penalty kill and blocking shots, just be a simple defenseman.”