Boston Bruins: 5 Reasons Forward Milan Lucic Will Become a Star This Season

Boston Bruins left winger Milan Lucic is becoming one of the best power forwards in the NHL and has established himself as a proven goal scorer and leader.

Lucic took his talents to another level last season, and despite a poor start to the playoffs, he was a great performer in the final two rounds of the Bruins' Stanley Cup title run.

At only 23 years old with four full seasons of NHL experience, the sky is the limit for Lucic's development. 

Let's look at five reasons why Milan Lucic will become a real star next season.

Lucic Is a Goal Scorer

Milan Lucic led the Boston Bruins in goals last season with 30, and he added five goals in the playoffs.

He finished the regular season with 62 points and 12 total in the playoffs.

Lucic is an underrated shooter, and playing on the first line with exquisite playmaker David Krejci has helped him get quality scoring opportunities.

With another season of development and chemistry building with other linemate Nathan Horton, Lucic will likely score more than 30 goals this season.

Lucic Is Fully Healthy Going into Next Season

Milan Lucic battled through multiple injuries in the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, but neither of them forced him to miss a single game during the Bruins title run.

Lucic suffered through a sinus infection and broken nose throughout the playoffs and broke a toe from a slapshot in practice by teammate Tyler Seguin during the conference finals.

The big forward will be going into the new season with a clean bill of health and is happy to be fit for the Bruins' title defense.

"It's nice to finally be breathing out of both nostrils again, I will say that," Lucic said in a WEEI article. "I felt the most effects from it in the first series against Montreal this year. I had a sinus infection, and I was feeling under the weather, and that kind of sucks. It really did suck, but it's great now, everything's fixed now, so it's all good."

Lucic played well in the playoffs despite being hampered by injuries, and with full health going into next season, expect Lucic to get off to a nice start. 

Lucic Is Becoming a Big-Game Player

Milan Lucic has become one of the best-big game playoff performers in the NHL the last few seasons—he has six goals in the last eight games in which the Bruins could eliminate a team from the playoffs.

In 55 career playoff games during his four-year NHL career, Lucic has 32 points on 15 goals and 17 assists.

Those are solid numbers considering the Bruins have only gotten past the second round of the postseason once in his career.

The Bruins will get back to the postseason next year, and being able to count on Lucic to step up his game at the most important times of the season is very comforting. 

Lucic Is Becoming an Elite Power Forward

Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames have been the NHL's best power forwards the last few seasons, and Milan Lucic will be considered one of the best this season.

Lucic has transformed his game from being a rough-and-tough player with decent offensive abilities, to a big-and-bad player with 30-goal potential.

Lucic does not fight as much as he used to because he is so important to the Bruins offense and can't afford to be sitting in the penalty box too often.

Lucic also has decent speed for a big forward, which isn't even fair to opposing defenseman.

His physical style of play and offensive talents will make Lucic one of the hardest players to defend against next season.

Lucic Is Now a Leader on the Bruins

With the retirement of veteran forward Mark Recchi this summer, there is an open alternate captain position heading into this season.

Currently, the Bruins are captained by defenseman Zdeno Chara with forward Patrice Bergeron serving as one of the two alternates.

Milan Lucic is a perfect candidate for the A.

Lucic is a leader on the Bruins who steps up for his teammates and isn't afraid to engage any opponent in a fight to send a message.

Veteran Shawn Thornton will want the A on his jersey, too, but Lucic is a better candidate and will be in Boston a lot longer than Thornton will.

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report, and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston. Follow him on  Twitter.