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FN AHL Report Cards: Lucas Ciona had taxing year between injuries and performance
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Photo credit: Angela Burger/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
May 21, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: May 20, 2026, 23:50 EDT
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Lucas Ciona has made his transition into pro hockey a very physical one. His stature and old school style of play make him hard to play against and he tried to make the most of his opportunities in a season where he physically could not play as much as the season prior. Ciona had bright moments over the year but was one of the players who especially struggled with an under-performing Calgary Wranglers team.

Expectations

Lucas Ciona entered the last season of his ELC with the pressure on. He was expected to be one of the more experienced guys challenging the younger guys for ice time and trying to do his part to climb the lineup. He showed his offensive abilities in junior but hasn’t had as much space and opportunity to translate that game up to the AHL. This season brought the possibility for Ciona to continue to round out his physical game and with the expectation to produce more on the scoring side of things. 
He finished his Sophomore season with the Wranglers in 2024-25 with 68 games played, eight goals and 14 assists for a career year for the left winger. 

Performance

Unfortunately for Ciona, it was a very tough season in his professional career and he owns that up front and honestly. Throughout the season, he was very adamant that he wanted to bring more to his game and do more to help the team through the lows of the season. Around the midway mark of the year, he started getting more opportunity and the results were starting to show. The only problem at this point was that his body wasn’t able to keep up anymore. 
In the last month or so of the season, Ciona was optioned out of the lineup and needed maintenance days to deal with an upper body injury. This injury bothered him so much that by the end of the season, he was not able to play in the last three games. In the last month of the season, he played in just six games total. Just when he felt that upside, something else came to challenge him. That reasonably brings frustration to the former Seattle Thunderbirds captain and he said in Wranglers exit meetings: 
“First half of the season sucked, honestly. It was miserable and then right as I kind of got going, my body kind of deteriorated and didn’t let me go. I felt like I was playing my best hockey, giving the most I could to the team. So it was unfortunate that the last two and a half months kind of ended up like that.”
Ciona’s role continued to be a physical presence on the ice, a pest or agitator against his opponents and a grinder role you’d mostly see on the fourth line with guys like Alex Gallant, David Silye, Carter King or Parker Bell. Just because he wasn’t able to finish out the season, doesn’t mean the physical side of his game is going away. Ciona said:
“Sometimes when you’re banged up, it makes it a lot harder. I mean, mentally like to get yourself going is tougher when you are really in pain. So yes and no. I mean, I love it. I enjoy doing that. I’ve been that way since I started playing hockey at eight years old and I love the physical side of the game and I never want that gone.”
He continued:
“I felt that kind of as we went and I kept on trying to play and play and play, but my body just kind of was giving out. So at a certain point, it wasn’t me forcing myself to go. It was more just I physically couldn’t go anymore. So yes, it was tiring and taxing, but it was a combination of everything.”
Ciona’s numbers finished up with over half a drop from his career year in last season. He played in 21 fewer games, with 47 games played, five goals and four assists for a total of nine points. His PIMs finished just one minute below his career high of 82, and his plus/minus finished at minus-2. His biggest accomplishment this season was to be recognized as the team’s Man of the Year for the second season straight for his outstanding work in the community. 
Despite the physical challenges, he still enjoyed certain head to head match-up’s in the Pacific Division where he was able to showcase his agitator persona the most. Ciona said,
“I love playing that style of game. I love playing San Diego. They’re always fun. It’s hard. Coachella is a good one, always kind of mixing it up with them. I think I had a couple of fights against them this year and I don’t know. It’s hard to pinpoint one team. All I know is it’s always pretty fun and I always usually get it back. I’m no Alex Gallant who’s going to beat the crap out of a million people. Guys aren’t gonna step down for me either, which is awesome.”
As far as the off-season plan goes, Ciona planned to take some more time away from the gym and training so he could be 100% to dive into off-season workouts around late May/early June. He said:
“I’m ready to relax for a little longer. My body needs it right now and I need to go get ready in a couple weeks here for training in the off-season but just taking a break. It’s nice not to be hit every day. I’ll say that for the most part.”

Outlook

Lucas Ciona’s entry level contract has now expired and he is on a long list of free agents in the Calgary market this summer. His draft status keeps him as a restricted free agent but it is hard to know at this point what direction the Flames and the Wranglers want to go with him. Ciona especially has his community work and personality on his side in this organization but that is something he feels the Flames already knew about him coming in. He said:
“Throughout the past three years, I feel like that’s already known. Even from the time I was drafted, I think I’ve always held myself with a good character and that’s always been a trait that I’ll thank my parents and my billets and all the people around me who’ve helped develop me. They all know that I think already. That’s something I take pride in 100%. I think it’s already known and I feel good about that and I’ll always continue to do that.” 
It won’t boil down to just one aspect of the player and person Lucas Ciona is, so his consideration for another contract in this organization is going to be reviewed very carefully. He still feels like a leader and a player in that early to mid-20’s range that can still be a mentor for new guys coming in but the spots do end up being limited. This off-season will provide more answers as to whether or not Ciona will be back in the Fall sporting a Wranglers jersey.

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