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Lucas Ciona could be a sneaky underdog for the Wranglers this season
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Photo credit: Terence Leung/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
Oct 12, 2025, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 12, 2025, 00:36 EDT
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Lucas Ciona was the Calgary Wranglers’ Man of the Year last season highly due to his volunteering contributions in the community. On top of taking his off ice work to the next level, he also made strides on the ice. He over tripled his production with 22 points in 68 games. His confidence showed through and the last time he jumped this much in production, he won a championship. What more can you ask for than a winning mentality in a locker room? 

Meets expectations

Lucas Ciona is expected to continue his improvement trajectory this season. With his stature and physicality, he does a great job making room for himself and his teammates on the ice. He is also quick to react when the scrums behind the net start to escalate and emotions are boiling over during a game. 
In his last year of junior with the Seattle Thunderbirds, he climbed up to 75 points in 63 games after earning 35 points in the season prior. Not that the expectation is for him to make a jump like that in the AHL, but he has the potential to be an effective contributor. There should be more Ciona can do in his third full season, including breaking over that 30-35 point mark. 

Exceeds expectations

Ciona is one of the many players on this roster with leadership experience on their previous teams. He has yet to wear a letter for the Wranglers but could be in that conversation as alternate captain or a backup if one of the leaders goes down. He already showed he has nailed the personality side of it off the ice, so more on ice leadership could take him to the next level. 
For Ciona to over-perform, he’d need to further elevate his physical game and ramp up the points production. If he is able to keep pace with guys like Rory Kerins, William Stromgren and Dryden Hunt, it’ll flip his perception to be more of a playmaker and that role could get him in NHL sights, maybe not this year but in the next few seasons following. He’s been a set up guy in the past and with opportunity and talented linemates, he could excel in that role again. 

Below expectations 

For Ciona to disappoint this season, he’d need to be essentially hidden on the fourth line and not making any big contributions to the team. If scoring goes quiet and new faces pass him by, Ciona could be a scratch option. Knowing his competitive spirit, this is unlikely but still a possibility. 
Another way he would under-produce would be to take a step back from what we saw last year. A similar performance would still be helpful for the team, but his familiarity with the structure of the team should not throw him into a slump.
Ciona is one of the prospects who could be a dark horse among this roster. I don’t believe we’ve seen the best out of this 22-year-old. The best is yet to come.  

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