The Biography of Lucas Galeano
The Early Years
Lucas Galeano, a product of St. Petersburg, FL, has often found himself struggling to make an impact in the less-than glamorous Florida hockey scene. Galeano acknowledges that the support of transplants and snow birds in the sunshine state has helped to grow the popularity of professional level hockey. However, as most anyone could predict, youth leagues and high school programs were significantly lacking.
Galeano, the oldest of three boys, was born in the autumn of 1989 to parents Michael and Lucia. Lucas’ father was a prominent business man in the neighboring city of Tampa while his mother stayed at home to raise the family.
Lucas’ path to professional hockey began relatively early and was fueled by his father’s personal passion for the sport. The Lightning had just expanded to the area in 1992 and the Galeano family were among the first to buy season tickets. The rest, as they say, is history.
Galeano was part of the very first youth hockey squad in the area, the Junior Lightning at age six. He told me while compiling this biography that working with professional coaches at such a young age helped his natural talent to shine through. He also said that hockey would not have been a realistic possibility for him if not for the Junior Lightning.
A young Galeano with the Junior Lightning
For many the thought of playing a game like hockey in a place like Florida sounds like a nightmare. For Galeano it meant that the staff had more time to focus on the players they had to develop a competitive team.
Galeano was afforded the opportunity to work one-on-one with the coaching staff, the team’s nutritionist and a personal trainer to become better every week.
Consistently the goal-scorer for his team Galeano was noticed by college and amateur scouts alike. In his sophomore season Galeano was able to score 48 goals in 30 games. He also showed decent puck distribution skills by adding 33 assists to his point totals.
Scouting reports then often highlighted his ability to barrel down the wing unabated, cut through the softer defenses of mid-coast Florida’s best high school defensemen, and pick his target on the goalie with a patient, relaxed sight on goal.
Today’s scouting reports will maintain claims of speed, patience and natural goal scoring ability but also speak of athleticism and physical presence previously not a component of Galeano’s game. For many this is the key to his new found consideration as a professional prospect.
Early Adulthood
At age 19 Galeano made his debut for Michigan’s Wolverines as a third line right wing. It was here, many say, where his physical play was borne out of necessity. The coaching staff could see that, while talented, Galeano had not played against talent of his own caliber often – and they kicked him up and down the ice for it.
Lucas admits that he felt very exposed when he first started playing with the Wolverines. Having spent his entire life to date playing against relatively weaker opponents he was now thrust into a scenario where, for the first time, players much larger, and certainly more talented than he, were now sharing the ice.
It was a wake up call for Galeano who began to work out with the goal of improving his size and physicality.
Galeano with the Wolverines
By his sophomore year Galeano had gained twenty pounds and was now truly a physical presence on the ice. As a result the coaching staff graduated him to the second line where he continued to score, skate and hit with the tenacity and ability expected of him.
At the end of his sophomore season Galeano was undoubtedly a player whose presence was recognized on the national stage. Because Galeano was undrafted he found himself being courted by many suitors, including his home team, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Attracted by the prospect of returning to his home town to play with some of the players he idolized as a child was very attractive to Galeano. As a result he elected to sign with the Lightning. Galeano continued his college career with the Wolverines through his junior and senior seasons. By the end of his collegiate career Galeano had amassed an impressive 142 goals and 167 assists for 309 total points.
Turning Pro
When the pre-season came around for Galeano the Lightning staff assigned him to their American Hockey League affiliate the Syracuse Crunch. Galeano was disappointed not to be playing at home but, as a player who was very new to the league, understood and respected the decision.
Galeano in his rookie year with the Crunch
Galeano never actually made it back to Tampa Bay. In three seasons with the Syracuse Crunch he was plagued by injuries. In his first season a broken femur left him out of competition for nearly five months. Upon returning a stick to the face cost him the rest of the season recovering from a broken orbital bone.
His second season saw him break an ankle when blocking a shot, costing him six weeks. In early spring he suffered a broken wrist after an off-ice incident saw him get into a fight at a nearby bar. He was suspended for the remainder of the season.
The 2014-15 season would prove to be Galeano’s last with the Crunch. Being the third year of his entry-level contract Galeano feared the end was near and as a result his confidence suffered. On the ice Galeano seemed unsure on the puck, he was not aggressively pursuing the puck as he used to and did not seem to have the same calm demeanor on the puck that he was famous for. At the end of the season Galeano and the Tampa Bay Lightning organization mutually agreed to part ways.
After his departure from the National Hockey League Galeano has received a lot of contact from former college friends and alumni who have since moved on to play in the Victory Hockey League. Knowing that the opportunity he once had to play before his family and friends at his hometown organization is gone Galeano, now 25, looks forward to a long, productive and fulfilling career in the Victory Hockey League.
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