Liukas played left wing on the third line for TPS U20. He was also used in the middle of the box on their top power play unit, and he was used on the number one penalty kill unit as well. He played a total of 18:38, including over a minute in overtime. As if that wasn’t enough, he also scored the deciding goal in the shootout to secure the win for his team. Liukas was also credited with a power play assist but that was a mistake made by the officials.

Liukas is big and powerful, and he enjoys the physical brand of hockey. He made a few big hits in the game, and he’s also very good at using his body to protect the puck. He seems to be a modern day power forward who can be utilized in any situation because he’s so responsible defensively.

The things that are holding him back at this point are related to his skating. His skating stride looks a bit heavy and sluggish. His first few steps are also not that quick, and he seems to be out of gas near the end of his shifts. It’s possible he might actually have too much upper body strength which could be causing at least some of these issues – he looks massive on the ice even though he’s one of the youngest players on the ice in any given game. But because he’s born in late September (he turns 17 in three days), he isn’t eligible for the NHL Draft until 2021, so he has lots of time to work on those issues and figure them out.