GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The first of the Coyotes' split-squad training camp practices had finished at least an hour earlier. Most of the players were either grabbing lunch in the Rinkside Club or chatting in the team lounge at Gila River Arena.
Lucas Lessio was pacing the hallways.
He'd appear at one end, still dressed in his sweat-soaked undergarments, pass by the media with that loping, deliberate gait, then disappear behind another door.
Ten minutes later, the process would start all over again.
"I have a lot of anxiety; a lot of nerves coming in here," Lessio said, almost seeming embarrassed. "There are so many guys vying for a job, and there's so much good competition here. Everybody's amazing, so that was just me trying to relieve some of the pressure of needing to do what I need to do when I'm out there to get noticed."
Lessio is getting noticed. He had a shootout goal in a 2-1 win in San Jose on Friday, and a goal against Mike Smith in the red-white scrimmage on Saturday. He also made his presence felt in front of the net, getting dumped and bowling over Smith before apologizing to the franchise player.
"He's a dynamic player," coach Dave Tippett said. "There are parts of his game you just love. He's got speed and size. He can find opportunities to have an effect on the game."
The key for Lessio will be proving he can do it consistently. He made the roster out of camp last season but was sent back to Portland of the American Hockey league after appearing in just three games with no points, a penalty and a minus-2 rating.
"There's still young player in him," Tippett said. "There's a lot of young player in even some veteran players, but he's got to learn the structure of the game. He's a dynamic player, but he can get individual at times.
"Working with his linemates, playing a structured game and doing his part within the structure; those are all things that continue to evolve in his game."
Lessio believes last season helped him take an enormous step on that arc. He worked with the coaching staff in Portland to improve weaknesses in his game like his defense, and he watched a lot of video to understand where things were going wrong and how to correct them. In 69 games, he finished second on the team in scoring with 29 goals and 54 points.
"The thing about the American League is it's a developmental league," he said. "If you make a mistake in a game they'll give you that extra chance to redeem yourself. They'll tell you what to do, try to teach you."
"When you come up here you have to be counted on. There's no room for error; there's no mistakes. They expect you to know everything. That's how it's got to be. You have to hold guys accountable because it's a winning business, especially in a market like this where winning is everything. Coaches have to know they have guys they can count on every shift, in every zone."
While most of the offseason chatter focused on whether skilled forwards Max Domi and Henrik Samuelsson could make the jump from juniors to the NHL, Lessio could be the most NHL-ready of all the Coyotes' forward prospects.
At 6-feet-1, 215 pounds (his stated weight differs from the roster), he has the size to win battles along the wall, find his way to the net and be an agitator. But his season in Portland also showed he has the ability to score. That will be a quality in great demand on a team that probably won't be known for its offense.
"I'm trying to do all the little things right and trying to find another gear offensively, too," he said. "Maybe I can bring a little more offense to the exhibition games and use my speed a little more; just try to create more offensively but at the same time trying to be that two-way guy; try to be responsible."
When Samuelsson and Tyler Gaudet were re-assigned to Portland on Saturday, that left Lessio, Domi and Tobias Rieder as the only remaining young forward prospects in camp who haven't tasted regular NHL action (injured wing Brendan Perlini will be re-assigned to juniors).
Lessio will learn his fate in less than a week, but even if he does make the opening-day roster, he understands there are areas where he must continue to evolve if he is to stay in the Valley.
"There are a lot of things to think about like holding my ice, not trying to do everybody's job, working as a five-man unit and taking care of your area in the zone," he said. "Coaches want to see me finishing my checks, being a hard (first forward) on the forecheck, stirring things up a little bit in terms of turnovers and being that in your-face player.
"If I can bring all of those aspects as well as produce offensively, that's a pretty good combination to put on my resume. Whether I make (the roster) or not, if I give it all I have and there's nothing left in the tank, I'll be happy with whatever outcome comes my way."
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