Reign’s Jack Studnicka Is Having An Underrated Season

The Los Angeles Kings signed Jack Studnicka last offseason to the NHL minimum of $775,000 as a pure depth piece in the system.

After the Ontario Reign’s deep run in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, the Kings lost a lot of depth that they had down in Ontario, including two time AHL most valuable player TJ Tynan.

In response, the Kings signed two centers, including AHL November player of the month Glenn Gawdin, and the other being Studnicka.

At first glance, the 25-year-old centerman does not have the best hockey card. For starters, his 16 points in 107 career NHL games won’t generate any fan excitement.

Furthermore, prior to this season, Studnicka has only had a positive +/- twice in his career.

He had a plus-minus of +2 last year in 5 games with the Vancouver Canucks, and a +9 in the 2019-2020 season with the Providence Bruins, where he was named to the AHL all-rookie team.

Despite this, I would argue Studnicka has a had a real resurgence this season and has been one of the best players on the Reign since his arrival.

Studnicka has 26 points in 43 games thus far, with a +4. As aforementioned, in the 2019-2020 season, Studnicka had 49 points in 60 games, which is his career high.

In the 2021-2022 season, he spent most of the year in Providence, tallying 35 points in 41 games, which is his second highest points mark in his career.

Other than these two seasons, he has bounced up and down in the NHL and AHL. You can make the argument the Bruins rushed his development as a 20-year old.

Additionally, when Studnicka was shipped off to the Vancouver Canucks, and later the San Jose Sharks, these organizations did the same thing, splitting his time between the NHL and AHL often.

It seems as though Studnicka is playing with more of an edge this season. He already has a career high 38 PIM n in Ontario, but has also developed a fearlessness in his playmaking.

Reign broadcaster Jared Shafran has stated many times that it seems like Studnicka has a “lightswitch.” Indicating that when he turns on this switch, he becomes a problem for the opposing team.

Studnicka’s elite speed helps him enter the offensive zone with ease on most occasions, allowing his line mates to get more opportunities to score.

The centerman also has a good sense of the ice, as he makes the right decision more times than not. His passing is a very underrated part of his game as well.

Moreover, continuing the “lightswitch” conversation, Studnicka has proven to be a valuable skater on the backcheck as well, regularly laying big hits against the boards when needed.

One of the more interesting aspects of Studnicka’s game is his ability to elevate the scoring of his linemates.

On January 10, Reign head coach Marco Sturm decided to make tweaks to the line combinations, most notably separating Studnicka and Samuel Fagemo.

Studnicka would get put on a line with Andre Lee and Taylor Ward as his wingers. Almost immediately, Ward became a scoring machine. Since the move last month, Ward has five goals and two assists in 12 games played. Prior to the move, he had three goals and seven assists in 27 games played.

Coincidence? Maybe, let’s take a look at Fagemo’s stats prior to the change. In 30 games played, Fagemo had 19 goals and seven assists when on the same line with Studnicka.

Ever since moving onto a line with Francesco Pinelli and Martin Chromiak, Fagemo has just two goals and two assists in 13 games played.

These dramatic shifts in statistics when playing with and without Studnicka suggest there are play-driving elements in his game that benefit his line mates.

Although he has not had much success as an NHLer so far in his career, Studnicka is still young, and with the skill he possesses, don’t overlook him as a potential option for the Kings.