Ludwinski's versatility, smarts stand out ahead of 2022 NHL Draft

The 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held at Bell Centre in Montreal on July 7-8. NHL.com is counting down to the draft with profiles and other features. Today, a look at center Paul Ludwinski with Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Paul Ludwinski
is ultra-competitive. Whether it is on the ice, in the classroom or even when holding a Rubik's Cube, he is driven to be the best.
While a lot of people his age are likely to be found playing video games in their spare time, the 18-year-old center, in his first OHL season with Kingston, often can be found messing around with a Rubik's Cube, a hobby he picked up in grade school.
"We'd go to basketball tournaments when I played junior basketball in grade school and in between our games, we'd be trying to solve one and we'd be competing who goes faster," Ludwinski said. "Once you solve it, it's honestly hard to forget. It's just patterns over and over. It doesn't seem like it but honestly it's not that hard once you get the hang of it."
His record is 53 seconds.

Ludwinski (5-foot-11, 176 pounds),
No. 49 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters
, prides himself on being a versatile player capable of being used in all situations.
"Watching (Boston Bruins center) Patrice Bergeron, guys like him make money for playing the right way and playing a 200-foot game," Ludwinski said. "That's how players have to be; you can't just be offense, you have to be a guy at both ends of the ice.
"I'm a 200-foot player. I'm dangerous in the offensive zone and hard to contain. But in the D-zone, I'm responsible and I don't let too many goals go in against me so I can be put into any situation and I'm a reliable player, so whatever situation I get put in on whatever line, I'll bring energy to the game and play the best way I can."

Luca Caputi, Ludwinski's coach with Kingston, called him one of the most coachable players he has ever been around. He has earned Caputi's trust in high-leverage situations including killing penalties and when defending a one-goal lead during 5-on-6 scenarios.
"Paul is an extremely competitive young man, he sees the ice well and has elite skating ability as well as the ability to wear on other teams just because he's got that competitive edge and skating prowess that is tough to find in young men," Caputi said. "He's been a breath of fresh air for a lot of people around here and a kid who is going to carry the torch in the future for us."
Ludwinski, who played lacrosse from age 10 to 16 and still grabs his lacrosse stick to warm up before games, had 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists) in 67 games and 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 11 playoff games in his rookie OHL season.
He missed the 2020-21 season due to the OHL's cancellation as a result of the coronavirus pandemic but spent as much time as he could on the Rouge River between Port Huron and Pickering, Ontario, playing shinny to hone his hands and working out in the basement.
"I have a mat downstairs that I'll stickhandle on in the basement and just work on my hands," Ludwinski said. "I used to have a net but I destroyed that thing."
Prior to this season, Ludwinski last played in 2019-20, when he had 32 points (15 goals, 16 assists) in 31 games and was captain of the Toronto Marlboros in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, which led to him being selected No. 5 in 2020 OHL Draft by Kingston. Being entrusted with the captaincy was a role he did not take lightly.
"Just knowing I was the guy on the team if anybody needed anything or the guy to look up to, it was a great feeling," Ludwinski said. "Guys were coming up from Double-A, not to say they weren't great players but they didn't have the experience that some of us did playing on such a good team for seven years. Just teaching them the right way and always staying positive and never getting frustrated, that's probably the biggest part of my leadership. I love that aspect. It just shows your character, that you are not only there to play but that you are a good person and you can make other people feel welcomed too."
Consistently maintaining a school average over 85, Ludwinski, the son of a nurse who has watched his mother endure a very difficult past two years while working throughout the pandemic, has aspirations once his playing career concludes. He wants to become a doctor.
"It's been tough for her," Ludwinski said. "She's a hard worker. We think we're working hard but they're working 10 times harder than we do.
"My mom really pushed me up that path (of wanting to become a doctor). Ever since I was young, I love math and science. They're my two favorite subjects besides physical education**