When the Vancouver Canucks acquired Roberto Luongo from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Todd Bertuzzi, the deal also included three other players. Defenseman Bryan Allen and goaltender Alex Auld headed south for Florida, while blueliner Lukas Krajicek went to Vancouver. And while there's little doubt that Luongo was the key to the trade for Canucks GM Dave Nonis, there's a strong possibility that Krajicek could turn out to be the steal of the deal.

The Panthers' first round pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, the 23-year-old Krajicek is an offensive defenseman with tremendous potential. In his final junior hockey season with the Peterborough Petes in 2002-03, the Prostejov, Czech Republic native tallied 53 points in 52 games.

Krajicek was behind the likes of Jay Bouwmeester and Mike Van Ryn on the Panthers' depth chart, so his power play opportunities in Florida were few and far between. But with the Canucks, Krajicek is averaging the second-most power play time on the team, behind fellow blueliner Mattias Öhlund. And if his performance thus far for the Canucks is any indication, Krajicek could be on the verge of breaking out.

He's only tallied three points in twelve games, but Krajicek is averaging two shots on goal per contest. And if he keeps getting opportunities to play the point on a Canucks power play that features Markus Naslund and the Sedin twins, it's a good bet that his production will steadily rise. It would be foolhardy to expect Krajicek to crack the 50-point barrier after a relatively cool start, but a 40-point season is certainly within reach for the talented Czech rearguard.