Brother of Penguins Prospect Forced to End NHL Career at 21 Due to Heartbreaking Diagnosis

Winnipeg Jets prospect Chaz Lucius made an unexpected announcement this afternoon, revealing that he would be retiring from hockey at the age of 21 before even making his NHL debut.

Lucius was still considered to be a highly-touted prospect in the Jets system after being selected in the 1st round, 18th overall in 2021.

He was showing lots of promise as recently as last season when he scored 13 points in 17 games as a rookie in the AHL.

However, Chaz simply could not avoid the injury bug, and now we know why.

Today he revealed that he was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes, a hereditary auto-immune disease that affects the body's connective tissues.

The condition typically affects the joints, often leading to hypermobility, which increases the risk for hyperextensions and other forms of damage to tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.

It also commonly makes the body less efficient at healing, making recovering from injuries a longer, more difficult process.

This is certainly a tough break for Chaz and his family but luckily his younger brother Cruz does not appear to be affected by the condition.

Cruz was a 4th round pick of the Hurricanes in 2022 and has developed nicely, recording 68 points in 70 games for the University of Wisconsin in the NCAA before transferring to ASU this year where he scored 10 points in 19 games.

The 21-year-old was traded to the Penguins as part of the Jake Guentzel deal last year.

Hopefully he can be a part of the solution in Pittsburgh in the coming years as the team looks to reestablish itself as a playoff contender.

That being said, Lucius remains unsigned by the Penguins, despite the fact that many of the team's other prospects have gotten their entry-level contracts recently.

Every prospect has their own unique development plan though, so perhaps Kyle Dubas and the Penguins are just giving Lucius a little more time to round out his game at the NCAA level.