Prior to coming to North America, Stanislav Lascek spent a very short time cutting his teeth in the Slovakian pro ranks. In 2002-2003, at 16, he played 19 games with HKM Zvolen's 1.liga farm team, scoring 2 goals and 6 points, and appeared in 1 game with their Extraliga team. That summer he was selected 10th overall in the 2003 CHL Import Draft by the Chicoutimi Sangueneens of the QMJHL and crossed the Atlantic to pursue his dream of one day playing in the NHL. In his rookie season he played at a nearly point a game clip scoring 17 goals and 57 points in 59 games in the regular season. In the postseason, he had 5 goals and 18 points in 18 playoff games. Despite his production Lascek went unranked by the NHL Central Scouting Service and undrafted by 30 NHL teams at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Undaunted, Lascek dedicated his offseason to working with Brad Richards' former skating coach on his speed and in 2004-2005 he improved his statistical output to 18 goals and 90 points in 53 regular season games and 4 goals and 22 points in 17 playoff games. He also appeared for Slovakia in the 2004 U20 World Junior Championships posting 1 goal and 2 points in 6 tournament games. Convinced, the Lightning selected Lascek in the 5th round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. In the Fall he was invited to participate for the Lightning in the 2005 Traverse City prospect tournament where he had 1 assist in 4 games. Afterward he returned to Chicoutimi where he scored 47 goals and 135 points in 64 games, good for second in the QMJHL, and he was named a Second Team QMJHL All-Star. In addition, he made his second appearance for the Slovakian U20 World Junior Championship team leading his countrymen in scoring with 6 goals and 9 points in 6 games.
Lascek was signed by the Lightning during the summer of 2006 but a groin injury limited the amount he could play during training camp and contributed to his assignment at the start of the year to Johnstown of the ECHL. Lascek dominated with the Chiefs scoring 12 goals and 27 points in 25 games at the ECHL level before moving up to the AHL. In Springfield, Lascek managed just 2 goals and 4 points in 29 games spent primarily on the third line before injuries forced him to miss much of the last couple of months of the season.
