At age fifteen, Lewicki got his first taste of junior hockey with the Columbus Juniors in their playoffs against the Winnipeg Monarchs. Lewicki returned to the Columbus Juniors the following season. That season, Lewicki led the Fort William league in scoring, and started attracting the attention of pro scouts from Toronto, New York and Detroit. Lewicki did not sign with any team, but was placed on the negotiating list of the Providence Reds by his coach, Leo Barbini, who did some scouting for the Reds. Barbini somehow managed to put Lewicki on the Providence list before Toronto and New York, who had filed at 12:01 am on Lewicki's sixteenth birthday.