Back in the Fall, Chicago Hockey Now ranked the top 10 prospects in the Chicago Blackhawks pipeline. Those rankings had Connor Bedard sitting at the top of the list–while only being in the organization for three months. For a little bit of a veer off, how about the some of the prospects who were considered but didn’t make the top ten? Let’s start with Alex Vlasic.
Alex Vlasic
Current Team: Chicago Blackhawks
Stats: 1 Goals; 9 Assists; 10 Points
Drafted: 2019 43rd overall (2nd round) by Stan Bowman
What Kept Him Out of the Top 10?
I’ll be honest in that I called one of my closest friends who is a hardcore Hawks fan and ran through my list back in the fall. Vlasic was one of three I had on there who could have easily been 9th, 10th, 11th or even 12th. My initial thought was that he would be part of a rotation of defensemen who would go up and down–think Isaak Phillips, and Wyatt Kaiser. But a strong training camp saw Vlasic stand out and he has only gotten better as the season continues on–especially in light of all the injuries that have decimated the team.
Ranking Higher, Lower, Holding, or Graduated?
Graduated now. He may even be trending towards either an interchangable top pairing with Kevin Korchinski as well as an anchor on the blue line. Vlasic is truly the real deal.
Now and Later: Where Does Alex Vlasic Fit In the Grand Scheme of Things?
The Blackhawks could be unbelievably blessed in the fact that they have two defensemen capable of logging big minutes while doing it well for years to come. Vlasic is second on the team in minutes, behind only Seth Jones who is the penultimate minutes eater on the squad. In his absence, it was Vlasic who head coach Luke Richardson leaned on. Think of that for a moment: a 21-year-old defenseman along with his 19-year-old teammate carrying the team as injuries took over.
Things are bright for the Blackhawks and the Illinois native is one of the reasons. Vlasic is headed into the offseason as arbitration eligible as a restricted free agent. Kyle Davidson will have to decide whether to stretch the contract out or bridge it while the other youngsters make their way to Chicago. The young core is getting stronger and the blue line is looking even more promising than one could have predicted.
Now to see what Davidson decides to do with the defenseman who has exceeded expectations and may be a massive win for the Hawks for years to come.
Previous Check-Ins:
Connor Bedard | Lukas Reichel | Kevin Korchinski | Frank Nazar | Oliver Moore | Drew Commesso | Gavin Hayes
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