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Blackhawks fans, Rockford offers some enjoyable (and productive) AHL game action

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There are parts of general manager Kyle Davidson’s plan to rebuild the Blackhawks that aren’t so depressing if you’re a fan.

If you only watch the Blackhawks’ NHL club, yeah, that’s depressing and undoubtedly going to remain that way the rest of the season. Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Golden Knights was the Blackhawks’ 19th defeat in the last 22 games. The Blackhawks’ points percentage fell .321, with just the Anaheim Ducks’ .303 percentage below them.

And, yes, that is part of Davidson’s plan. The Blackhawks were built to finish near the bottom of the league and give them a shot at one of the projected elite players in the 2023 draft class.

But whereas failure was the objective in Chicago this season, Davidson also mapped out success for the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL this season. And like the Blackhawks — but in an obvious different way — things are going according to plan in Rockford. From an individual and team standpoint, the Blackhawks couldn’t be happier with how the season is playing out for the IceHogs.

Let’s start with the IceHogs at the team level. The IceHogs are playing Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson’s system nearly identically — there are some variations on the special teams — and succeeding with it. After a 4-5-1 start to the season, the IceHogs have gone 9-2-2 and been one of the hottest teams in the AHL. Unlike last season, when the IceHogs largely made the playoffs because of their goaltending, especially the play of Arvid Soderblom, it’s a team effort this season and the system has factored into that.

“How we play to play in the D zone, like the way he wants to play aggressive, our group down here, it fits our group,” IceHogs coach Anders Sorensen said. “We have a fast team. We want to play on our toes. And it seems to be translating well to our game down here.”

The IceHogs are creating chances and scoring. They’ve scored 89 goals in 23 games. They’re limiting chances and goals, too. In their six games this month, the IceHogs have allowed more than two goals in regulation once and more than 30 shots on goal twice.

How Davidson decided to assemble the IceHogs does explain why they’re doing so well. It’s not a team full of young Blackhawks prospects, like in most years past. There are some of those, but it’s mostly borderline NHL players who are really good AHL players. Davidson brought in 31-year-old Buddy Robinson, 28-year-old David Gust, 27-year-olds Dylan Sikura and Luke Philp and 26-year-old Brett Seney to bolster the forward group.

That group has done its job. For one, it’s produced. Seney and Gust are in the top 10 in the league in points. Phil has scored 12 goals. Sikura had a slow start, but he’s coming along now and has 17 points in 21 games. Secondly, the group is supporting the Blackhawks’ real future forward prospects, players like Lukas Reichel and Cole Guttman. It’s setting them up for success.

“Just having guys that they can play give-and-go with, but also off the ice, talking to guys and seeing how they carry themselves and how they work has helped,” Sorensen said. “It’s also where last year, I felt like there were times where we were leaning on those guys to score every game, and in this league, it’s not always the easiest to score in, especially when you’re a young player and come in. I think Seney, Gust, Philp and Sikura, they’ve been able to kind of offset some of that, so that players like Reichel don’t have to carry the load all the time.”

Reichel has had some ups and downs this season, but Sorensen felt like Reichel has been learning from them and showing improvement. The offense is still there. He has 11 goals and 16 assists in 23 games. The thing the Blackhawks have been pressing with Reichel is just to keep his feet moving. When Reichel is active and using his speed, the Blackhawks see the sky as the limit for him. It’s when he slows himself down, he puts himself in unfavorable positions.

“We actually did some video today, me and him about this,” Sorensen said, “watching the guys in the NHL and how they continually move their feet on entries and how they’re driving pucks low. Even when they’re changing direction, they keep moving. If you look at Jack Hughes and the game Lukas was called up to play against Jersey, I was watching the game, and I told Lukas afterwards, there’s so many similarities in the way you move and what you’re doing as Jack Hughes.

“So, let’s watch some clips of him and what he does, and obviously he’s having kind of a breakout year here, but I think that’s kind of like the bar that he can set for himself. Like, he wants to be in that category type of player, right? And if you watch those guys, and if you watch Jack Hughes, Connor McDavids of the world, they do move their feet a lot. They come in and they’re deceptive, but their feet and their hands are moving at the same time.”

Guttman is the other forward prospect who has the Blackhawks excited. The Blackhawks signed him as a college free agent after his draft rights expired with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s produced, too, with eight goals and six assists in 15 games, but there’s much more to list about his game beyond the numbers.

“There’s a long list of things; I don’t know where to start,” Sorensen said. “Instincts, his willingness to improve, his faceoffs — really just a kid that, I was talking to Chris Kunitz about it today, just a guy that when he’s on the ice, you feel comfortable and you feel good about yourself as a coach. And I think it’s easy sometimes to maybe throw him on the ice too much at times, but you feel so good that you feel that he’s reliable.”

The question marks around Guttman coming in were whether his size and speed would be good to play in the NHL. That is still yet to be seen — he’s likely to get a recall at some point — but Sorensen thought his instincts and skill gave him a chance.

“I’m not saying he’s Brayden Point, but he’s got some of those similarities,” Sorensen said. “He’s willingness to go into hard areas for not being the biggest guy. I think so personally (he can play in the NHL), but time will tell.”

Among the defensemen, there are even brighter spots for the Blackhawks’ future. Like Reichel, Alex Vlasic probably could be in the NHL now if the Blackhawks needed him, but Davidson has been trying to give prospects more time to develop. Davidson brought on Jarred Tinordi once training camp began, so someone like Vlasic didn’t have to be accelerated. Vlasic has one goal, five assists and is a plus-13 in 21 games.

Along with Vlasic, Isaak Phillips is showing more and more signs that he could be part of the Blackhawks’ NHL future. If it hadn’t been for the pandemic, Phillips would probably be in his first pro season. Instead, he’s in his third and he’s benefitted for it. He has two goals, 14 assists and is a plus-19 in 23 games this season.

“They’ve both been very impressive on both ends of the ice, to be honest,” Sorensen said of Vlasic and Phillips. “Obviously, Phillips has been able to put some points up offensively. A lot of it is because he’s defending so well. He’s been using his athletic abilities to close in on guys. He’s killing plays defensively quick. Same with Vlasic, with that size, I’m very impressed with his mobility for such a big guy, and he’s got a great stick. And both of them are hard to get around because their sticks are really good. They cover a lot of ice and they’ve been fun to watch.”

Jakub Galvas has taken strides, too. He’s been more effective on the power play. Alec Regula continues to create offensively. Louis Crevier, who is 6-foot-8, has been partnered with 6-6 Vlasic and they’ve played well together. Filip Roos also recently joined the IceHogs after being with the Blackhawks all season. Plus, the IceHogs have veteran Adam Clendening, a former Blackhawks draft pick, on an AHL contract.

If the IceHogs can get Soderblom back from the Blackhawks, they should be set all over the ice. But the goaltending has been solid without him, too. Ideally, Davidson would like the IceHogs to make the Calder Cup playoffs and be able to insert someone like first-round draft pick Kevin Korchinski into some important games after his junior season. That will also depend on how soon prospects’ seasons will end, but it’s a possibility for a number of players.

Sorensen, who was named the IceHogs’ permanent head coach in the offseason, has been enjoying this season. It’s obviously easier when you’re winning, but Sorensen has a similar approach to coaching and developing as Richardson does in Chicago.

“It’s exciting to get to work and we have a good group and to come to work every day and try to improve our players and help our staff,” Sorensen said. “Yeah, it’s been fun. It’s been a lot of fun.”

See, some people are having fun during the Blackhawks’ rebuild.

(Photo of Cole Guttman: Todd Reicher / Rockford IceHogs)

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