FEATURE: Vlasic Boasted Confidence in First Professional Season

In his first professional season down in Rockford, defenseman Alex Vlasic began to find his game and gained a new sense of how he can add to the team's blueline down the road.

Following some discussions with the coaching staff and his IceHogs debut, Vlasic wanted to focus on challenging himself more outside of his comfort level whether it was skating with the puck more or playing a more offensive game. As he continued to gain more ice time and excel outside of his comfort zone, he felt an added boost of confidence to his playing style.

"At first going down, [I wanted to keep] playing my game that I'm pretty comfortable with as more of a defensive role," Vlasic said. "I think around halfway through the year was kind of turning point for me where I started to have that next level of confidence and just be able to take a game into my control and play defensively and offensively equally the same."

Throughout the year in the AHL, the 6-foot-6 defenseman continued to rack up ice time and also play on the team's top power play unit. In 56 games with the IceHogs this year, he recorded two goals, 17 assists and averaged around 25 minutes of ice time.

Instead of being bounced around between the NHL and AHL, Blackhawks Assistant General Manager of Player Development Mark Eaton viewed this year as an opportunity for the 21 year old to gain a boost of confidence. It also allowed him to experience different situations that he might not have been thrown into in the NHL, where he could learn from his mistakes.

"[He's] going to develop so much more in those types of scenarios versus, if he was in Chicago for an extended amount of time," Eaton said, "It allows them to grow from their mistakes, I think, more productively than, than at the NHL."

With his first appearance in the AHL playoffs, Vlasic felt the excitement that the postseason brings along with the ability to play a style he thrives in with high-pressure situations. During the run the team swept the Iowa Wild in the first round but fell to the Texas Stars in the second. Through those two series, he produced five assists in five playoff contests.

However, before making that last minute push in the AHL standing, the Blackhawks recalled the young defenseman in the last month of the regular season. Despite not being called up all season, Vlasic reminded himself that these situations are out of his hands but knew when the time came he can prove what he could do.

"I think earlier in the year was kind of worried a bit too much about when I was going to get called up when I was going to get sent down kind of thing," Vlasic said. "I think I started to just play hockey and realize that a lot of that stuff is out of my control, and I try to focus on what I can do and what I can control. So, that kind of helped me quite a bit."

The Illinois native earned his first stint with the Blackhawks this season in the final week of the season, where he played in six games and averaged around 19 minutes of ice time. While head coach Luke Richardson knew the young defenseman played well and surprised others, he felt the one thing that he could make his game strong is to be more assertive.

After joining a group of new players following the trade deadline, Richardson noticed that Vlasic could be more vocal both on and off the ice. As he continues to grow within Chicago's system, he knows that Vlasic can make an impact on the team by using his bigger body during defensive zone coverages.

"He's going be a big part of the future," Richardson said. "We need him to get comfortable doing that and sometimes it's taking someone out of their shell to do that."

Going into training camp last season, Vlasic didn't feel like he showcased his best-self causing him to second guess himself. With one professional season under his belt, he wants to continue to push his limits and showcase the belief he has in his game and his future role with the team.

"Having that big role on a team is always good for anybody who's trying to improve their game," Vlasic said. "It kind of allowed me to have that confidence to continue to push my limits but push myself and believe in myself and I think that's what I'm playing best. So that's what I have to continue to bring forward is just having faith in my abilities and what I have to bring to the table."