Much of the oxygen surrounding the Chicago Blackhawks through the middle of February was taken by Connor Bedard, who returned from a broken jaw and is performing as if he didn’t miss any time at all. But in between the stories on this Bedard goal and that Bedard pass and the fishbowl he’s currently wearing was news that fellow Blackhawks’ top prospect Lukas Reichel was assigned to the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs the morning of Feb. 18.
While it was still jarring to see the press release, no one who has followed the 2023-24 version of the Blackhawks was surprised. Before the team secured the 2023 No. 1 overall pick and selected Bedard, there was a case to be made that Reichel was Chicago’s top prospect, right there with Alex Vlasic and Kevin Korchinski.
Related: 5 Thoughts on the Blackhawks’ Games Since Bedard’s Return
But after being healthy scratched at various points through the season and scoring only three goals and seven assists for 10 points, the Blackhawks decided it was time to send their 2020 first-round pick down to the minors. Let’s take a look at Reichel’s struggles and how the Blackhawks should handle his future.
Reichel Couldn’t Find His Footing in 2023-24
I think a large part of what’s been so confounding for both fans and management is how Reichel ended the 2022-23 season, showing flashes of brilliance on a line with Andreas Athanasiou and being a driver for production, finishing with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 23 games. Back-to-back seasons with the IceHogs saw Reichel reach 20-plus goals and 50-plus points in less than 60 games, and you won’t find many 20- or 21-year-olds who produce at a near-point-per-game pace in the AHL.
After last season’s strong finish, the addition of Bedard and a variety of established veterans in another rebuilding season felt like it was easy money that Reichel would find his footing and establish himself as a bonafide NHL forward. But right from the get-go, every game was like a struggle for the 21-year-old.
Through all nine games in October, Reichel was held off the scoresheet, averaging 14:33 of ice time and posting a minus-9 rating. It wasn’t until Nov. 16 against the Tampa Bay Lighting, his 14th game of the season, that he scored his first goal of 2023-24. He didn’t score again in November, and recorded only two goals in December. Since his third goal on Dec. 19, he has gone scoreless in 20 games, only producing three assists while averaging 14:04 of ice time.
Related: Blackhawks Have 3 Options to Fix Lukas Reichel
What’s just as frustrating for the coaching staff is, that despite sitting out for five games, Reichel has a team-worst minus-28 rating. When you consider he’s been moved up and down the lineup and has played on the third and fourth line, you can’t help but sympathize with head coach Luke Richardson and his staff. Here’s what Richardson said he told Reichel after they informed him he would be sent down to Rockford:
“I didn’t even go to the negative side of things. I wanted to stay totally positive with him. I said, ‘You’re a great young man. You’re a pleasure to work with. Now you’ve got to find that desire internally. We know that you want it, but you’ve got to get over feeling sorry for yourself and just be excited to play and go after it.’ We just said, ‘We believe in you. We believe you can do it. It’s just a mater of time. You have to find a way to find it.’ He said, ‘Thanks,’ and appreciated that. He’s going down with a good attitude, and they have some really good offensive players down there that he can play with, so we’re looking forward to see him turn that corner quickly.”
Luke Richardson, Feb. 19, 2024, via Mark Lazerus
A lot of what Richardson said in his media availability are themes that seemed apparent throughout the season: a lack of effort, and a lack of commitment, nothing resembling how he closed out the 2022-23 campaign.
Reichel Can Use This as a Chance to Grow
Part of staying in the best league in the world is finding ways to contribute when you can’t get it going through your primary skills. Reichel is an offensive driver who can push the puck north and find passing lanes in the opponent’s zone; if he’s unable to get it going through scoring, then he has to be better defensively or start showing a little sandpaper in his game.
No one is going to expect Reichel, who has never had more than 12 penalty minutes in a season, to start going to the dirty areas and whacking skate laces to dig out loose pucks. That’s not even what Richardson and co. want him to do. But as the head coach said in the quote above, they need more effort out of the young man. Hockey players and most professional athletes in general have a keen sense of whether or not they “have it” on any given night. A running back knows if each carry will be a struggle to get across the line of scrimmage. A pitcher can tell if they’ll have difficulty navigating the strike zone after one inning.
Related: 3 Players Blackhawks Fans Have Fallen in Love With in 2023-24
Offensive talents like Reichel, who has proven they can be game changers at the professional level, know after a few shifts if they can’t score. So what do the players who have dressed for hundreds, if not over 1,000 games in the league do if they don’t have it? They find ways to contribute, get in the battle, and let their teammates know that they’re going to do something. Can’t weave through traffic to generate a shot? Stay between the puck and the defender in your zone. Unable to generate any speed through the neutral zone? Back check like hell when the other team starts going north.
Rebuilding teams don’t mind if their young talent is still learning the ins and outs of being productive on the scoresheet. What they can’t stand is when that young talent isn’t doing everything in their power to contribute off the scoresheet, or do everything they can to keep the other team off of it. There isn’t a single player in the NHL who, at one point in their life, wasn’t the best player on the teams they played for growing up. Everyone is talented, and the ones with extra talent and plenty of pedigree have more leeway when it comes to development.
But you have to be willing to do more than the bare minimum, because no spot is guaranteed, and Reichel is learning that now. The young forward should take this moment as a lesson of what it takes to stay in the NHL and what he needs to do moving forward. Richardson said they hope to call up Reichel towards the end of the season, but I feel it would be best to let him find his game and carve out what he needs to do to remain a professional.
There’s plenty of time for Reichel to grow, but that doesn’t mean someone else can’t take his spot in the lineup. Now it’s up to the former top prospect to take it back.