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Alex Vlasic

Alex Vlasic Out With Broken Fibula

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The Chicago Blackhawks filled up their NHL roster with veteran names this summer so that they could keep top prospects developing in the minor leagues, competing for a Calder Cup championship. Unfortunately, that development only happens if they can stay healthy, and today the Rockford IceHogs announced some bad news. Alex Vlasic will miss six weeks with a right fibula fracture.

Vlasic, 21, is one of the Blackhawks’ top prospects, drafted 43rd overall in 2019. The 6’6″ defenseman spent three seasons at Boston University eliminating the competition’s best players on a nightly basis and didn’t look out of place during a 15-game stint with Chicago at the end of last year This season, the hulking defender had six points in 21 games with the IceHogs and sat second in +/- with a +13 rating. A standout even among a talented young group in Rockford, there are many more NHL games in Vlasic’s future.

He’ll now miss a big chunk of his first full professional season as six weeks will take him out until nearly February. Rockford, 7-1-2 in their last ten, will have to keep up the pace without him, as even with that strong stretch they remain in third place in the Central Division.

Alex Vlasic Sent To AHL

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Alex Vlasic hadn’t actually made it into a game yet for the Chicago Blackhawks, and he’ll have to wait a little while longer. The young defenseman has been assigned to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, with Jake McCabe on the verge of returning to action.

Vlasic, 21, signed out of Boston University last season and stepped immediately into the NHL, playing 15 games with the Blackhawks down the stretch. The 6’6″ defender has never had much offensive upside but is a potential shutdown option for the team as they continue their rebuild. His reach and skating ability allow him to control the rush easily and break up plays in front of the net, though he’ll have to do it in Rockford for the next little while.

It’s very obvious that the Blackhawks don’t want to rush their top prospects up to the NHL during this tank season. The team has just three players – Mackenzie Entwistle, Philipp Kurashev, and Alec Regula – left on the roster who are under the age of 24. Most of their group is 27 or older, racking up playing time in an attempt by the Blackhawks to flip as many pieces at the deadline as possible.

Vlasic will get his chance, there is little doubt of that, it just might not come this season. The organization is committed to creating a winner at the AHL level, meaning it might be a full minor league season for the hulking defender.

Prospect Notes: Helleson, Vlasic, Smilanic

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When Drew Helleson was signed by the Anaheim Ducks just after they acquired his rights, they could have had the entry-level contract kick in right away. That would have meant burning the first season of the three-year deal though, something that the team avoided by having it start in 2022-23. With the deal not kicking in just yet, Helleson will be signing an amateur tryout contract with the San Diego Gulls for the rest of this season, according to Elliott Teaford of the OC Register.

The 20-year-old defenseman is coming off an outstanding season with Boston College and could very well be in the NHL as soon as next year, depending on how his transition to professional hockey goes. He’ll get an early chance to test that transition, and the Gulls need him. At 22-25-2 with 19 games remaining, the team is currently occupying the very last postseason spot in the Pacific Division.

  • Another young defenseman who signed recently is in a very different situation. Alex Vlasic’s entry-level deal kicks in right away, meaning he can get into the Chicago Blackhawks lineup whenever the coaching staff deems him ready. That could even be this weekend, according to head coach Derek King, who spoke to reporters including Scott Powers of The Athletic after today’s practice. Vlasic, who stands 6’6″ and spent the last few seasons as a rock-solid defender for Boston University, was the 43rd overall pick in 2019 and figures to step into a full-time role with the Blackhawks before long.
  • Ty Smilanic, who was part of the Ben Chiarot trade yesterday, is very familiar to the front office of the Montreal Canadiens. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes how Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes, and Martin St. Louis all have kids who played against the Quinnipiac star at one point and pushed hard for him in the trade talks. The 20-year-old Smilanic still needs to be signed before he officially joins the Canadiens’ organization.

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