FEATURE: Reichel, Soderblom, Vlasic Prepare to make Jump From AHL to NHL

by: Kara Keating

With Lukas Reichel, Arvid Soderblom and Alex Vlasic ready to make the push for a full-time roster spot in Chicago, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson feels confident that the three can find their way onto the team after their development stint in Rockford.

Instead of rushing these three into the league, Davidson and the Blackhawks hockey operations staff knew that Rockford could provide better lessons in their game. There, the IceHogs coaching staff can create a structure and fill in some gaps that can help their skills grow.

“That’s the job of the coaching staff is to instruct and teach,” Davidson said on Sept. 19. “We’re not a big believer in the NHL being a development league, but some of the players that are up for jobs are not fresh out of amateur hockey either. They’ve played some good time in pro. There shouldn’t be huge gaps to fill in their game.”

For Reichel, who spent time between the Blackhawks and IceHogs, he felt that he gained more confidence through the situations he played through. Whether he worked on his defensive zone skills or how to play in high-pressure situations, he knew it prepared him for the NHL.

Last season down in Rockford, Reichel tested his skills with a slight position change from the wing to center to add more depth for the Blackhawks. With a few practices on the faceoff, he noted it can complement his speed and bring new challenges to his game.

“I love playing center,” Reichel said. “I think I can use my skating and I can use my speed a lot and that's my main focus. I love that challenge.”

After he spent the last two season in the AHL system, Davidson witnessed the growth in Reichel’s game to make that jump into the NHL. Between his knowledge of the work ethic and game level, he can add more speed to their forward group and also build his defensive game.

As he entered training camp this season, Davidson knew Reichel came to compete.

“Lukas Reichel did everything we asked of him last year in terms of little things that we asked him to improve on to the point at the end of the year. As he walks into training camp this year, he’s an NHL ready player.”

As for Reichel’s roommate in Rockford, Alex Vlasic, Davidson also believed that he can be another player that could join the Blackhawks defensive group this season.

For Vlasic, he came into camp with a fresh knew mindset in his game as he entered his second year in training camp. Last season, he described the nerves of the unexpected when he first walked into training camp as a rookie.

Now, he wants to push himself out of his comfort zone by showcasing what he can bring to the team and finish training camp without any regrets.

“I think this year, I'm kind of having a growth mindset, just worried about myself and what I can do to kind of like push my limits and test my potential,” Vlasic said. “I don't really want to leave training camp having any regrets or feeling like I held anything back, so I'm just trying to give it my all.”

Not only did Reichel and Vlasic stick out to both Davidson and head coach Luke Richardson, but Soderblom also set good impressions after his performance in net for both Chicago and Rockford. While he came up to Chicago in a tough stint in the 2022-23 season, Davidson still saw his stellar performance in Rockford that helped keep the IceHogs strong throughout the regular season and in their playoff push.

Soderblom felt that his experience in Rockford over the last two seasons prepared him for a different style in the North American system. With the help of former developmental goaltending coach Peter Aubry, he found ways to be impactful between the pipes.

“Mostly like my explosiveness, flexibility, I think those are two great things to have when you want to be a goalie at this level,” Soderblom said. “If you looked at the best guys in the league, they have that explosiveness and flexibility, so those are two main things I've been working on.”

For Richardson, he hopes to see Soderblom become more vocal with the defensemen in the group to help grow his game. However, with the way he handles the puck, the second year coach feels confident in the young netminder.

“The way he showed up in camp, played in camp this year so far and getting him into some extra exhibition games, I think he's ready to be an NHL goaltender,” Richardson said. “He's built for it. He moves the puck well, and he's solid.”