General manager Kyle Davidson wanted to make the message very clear: The Blackhawks are following an ultra-patient approach to prospect development.
In the wake of top prospect Lukas Reichel’s surprising reassignment Friday to Rockford, Davidson made an impromptu appearance Saturday at the United Center to emphasize that point. He has mentioned it many times before, but the Reichel demotion is the most controversial example yet.
Most NHL teams would have kept Reichel in the NHL, based on how well he played in the Hawks’ previous three games. Even Davidson admitted Reichel ‘‘probably could’’ be a permanent NHL player right now — something coach Luke Richardson seemed to think last weekend. But the Hawks’ approach will be to be patient to an extreme degree.
‘‘We make sure [our prospects] understand the big picture,’’ Davidson said. ‘‘There’s a road map, and there has been from the start of the year. . . .
‘‘We’re chasing most games here, and I don’t necessarily think that’s conducive to extremely positive development. There are great situations in Rockford where our young players have to go out and defend a lead and [play in] close games.’’
Davidson also mentioned Reichel benefitting from being a ‘‘go-to guy’’ and holding a ‘‘leadership role’’ on an IceHogs team playing ‘‘meaningful hockey’’ in the AHL playoff race.
Those are all fair points, but plenty of fair points can be made in an opposing argument. Reichel already has played in 88 career AHL games and tallied 93 points in them; he pretty much has mastered that level. The Hawks, if they wanted, could give him just as much ice time as the IceHogs can. Spending weeks with Patrick Kane and Max Domi would provide fantastic mentorship and experience.
But another man who spent Saturday at the United Center — Kraken rookie forward Matty Beniers — offers a perfect example of patience with prospects paying off. Davidson didn’t mention him to support his argument, but he should have.
The Kraken drafted Beniers, who had 24 points in 24 games in his freshman year at Michigan, second overall in 2021. Many No. 2 picks are promoted straight to the NHL, and most onlookers expected the Kraken to do the same with Beniers.
Instead, they let him return to school for his sophomore year, in which he tallied 43 points in 37 games and helped lead a loaded Wolverines team to a 31-10-1 record and a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four.
This season, Beniers has been a revelation in the NHL. His 34 points in 41 games (entering Saturday) put him only one off the team lead — he has played a huge role in the Kraken’s second-year offensive explosion — and tops among NHL rookies. He’s responsible defensively, too, making him the runaway Calder Trophy favorite.
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said Beniers navigates ‘‘through a lot of new experiences and handles them all very well.’’ And Beniers said he thinks his extra developmental year ‘‘absolutely’’ contributed to that unflappability.
‘‘[It was] another whole year of getting bigger and stronger,’’ Beniers said. ‘‘Then you were able to step in when you were a lot more ready, instead of going too early. That was always the worry. You never hear guys say, ‘I went too late [to the NHL]’; they always say, ‘I went too early.’ ’’
Hakstol also said every prospect has a ‘‘different path,’’ and Beniers and Reichel aren’t identical cases. It has been 2½ years already since the Hawks drafted Reichel, and his ceiling isn’t quite as high as Beniers’.
Still, the Hawks’ decisions with Reichel right now center on getting him ready to play in the NHL full time next season. If his 2023-24 turns out to resemble Beniers’ 2022-23, they will be thrilled.
And Davidson maintains one more half-season in Rockford — with perhaps another brief NHL taste or two mixed in — will give Reichel the best chance to do that.
Miscommunication, maybe?
Hawks coach Luke Richardson’s quote last weekend about Reichel’s future is something that adds a bit of intrigue to his demotion.
After Reichel’s three-point game Sunday against the Flames, Richardson said he had ‘‘earned a spot’’ and would get ‘‘extended time’’ in the NHL. Five days and one game later, Reichel was sent down to Rockford.
A team source said that it was the Hawks’ plan all along to send Reichel down once Kane returned and that Davidson and Richardson were on the same page about it. But only one of those two things logically can be true.
By far the most likely explanation is that this was Davidson’s plan all along, but Richardson wasn’t aware or was mistaken about it. However, neither man has come close to acknowledging that.
Richardson said last weekend that he hadn’t talked about it with Davidson. This weekend, Richardson said he actually had spoken with Davidson and ‘‘made sure the message was that [Reichel] wasn’t going to be here for the rest of the year.’’ Which story is true and which isn’t might never be known.
Regardless, Richardson and Davidson at least seem to be aligned now.
‘‘It’d be very easy for [Luke] to take the 24-hour mindset [and say], ‘We had a good game, we won, so let’s not change anything,’ ’’ Davidson said. ‘‘But he’s got a long-term vision of this, as well. . . . He wants what’s best for the long-term health of our players and our franchise.’’
