The construction on the inbound Kennedy Expressway has made Alex Vlasic’s life a bit more difficult, just as it has for most Chicagoans.
The commute from the Vlasic family house in Wilmette into the city — specifically to Fifth Third Arena and the United Center — has increased from 50 to almost 90 minutes.
The difference is big enough that Vlasic opted to get his own apartment in the city starting this past summer. It’s also big enough to make his parents, John and Tara, worry about leaving their new puppy alone for too long when they drive in for Blackhawks home games.
But traffic aside, the Vlasics know they are in an exceptionally lucky and unusual position. Their 22-year-old son hasn’t just made it to the NHL — a remarkable accomplishment for any kid who grew up playing hockey in Illinois — but has done so with their hometown team.
“[When] you think ‘Blackhawks,’ you just don’t associate your child playing for them,” Tara Vlasic said. “But now it’s sinking in.”
On weekends over the summer and on off-days during the season — such as this past Tuesday — Vlasic can easily saunter home for a fresh-off-the-stove dinner, a mental refresh, a playdate with the puppy (a golden retriever named Merby) or a check-in conversation with his parents.
As he settles into a routine as a full-time NHL defenseman at last, he’s living his dream — and he’s doing so just 20 miles or so from where he first dreamed it.
“It’s unbelievable,” Alex said. “Getting a home-cooked meal, almost taking yourself out of the hockey world for a moment by being at home and talking about normal things with your family, it’s really special.”
A hockey family
Tara Vlasic, a French teacher at Wilmette Junior High for 28 years before retiring this past June, never played hockey. But looking around her family tree, she sees hockey in every direction.
Her husband played while growing up in Montreal and, for years, constructed and maintained an ice rink in their backyard every winter. Her nephew, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, is in his 18th NHL season, ranking second in Sharks franchise history in games played.
Her oldest son, Eric, plays in the Chicago Storm Special Hockey organization. And her daughter, Emma, captained Yale’s women’s hockey team, then played four professional seasons for the Connecticut Whale before moving into coaching this year.
So Alex’s talent and success in the sport, starting with his first skating lesson at 3 years old, never surprised Tara too much. And for Alex himself, having never lived a life any different, it felt extremely normal.
“If it wasn’t me having a game or tournament, I was at my brother’s practices or my sister’s games and cheering them on,” Alex said. “We, in our family, just completely revolved around hockey.
“It wasn’t ever honestly a huge decision for me. It was just something I did every year. It was part of my life. Once it gets closer to your draft year, that’s when it sinks in that, ‘Hey, I’m going to get drafted into the NHL.’ It’s one of those cool moments. Other than that, it was just [me] having fun. I’m still having fun, right? It’s the best job in the world.”
Alex attended two years at New Trier before his career really took off, and although he recalls many of his classmates not exactly loving it there, he relished that brief period of a traditional high-school experience.
After that, he spent two years in Michigan with the U.S. National Team Development Program and three years at Boston University before finally returning to Illinois in 2022 for one last developmental season in Rockford. His maturation over that time period amazed his mom.
“He gained confidence, realized what he wanted, and then when this opportunity came this year, he was like, ‘I’m making the team. I’m going to be on the team,’” Tara said.
‘A top-four guy’
Hawks assistant coach Kevin Dean readily admits he has been “really, really impressed” by Vlasic’s performance so far this season.
He has always been sound defensively, but his continually improving ability to use his 6-6 size and long reach to break up plays — either by pinning opponents into the boards or by using his seemingly omnipresent stick for poke-checks or pass intercepts — is making him even stouter.
“[He’s] a really good skater, he’s really smart and he’s got an excellent stick,” Dean said. “[I told him], ‘Coming off the offensive blue line, think about your gaps, because I think you’ll kill a lot of plays in the neutral zone and we’ll be going the other way.’ That’s what you’ve seen. That has morphed into a really good stick in the ‘D’-zone.
“He looks mature to me. He doesn’t look like he’s played only [33] games in the league. He looks like he’s played 100.”
Vlasic’s offensive game has improved, as well. He’s not racking up points, but he has executed several highlight-reel breakout passes this season, and he’s also starting to get more shots on goal.
Dean will obviously keep working with him for months and years to come, but he has already seen enough to make a pretty decisive declaration: “He’s going to be a top-four guy.”
Never homesick
Vlasic thus appears destined to become just the fifth Illinois native ever to get drafted by the Hawks and go on to play at least 100 games in a Hawks sweater — joining Eddie Olczyk, Mike O’Connell, Vinnie Hinostroza and John Hayden.
That brings up an interesting question: If Vlasic had instead ended up in New York, Vancouver, Los Angeles or any other NHL city, would he be doing this well, this quickly?
Maybe; maybe not. He personally believes where he’s playing, in addition to who he’s playing with, has helped him become more comfortable at this level.
“It definitely makes me feel a little bit more at home,” he said. “[I’m] never really homesick. I can go home and spend a little more time with my family, and my girlfriend lives in the city, as well. I have a lot of different outlets that I can use to get away from hockey and thinking about that all day.”
Given how things have worked out, it has proven to be pretty easy for him to achieve that goal of not constantly thinking about hockey. He can release stress by playing tug-of-war with Merby, bring back fond memories by visiting his favorite Chicago restaurants or worry about I-90 traffic instead of third-period turnovers.
He has, with the help of some geographical good fortune, made the NHL his comfort zone. And he and the Hawks are both benefiting from that.
“Maybe before, he would take it too seriously, too personally,” Tara said. “Now he’s like, ‘I’m going to work through that.’ He’s developed a whole bunch of positive-thinking methodologies to approach things and have the confidence to say, ‘Let’s just try it.’ And he has been having success.”
