ROCKFORD — When the Blackhawks sent Alec Regula down in mid-November, he had slipped into a bad headspace.
Throughout the summer, knowing he was entering the final year of his three-year entry-level contract, the 22-year-old defenseman had loaded pressure onto himself to make the NHL full-time. It wasn’t exactly stressing him out, he insists, but it was certainly on his mind.
When he made the Hawks’ initial NHL roster and played 17-plus minutes on opening night against the Avalanche, things seemed to be going as hoped, and he raised his self-expectations even higher.
But nothing beyond that followed the path he had imagined. He was healthy scratched in three consecutive Hawks games, sent to Rockford, played four AHL games, called back up to the NHL, dressed in just three out of seven games (in which he was outscored 3-0 and out-chanced 32-16 at five-on-five) and then returned to Rockford.
By the end of that rollercoaster, he wasn’t sure what to think, but his thoughts weren’t positive.
“I’ll be the first to admit I don’t think I played my best early on,” Regula said Wednesday. “But with that said, I felt like I was in a tough spot. I was in and out. Obviously you have to find your own confidence, but I wasn’t being given a lot. I did what I could. [I was] a little bit disappointed coming down.”
Rockford coach Anders Sorensen and assistant Jared Nightingale, along with some familiar teammates from the past two seasons, noticed Regula wasn’t acting quite like his usual self. They reminded him of past successes and urged him to simply play hockey and trust that doing so would bring out his best.
Regula took that advice to heart. Two months later, his mental journey has carried him into much healthier territory.
“Obviously I really wanted to play in the NHL, and I still do,” he said. “But I was a little bit in my own way, just worrying about stuff that I couldn’t control. I don’t want to say it’s totally on the back-burner now, but I don’t really think about it much.
“[I’m] just having fun. I fell in love with the game having fun. My fondest memories of hockey are when I’m enjoying myself and enjoying being around a team. I was definitely very uptight, and now I’m just enjoying it and having fun. I’m...finding my love here again.”
Regula has rediscovered the offensive form that powered him through his 2021-22 AHL breakout season, ripping off six points in his last three games to improve his season-to-date totals to 15 points in 24 games. He’s one of many reasons why the surging IceHogs entered Wednesday second in the AHL’s Central Division with a 19-10-3 record.
And in the defensive zone, Regula has adopted a patient mindset not unlike his new off-ice mentality.
“[I’m no longer] trying to be a hero out there,” he said. “Some of the best defensemen, they let the game come to them. Sometimes I would just be all over the place — trying to kill every play, trying to stop every puck — and that can get you out of position. I’ve done a good job of holding my lanes, staying on my side and letting it come to me. That has worked for me.”
Sorensen and Nightingale have been “nudging” Regula to keep improving defensively, knowing that’s the key to him receiving the future NHL opportunities he craves.
The Hawks’ prospect defensemen corps are crowded, but by no means has the organization forgotten about or given up on him. It’s probably best for him not to worry about that right now, though.
“He could be a really good NHL player,” Sorensen said. “It’s just about figuring out what type of player he’s going to be.”
