After two years of bouncing back and forth between the NHL and AHL thanks to the Blackhawks’ ultra-patient prospect development approach, Lukas Reichel knows this is finally his time.
He’s in the NHL for good. He’s stronger, more experienced, more confident. He’s been told he’ll play only center, not some center and some wing.
All the ingredients are aligned for the 21-year-old forward’s 2023-24 breakout. Now he just has to make that breakout happen.
“It was always my goal to play in the NHL,” Reichel said Saturday. “This year, I feel like I worked really hard. You’ve got to always work hard, but I kind of had in my head that it’s going to be the year. I’ve always had it in my mind. I’m ready for it.”
Back home in Germany this offseason, Reichel took Hawks assistant general manager Mark Eaton’s guidance to spend more time in the gym than on the ice, particularly earlier in the summer.
That work yielded fruit, and Reichel returned to the U.S. weighing about 188 pounds. Although that’s only a few pounds heavier than he was last September, he feels noticeably stronger.
He’ll need all of that strength to handle NHL center duties on a nightly basis. He was drafted as a center and has played plenty of center in Rockford but only a little in Chicago. When Hawks GM Kyle Davidson passed along the positional news, he also told Reichel he would need to really focus on his defense during training camp.
Coach Luke Richardson has advised Reichel to use the same abilities and awareness that make him so talented offensively to also become more effective defensively.
During one moment in practice Thursday, Richardson pulled Reichel aside, reminding him to bear down and get his feet moving in the defensive zone. He has harped on Reichel improving his communication, too.
“It’s [about] understanding that the center has to be vocal out there, and Lukas is pretty quiet,” Richardson said. “The center is down low [in the ‘D’-zone] more than the wingers, and they have to be talking on any kind of switches down low with defensemen. For him to grow and be confident in his personality to talk to everybody and be a leader on the ice...we’re hoping he takes a big step in that direction.”
Faceoffs represent another key area where Reichel must improve as a center. He has won only 21 of 59 draws (35.6%) in his first 34 NHL appearances over the last two seasons.
Nonetheless, struggles like that are quite common for young forwards and Reichel did work on faceoffs specifically this summer. Plus, he’ll have some insurance in that regard if he remains on his current line with Andreas Athanasiou and Philipp Kurashev. Athanasiou played well at center late last season and won 46.6% of 174 faceoffs.
Meanwhile, Connor Bedard’s presence has already redirected much of the spotlight and pressure away from Reichel. Had the Hawks not won the lottery, he would’ve been the most anticipated — and thus most scrutinized — forward on the roster.
Instead, that’s far from the case. He can now attempt to translate his impressive small-sample production from last spring over a full season in relative peace. The fact the pace he set with 15 points in 23 games — games which helped him feel much more comfortable on the Hawks — theoretically equates to 53 points over 82 games has perhaps not been fully appreciated.
But if he can tally 53 actual points this season, they will be appreciated. That would certainly represent the breakout for which he is primed.
“I have a bigger role than the last two years, and I like that challenge,” Reichel said. “I just want to play my game and play my way.”
