At this time last year, the hype for young forward Lukas Reichel was somewhat out of control. After spending the majority of the previous season with the IceHogs, he was brought up for a 23-game stint on one of the worst teams in the league, but impressed Chicago with 15 points over that span. With the Blackhawks’ ranks down the middle incredibly thin, the goal was that Reichel would keep things going while shifting to center last fall.
That experiment, and Reichel’s season in general, couldn’t have gone worse. The 21-year-old didn’t register a point in his first nine games, finishing the campaign with just 16 points in 65 contests. In an effort to get his confidence back, Reichel was sent back down to Rockford in the middle of the year, where he was fairly impressive in 10 games, logging eight points. At the end of the year, he showed promise, scoring two goals in the IceHogs’ final playoff game of the year while displaying a confident, authoritative side that was missing for nearly the entire season. That performance, plus his undeniably high upside, gave the Blackhawks reason to sign him to a one-year “prove it” deal back in May.
When they did so, however, no one had any idea what this summer’s free agency period might hold for Chicago. Amid eight signings on July 1 were five forwards (including Joey Anderson), shaking up the projected lines for this fall. After his disastrous season last year, Reichel was certainly one of the skaters put on notice with the additions.
If Reichel is able to hold onto a spot in this lineup, it won’t be just anywhere. Given his play style and slim build, he’ll have to slot in eventually in the top six. The only problem – he showed rather emphatically last year that he can’t play center. That doesn’t leave too many open spots when you consider that wingers like Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Taylor Hall, and Philipp Kurashev all have to be placed above him in the lineup.
However, even though Reichel hasn’t necessarily proved he belongs at the NHL level, the Blackhawks have to keep him there to start the year. He hasn’t put it all together, but there’s no question he’s displayed the tools needed to eventually be a top-six winger for Chicago.
While it isn’t a particularly constructive mindset, the fact remains that the Blackhawks invested plenty of draft capital in him. It’s objectively harder for a team to let go of a 17th-overall pick like Reichel than a player who they didn’t prioritize early on. Add to that the fact that if Chicago was to choose to send Reichel down, he would have to clear waivers to be assigned to the IceHogs because of his new contract. Even though he’s a bit of a black sheep in the eyes of Blackhawks fans at the moment, there’s no question another team would be happy to scoop him up, meaning Chicago would lose him and get nothing in return.
Finally, even though Reichel didn’t have a great year, he’s still 22 years old. It’s a sport where prospects still take time to develop their skills – even Alexis Lafreniere, who was the first player drafted in Reichel’s class, is only just beginning to find his game in the NHL. The Blackhawks have seen their fair share of these situations in the past, as Kurashev needed to have a similarly big year last season and did so. Reichel needs to improve his production this year, but he’ll almost certainly get the chance to do so.
