The Blackhawks' pipeline has quickly become one of the best in the NHL, and two defensemen that could be a part of Chicago's future are Isaak Phillips and Alex Vlasic.
Phillips and Vlasic haven't just been two of the top defensemen for the Rockford IceHogs this season but the entire AHL. And their head coach Anders Sorensen believes their NHL futures are bright.
"I think they're going to be studs, both of them," Sorensen said on the latest Blackhawks Talk Podcast. "I really like, not just, obviously you're seeing the on-ice product, but off the ice, character through the roof, both of them. They want to get better, they want to work on things. Anything you talk to them about or ask them to do or try to do or adjust, they do it right away."
Vlasic's all-around game has improved this season, to the point where he has been quarterbacking Rockford's first power-play unit of late.
"At the beginning of the year, that wasn't really something that we had thought about," Sorensen said. "But the way his game evolved, he put himself in that situation where he can play power play as well."
Vlasic is also playing almost half the game for the IceHogs, who are leaning on him heavily to play in all situations. He's handling it pretty well, and his showing will probably earn him a full-time roster spot with the Blackhawks next season.
"With his size and his mobility and his range to defend, he's got some of that," Sorensen said. "The biggest thing for him, we challenged him to take more control, take more charge of the puck, do things more with the puck, skate to puck. He's a strong skater."
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The same thing goes for Phillips. He and Vlasic are great skaters for their size, and their ability to impact the game in several different ways is an appealing trait.
Chicago's fifth-round pick in 2020 has steadily improved each season. If Phillips continues to progress the way he has been and turns in a strong showing at training camp next season, he could establish himself as a full-time NHL player with the Blackhawks.
"Physically, he's just a specimen," Sorensen said. "Just learning how to control himself, learning how to manage his game, manage his emotion, understanding when to pick his spot to be up in the rush and when to be predictable and play solid defense, that was the big thing for him, and he's done a great job with it."
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