Vlasic and his role in the rebuild

After completing his junior year at Boston University, 20-year-old defenseman Alex Vlasic was signed to a three-year entry level contract on March 15 and made his debut four days later in Minnesota on the top pairing with Seth Jones. No pressure, right?

The Blackhawks drafted more defensemen than any other position under Stan Bowman, but they tended to cash in their top-round picks (first and second) on smaller, smooth skating and more offensively gifted players. Vlasic, though, seemed to be the start of the Blackhawks shifting some focus to blue-liners with more of a «defense first» focus � and a bit more size as well. At 6-6, Vlasic towers over other top defensive prospects like Ian Mitchell (5-11) and Nicolas Beaudin (5-11), as well as the departed Adam Boqvist (5-11) and Henri Jokiharju (6-0).

He played 15 games with the Hawks and recorded two points, a goal against Arizona and a perfect drop pass to Dominik Kubalik in the season finale against Buffalo. He averaged 14:19 of ice time with the majority of that coming over his last 12 games and also had 16 blocks and 15 hits.

It was expected that Vlasic would join the Rockford Icehogs for their playoff push, but general manager Kyle Davidson announced Tuesday that wouldn't be the case. "The pro schedule is so condensed and so heavy and hard on young players that they need to have that offseason to prepare for the haul that is going to come."

With Jones and Jake McCabe locked in for the next four years and Calvin De Haan and Erik Gustafsson as free agents this offseason, Vlasic figures to be a fixture on one of the top pairings next season. Perhaps he'll be back with Jones on the top pairing.

His greatest asset is his size at 6-6. His second-best tool is his skating. Combine his reach with his mobility, and the Blackhawks are hopeful he can be a shutdown defenseman in the NHL like he was in college. For now, the youngster will train, rest up and prepare for the rigors of a full NHL season.