Aidan Thompson could have easily gotten lost in the shuffle of the Chicago Blackhawks’ prospects this season.

Drafted in the third round in 2022 after being passed over in two drafts, Thompson had been solid his first two years at the University of Denver, but he hadn’t separated himself from other similar Blackhawks prospects taken because of their speed. While he contributed to an NCAA championship team as a sophomore, his overall production had been about the same as his freshman year. He wasn’t taking off as the Blackhawks hoped as a potential late bloomer. It was notable he wasn’t one of the 27 Blackhawks prospects mentioned by Corey Pronman in The Athletic’s pipeline rankings in August.

A season later, Thompson is becoming what the Blackhawks always hoped. Thompson put in the work this past offseason to get stronger and improve his shot, and that’s now showing up on the ice. Now he’s a main piece on one of college hockey’s best teams. As Denver has built a 12-2 record and a top-five ranking this season, Thompson has a lot to do with it. He has a 14-game points streak and is second in the country with 22 points and third with 10 goals.

“Obviously we like to see the development, improvement from year to year,” Blackhawks assistant general manager of player development Mark Eaton said recently. “It’s a great thing to see. Happy for him. Talking to him after (a recent game), he’s enjoying the game. He’s loving it. He’s excited about playing day in and day out. First and foremost, that’s what we want. We want these guys to feel good about their own games, just see that gradual progression from year to year. Sometimes you get bigger jumps than some years. No doubt 10-12 games, whatever it is this year, he’s shown a huge jump from last year.”

Denver coach David Carle believes the jump came largely because of Thompson’s offseason. He came back to the Pioneers looking like a different person and player this season.

“I think his body needed some time to physically mature,” Carle said of the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Thompson. “I think the shot has improved. One-timer’s improved. Just the ability to hang onto the puck, make some of those finishing plays, that’s certainly been there. I think it starts with his body, though, for me. (I’ve seen) more strength. He spent a lot of time with our strength coach Matt Shaw. This summer you can just tell he’s a little bit thicker, leaner.”

With that, Thompson has definitely changed how the Blackhawks see him.

Q&A with Thompson

(Interview was conducted after Denver’s first 10 games)

How’s this season been so far?

I think it’s exciting. We’re 10-0. We haven’t lost, the best start the team’s had since I’ve been here. I think things are exciting. As for me personally, I think just doing everything I can to help the team win. Things have been going good obviously. So exciting and look forward to the rest of the year.

What did you think of your play last season?

I felt like I improved a lot from my freshman year. My production was down, but that doesn’t always go your way. I think there’s ups and downs. I think I was way better in all areas, except I didn’t have the puck luck I did my freshman year.

What did you focus on this past offseason?

Just usuals like strength and speed. One thing I think I’ve been focusing on for a few years is my shot. I think it’s gotten a lot better. I think I’ve been fortunate a few have gone in early this year.

You seem to be scoring a lot off your one-timer. Where do you see the improvement in that?

I think I’m just a little bit of a late bloomer. I think it just took a lot of time for me in the gym to build a lot of strength, and then just over the years shooting tons of pucks after the practice and then in the summer it’s just starting to come together.

What sort of feedback have you gotten from the Blackhawks?

Positive, just keep going in the right direction. Chicago’s been great, world-class organization. I don’t think you can get better than Chicago from being a prospect from what I’ve heard around the league. Positive, just little things to work on mostly here and there, just continue to work hard and have fun.

What it was like to be a part of last year’s championship team?

It was pretty special. A lot of great teams in the league. Kind of a heartbreaking loss our freshman year to Cornell. We were just kind of taking it one game at a time. We were always confident we could win, but obviously you never know. Just put our heads down, work hard and fortunately we came out on top.

And to do that as an in-state product?

I can’t speak for guys who are from out of state,  but being from Colorado, I can’t imagine it being more special. I grew up watching the Pioneers. I skated here a ton during the summer when I was young, played the junior Pioneers when I was young. To eventually come here, I was committed here for a long time, so to be able to come in and win a national championship is a dream come true, I would say.

You’re among the nation’s leaders in points right now. I know the points aren’t everything, but that has to feel rewarding after the work you put in.

I would say I’m just happy to contribute to the team. Anything I can do to help the team win is big. To put a few in is nice, but team success is what’s most important. 10-0 is pretty good. Looking forward to just keep going.

Do you envision being a dual-threat player as you continue your career?

I think so, for sure. I think my whole life I’ve been a two-way player who can play both sides of the puck, play defense and then help produce offensively too. Anywhere the team needs me, I think I can help out that way.

Have you thought about after this season whether you might want to sign with the Blackhawks? 

No, I think this year I’m just focused on having a great year, helping the team win and hopefully winning No. 11. I’m not thinking about next year or the future at all. Just what I can do to help the team win and hopefully another national championship.

Video breakdown

The one-timer has been a useful shot for Thompson. On this play, he helps win the puck off the faceoff and then sets himself up in the corner for a one-timer.

Here’s another one-timer goal for Thompson in nearly the same spot against North Dakota.

“We’ve done studies here,” Carle said. “I think it was a year ago, 45 percent of our goals were one-timer goals. So if you want to score, you have to learn to one-time pucks. A lot of that is strength, but a lot of that is repetition, and I think for him and us, it’s something we encourage the guys to work on a lot. We build a lot of reps of it into our practices so that they can build confidence in hitting one-timers from different areas.”

And this was Thompson’s latest goal from last weekend against Arizona State:

Thompson played a key role as a center for Denver last season. He’s been on the wing this season. He’s still been showing his defensive instincts there. On this play, he reads the play, intercepts a pass and uses his speed to get out of the forecheck pressure.

What the Blackhawks are saying

“He looks so much stronger out on the ice,” Eaton said. “He’s always shown those flashes of great speed and quickness, but he’s able to sustain it now over full shifts, full games, back-to-back games. He didn’t lose a step even towards the end of (a game I was at recently) after playing a ton, two tough games against North Dakota, looked like he was still fresh and playing at his highest speed. That, the added strength and everything allows him to be stronger on the puck as well. He’s doing a great job along the wall, creating room for himself, creating room for linemates and really just every time he touches the puck it seems like something good is going to happen.

“You mention the shot. In two games last weekend, he may have had a dozen high-quality shots. He’s doing a great job of finding open ice and his linemates are able to get him pucks in good areas. He’s getting good one-timers off and scored a couple last weekend, had one disallowed. It’s a combination of kind of everything — the added strength, just playing to his strengths of quickness and speed and being able to escape defenders, getting open and getting off shots. Yeah, a lot of things.”

Where does Thompson fit in the rebuild?

That isn’t exactly clear, but that could also benefit Thompson. At this point of the rebuild, the Blackhawks aren’t just going to let potential NHL prospects walk. They don’t have enough sure things to do that. Thompson has shown he may have some NHL attributes and is at least worth a longer look. He has speed and quickness. His one-timer has made him dangerous in the offensive zone. He has spent time at center and wing and is defensively reliable. He’s found ways to contribute to a championship team.

There’s a lot to like about his résumé. Maybe he continues to click once in Rockford, maybe he doesn’t, but there’s only one way to find out.

When could Thompson join the Blackhawks?

Thompson and the Blackhawks will likely discuss a contract near the end of his season. It’s probably in both parties’ best interest for Thompson to turn pro after his collegiate season. He’ll turn 23 in February and is already on the older side for a prospect. If he’s going to play in the NHL, he’s likely going to need a season in Rockford to prove himself. If he were to push back that pro window another year, his NHL opportunity, at least with the Blackhawks, likely would become more challenging.

“We’ll probably leave those kind of discussions and whatnot in house,” Eaton said. “We’ll let him play and keep doing what he’s doing this year, and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”