{"id":1446,"date":"2024-11-05T11:59:11","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T11:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=1446"},"modified":"2024-11-05T11:59:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T11:59:11","slug":"how-blackhawks-lukas-reichel-got-his-groove-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=1446","title":{"rendered":"How Blackhawks\u2019 Lukas Reichel got his groove back"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"DALLAS,<\/p>\n

Lukas Reichel\u2019s job was to get the puck out of the defensive zone.<\/p>\n

The Chicago Blackhawks were practicing in Los Angeles a day after playing the San Jose Sharks, and coach Luke Richardson had his players competing in a five-on-five zone drill. One group was to score, the other was to defend.<\/p>\n

Reichel was on the defensive side. The puck ended up on his stick and he began his search for an exit. He handled the puck around one defender, then another, then finally carved through another before carrying the puck out of the defensive zone and completing the drill.<\/p>\n

Reichel\u2019s teammates banged their sticks and shouted in celebration. Patrick Maroon, Reichel\u2019s linemate, skated to him and hugged him as if he had just scored a goal. Nick Foligno, who had been on the offensive side, skated to Reichel with a huge smile, acting as if he was also going to embrace him but instead pretending to strangle him.<\/p>\n

It was only practice, but the significance wasn\u2019t lost on Reichel or anyone else.<\/p>\n

A season ago, maybe even a few months ago, Reichel wouldn\u2019t have even attempted that kind of play. His confidence had shrunk and his high-speed skating and playmaking had seemingly disappeared as last season wore on. He started the season centering the second line after a promising end of the 2022-23 season, then endured his toughest professional season and at one point found himself back in the AHL, where he had hoped to never be again.<\/p>\n

Maroon, who joined the Blackhawks this season, knew some of Reichel\u2019s up-and-down struggles, but he got the full picture when sitting beside Reichel on the team\u2019s flight from San Jose to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think most importantly, I know, I got the opportunity to sit on the plane with him last night next to him and hear what he went through last year,\u201d Maroon said. \u201cObviously it was a down year for him, in and out of the lineup, healthy scratch, Rockford.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reichel not only felt like he had misplaced his skills, but the fun of the game had deserted him. He was constantly in his own head and questioning why he wasn\u2019t playing well.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one reason the play in practice means so much to Reichel now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realize that if it\u2019s in a game or practice, just having fun out there,\u201d Reichel said. \u201cYou\u2019re in the National, it\u2019s the best league. I\u2019m here for a reason. Just want to have fun and enjoy it. It doesn\u2019t matter what happens. I kind of let myself down last year. I wanted it too much. This year it\u2019s like having fun out there this year and compete and enjoy the whole thing with the team and with the boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Reichel\u2019s path back to finding the joy has been unexpected this season.<\/p>\n

Training camp didn\u2019t bring it out of him. He looked a lot like he did last season during camp and the Blackhawks\u2019 preseason games. Unlike last season, though, Richardson and Blackhawks management weren\u2019t going to hand him coveted opportunities to prove himself once the season began.<\/p>\n

That reality came in the form of being a healthy scratch for the season opener. He sat the first four games and made his debut against the Sharks on Oct. 17. Even then, it was clear he was going to have to earn everything from here on out. He was placed on the fourth line along with Maroon and Craig Smith and played 8 minutes, 31 seconds that first game. In the next game, Reichel manned the fourth line with Smith and Andreas Athanasiou and played one of his best games in some time. He recorded two assists.<\/p>\n

Reichel slowly began playing more and being bumped up the lineup. He was promoted to play on the top line with Connor Bedard and Teuvo Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen during the game against the Nashville Predators, then started there against the Dallas Stars. Neither game went especially well, and Richardson moved Reichel back with Maroon and Smith on the fourth line.<\/p>\n

Against the Colorado Avalanche, that line showed some life. Reichel scored his first goal of the season after deflecting a Smith shot, and the line had plenty of other chances. The trio had a 69.59 expected-goals percentage, according to Natural Stat Trick. A game later, the line wasn\u2019t as effective against the Sharks. Richardson stuck with it and gave the trio another look against the Kings on Saturday, and the line produced another goal with Reichel setting up Smith off the rush.<\/p>\n

Richardson admits he didn\u2019t envision Reichel, Smith and Maroon as a line to begin the season, but they have complemented each other well. Maroon can pick up pucks off the wall and has elite hands to make plays. Smith can skate with Reichel, has a strong shot and intensely defends. Reichel brings to the speed, dual-threat offensive ability and a growing defensive competitiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t sure at the beginning,\u201d said Richardson of the line during the Blackhawks\u2019 recent road trip. \u201c(Reichel\u2019s) played great. I think it\u2019s two, three games in a row right now where he\u2019s really moving his feet, competitive. I like how he\u2019s playing. Whether it\u2019s two older guys helping him verbally or two bigger guys who are intense \u2013 one\u2019s a big physical man and the other guy\u2019s an intense backcheck, hard on his stick battles \u2013 I think they just have the puck a lot. They\u2019re smart player playing together. They realize who each other is and they\u2019re playing off each other well. I think they\u2019re enjoying it. I\u2019m enjoying watching it. We\u2019ll try to keep that rolling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Maroon and Smith could be intimidating to most 22-year-old players like Reichel. Maroon, 36, has the look of someone who might bite your head off if you say the wrong thing. Smith, 35, is an old-school hockey player in the way he sits at his dressing-room stall taping his sticks with his shirt off. \u00a0You could probably drop either player into the movie \u201cSlap Shot\u201d and they\u2019d fit in.<\/p>\n

And then, there\u2019s Reichel. He\u2019s young and mostly quiet. His English has improved, but German is his primary language. How does he fit in with Maroon and Smith?<\/p>\n

Maroon and Smith ensured that wasn\u2019t an issue. While they might be intimidating from the outside, both are friendly and easygoing on the inside.<\/p>\n

Maroon recalled how he and everyone else celebrated Reichel\u2019s play in practice in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s huge,\u201d said Maroon, who felt support from Teemu Sel\u00e4nne early in his career. \u201cEveryone was pumped for him. It\u2019s one of those things where we\u2019re just trying to make him play to his abilities. There\u2019s a reason why he\u2019s here. Make him feel comfortable, make sure he feels like he can talk to us and ask questions. I think that\u2019s the biggest thing. Sometimes young guys come into the league, they get intimidated. They\u2019re intimidated by the veterans. He\u2019s got two guys with great personalities on the line where he can communicate with us. We\u2019re making him feel comfortable, just get to his game.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Reichel has gotten comfortable, he\u2019s shown more of his personality, too. Smith loves to see it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s eager,\u201d Smith said. \u201cHe\u2019s always smiling. I think that\u2019s underrated. When you\u2019re having fun, you\u2019re at your best. You feel comfortable. You have energy. Things suck when you aren\u2019t having a good time. It\u2019s always nice to see him get in the locker room and have a huge smile. He\u2019s always talking. I think his English is fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reichel does feel more confident in his English since being drafted by the Blackhawks in the first round in 2020. But more than that, it has been Maroon and Smith\u2019s influence and the team environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think as a young guy you\u2019re kind of more quiet in the room especially when older guys are around,\u201d Reichel said. \u201cWith this locker room, with this year, everyone can be whatever they think. They don\u2019t have to be uncomfortable. It\u2019s been great. I think once we get on the ice, that chemistry off the ice, we\u2019re going to be a really good team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reichel is even comfortable enough to talk some trash to Maroon and Smith. The age difference comes into play. Smith said he and Maroon are always asking Reichel about what movie he\u2019s watching. Reichel wouldn\u2019t go into details about what he goes at Maroon and Smith about, but he said it was more ice-relaced.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, he does, he chirps me a little bit,\u201d Maroon said. \u201cOh, yeah, I chirp him back.\u201d<\/p>\n

That chirping, that comfortability and that encouragement are all helping Reichel play to expectations. He\u2019s going to need a much larger sample size for Blackhawks management to believe he\u2019s definitely a piece to their future puzzle, but Reichel is moving in a positive direction again. Whether that would ever happen was in doubt just too long ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been really good lately,\u201d Maroon said. \u201cHe\u2019s using his hockey IQ. He\u2019s using his skill. He\u2019s using his feet. He\u2019s moving. His work ethic is there. He\u2019s working hard. He\u2019s competing. I think that\u2019s what they wanted, right? They wanted him to compete in puck battles. Everything else will fall in place once you\u2019re doing that \u2014 the hard work. Everything else will kind of take over, your skill, your hockey sense, your IQ. Making him feel comfortable is the biggest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reichel understands that, as well. The chemistry has mattered. Reichel isn\u2019t declaring anything just yet, but he does know he\u2019s enjoying himself on and off the ice again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think no matter what happens on the ice, we have fun,\u201d Reichel said. \u201cWe try to bring energy on the ice, just have good chemistry out there. It\u2019s just like playing with joy and energy. We have good chemistry. We want to keep doing that. \u2026 We got a long season ahead. The big thing is keeping that consistency now and for the whole season.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reichel had been on the decline for over a year but has recently found a spark and more joy in hockey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-1446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks","tag-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Blackhawks\u2019 Lukas Reichel got his groove back - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=1446\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Blackhawks\u2019 Lukas Reichel got his groove back - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reichel had been on the decline for over a year but has recently found a spark and more joy in hockey.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=1446\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-05T11:59:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/chicago-chay-6.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=1446\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=1446\",\"name\":\"How Blackhawks\u2019 Lukas Reichel got his groove back - 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