![\"CHICAGO,](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2024\/11\/05135810\/GettyImages-1880771875-1-1024x683.jpg?width=1920&quality=70&auto=webp\")
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Alex Vlasic may be a long shot to make the U.S. roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, but he\u2019s at least entered the conversation. He broke out last season as a shutdown defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks and is coming along with his offense this season.<\/p>\n
The decision is on Vlasic\u2019s mind in some capacity. He was asked to play for the U.S. at the World Championship in the spring, and that was a more loaded roster.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not worried about it,\u201d Vlasic said. \u201cI think they\u2019ve got so many guys to choose from. If it comes down to me, I\u2019d be honored to go and I\u2019d be so thankful for that opportunity. But, yeah, I think I\u2019m just focusing on what we\u2019re having here and playing for the Hawks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regardless, Vlasic keeps it all in perspective. He\u2019s come a long way in a short time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of crazy to think,\u201d Vlasic said. \u201cIf you had told me a couple years ago that I\u2019d be going to worlds, especially with the roster that they put together last year, I feel like I\u2019d be pretty shocked. Honestly, I was a little bit last year. It was really cool for me and eye-opening that people were seeing my play, and they thought they could use my help there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vlasic has been pleased with his improved offense, but he still feels like there is more to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019m trying to do it slowly, you know, step by step,\u201d Vlasic said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to all of a sudden try to be dangling guys or anything like that. Just trying to implement some things, going over some video with the coach, with (Blackhawks director of skill development) Brian Keane, the skills guys. Just different areas where I can hold onto the puck, where I can create a little bit more, use my skating and then wait for something to open up.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the advantages of the Blackhawks having Kevin Korchinski and Artyom Levshunov in AHL Rockford is they can be given boatloads of ice time. Korchinski and Levshunov each played nearly 23 minutes on Friday and around 24 minutes on Saturday.<\/p>\n
With that ice time, Korchinski and Levhsunov are given the luxury of reps. They can work through failures and build confidence. They\u2019re also learning to play that much as a pro, which is not as easy as people think.<\/p>\n
Seth Jones shared some of his experiences learning to play No. 1 defenseman minutes. It can be mentally and physically taxing to play that much against the world\u2019s best players.<\/p>\n
\u201cShort-term memory is key, for sure,\u201d Jones said recently. \u201cBut I\u2019m not going to lie, I\u2019ve felt the effects of having a bad period and leaking into the rest of your game. That\u2019s just human nature. You lose some confidence in your game, and it\u2019s hard to get back in that same game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Blackhawks\u2019 Oct. 22 game against the Vancouver Canucks was an example of that. He was on the ice for five of the Cancuks\u2019 six goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a stinker for me, personally,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThat was a bad game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next game, Jones was on the ice for just one of three Predators goals. Two games later, Jones played well against the Dallas Stars and was on the ice for just one goal, an empty-netter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hope that if you play eight or nine of the 10 games that way, like the way I did in Dallas, it\u2019s a pretty good percentage,\u201d Jones said. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to play perfect every game. There\u2019s going to be things that go wrong. \u2026 Just continue to do the simple play and move the puck, and the game will come to you. I\u2019ve struggled to this day sometimes \u2014 it hasn\u2019t been the greatest situation here \u2014 but trying to do too much, trying to beat two guys instead of beat the one guy and pass it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corey Sznajder\u2019s tracking data indicates Jones is doing a better job defending the rush this season. It was interesting to hear Jones\u2019 perspective on that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talked to (assistant coach Kevin Dean) about it the other day, that number\u2019s been a little bit better this year, me at the blue line defensively, and I\u2019ve felt it,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
The difference? The Blackhawks\u2019 neutral-zone system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of different things with that,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThe last couple years, we would be seeing bodies flying at us in the neutral zone and we weren\u2019t able to stop them. This year, we\u2019re playing the 1-2-2 (formation). We\u2019re clogging things up a little bit more, so you don\u2019t have the speed flying at you. You\u2019re able to close things down at the blue line.\u201d<\/p>\n
Connor Bedard recently sat down with The Athletic<\/em> to talk about a wide variety of topics. Here\u2019s part of that conversation between Bedard and Mark Lazerus, focusing on the off-ice life of Bedard, one of Chicago\u2019s biggest and youngest stars.<\/p>\n You chose to live alone last year, which is unusual for a rookie, especially a young one. Kirby Dach lived with Brent Seabrook, Patrick Kane lived with Stan Bowman, Sidney Crosby lived with Mario Lemieux, and every Shark ever has lived with Joe Thornton. Why did you choose to do that at 18?<\/b><\/p>\n I don\u2019t know, really. That was what I felt most comfortable with, I guess. My parents came down here and there \u2014 it was more 50-50, I\u2019d say, that I was alone. That was part of it, too, just to have them be able to come down and stay at my place. It was good for me to grow up a little bit and just be a little independent by myself, and I think it teaches you a bit.<\/p>\n Does that make it easier to decompress, too, when you\u2019re not around a teammate all the time? You can do your own thing?<\/b><\/p>\n Yeah, I do really enjoy alone time, as well. I think that\u2019s nice. I obviously love being with my teammates, but you\u2019re with them all the time. It\u2019s just nice when you go home to be home and everyone\u2019s got their families or they\u2019re living alone. I enjoy just going home and just chilling out by myself.<\/p>\n Do you have some garbage reality show that you watch to really unplug? <\/b><\/p>\n No, I feel like I can only really focus on a show if I\u2019m on the plane. That\u2019s not a good trait, but if I\u2019m at home watching a show, I\u2019ll just be on my phone or whatever. Just watch sports or whatever.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the Gen Z in you right there. I hate to even acknowledge this fact, but you\u2019re only seven years older than my oldest daughter, and she\u2019s the same way, second-screening all the time. <\/b><\/p>\n Yeah, you focus for 10 seconds and then you\u2019re looking for something else.<\/p>\n (Before the season), you did that Gen Z commercial for the NHL. Was that fun to do?<\/b><\/p>\n It was fine. It was in Vegas (during the player media tour), we were just going station to station. But it turned out really well, I think. People enjoyed it. I think the NHL is doing a lot of stuff like that, trying to promote us off the ice, as well, a little bit. I think they did a good job.<\/p>\n Do you enjoy any of that? I mean, you\u2019re in the spotlight no matter what; you have been since you were 14. But do you enjoy a little bit of that? Do you want to be out there more, do more commercials? Do you welcome stuff like that, is it fun?<\/b><\/p>\n It\u2019s not fun, really. But it\u2019s part of it. It\u2019s not what I love to do. If I did, I\u2019d be an actor. But I\u2019m a hockey player. It\u2019s not my No. 1 thing, but it\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n Do you talk to some of those older guys, like Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid, about that part of the life? About how to handle that and balance that and what\u2019s the right amount to do?<\/b><\/p>\n Not really. I talked to McDavid briefly about it. He just said keep the hours to a minimum because it can get dragged out. But not too much, really. I haven\u2019t spent a crazy amount of time with those guys, maybe McDavid a little bit more than any of them.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been interesting to watch McDavid\u2019s progression. When he first came into the league, he was a lot like you\u2019ve understandably been, just trying not to say the wrong thing, keeping things simple. And then he slowly started opening up more and more. Now we see him on the Amazon show and you get a real glimpse of him. Does that just come with time and comfort with fame?<\/b><\/p>\n I think so. It\u2019s a little overwhelming coming into a national spotlight. Not when we\u2019re playing. When we\u2019re playing hockey, we\u2019re just playing the game. Just the attention and stuff. I don\u2019t know if his personality, if he\u2019s super outgoing on camera or whatever. I know I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n But when you talk to him, he\u2019s a really bright guy, very forthcoming. He\u2019s got a personality. It\u2019s there. <\/b><\/p>\n Yeah, everyone does.<\/p>\n I feel like when you guys first get in the league, you\u2019re really wary of showing it. And I get it. You don\u2019t want to let yourself out there too much too quickly. <\/b><\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it\u2019s about showing personality. It\u2019s hard to show personality when you\u2019re getting the same questions all the time.<\/p>\n Oh, god, yeah. We\u2019re awful.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Obviously he\u2019s been in the league nine or 10 years now, so he\u2019s pretty comfortable with everything and with the success he\u2019s had. So it is cool to see that he\u2019s doing that stuff.<\/p>\n What is fame like in Chicago? I was here when Kane and Toews were at their peak and they always said it was there, but people in Chicago wouldn\u2019t hound you or anything like that. <\/b><\/p>\n I\u2019d say that, for sure. Someone sees you and they say hi or they say good luck or whatever. But it\u2019s really not crazy. I can go out and maybe I\u2019ll have a couple people recognize me, but it\u2019s pretty rare for them to even ask for a picture. In Canada or something, where hockey\u2019s the biggest thing, it\u2019s a little different. But people are really respectful, and I don\u2019t get recognized a crazy amount. It\u2019s nice.<\/p>\n You\u2019re probably a bigger star in Vancouver than in Chicago. It\u2019s a different animal up there. <\/b><\/p>\n It\u2019s just Canada. It\u2019s the No. 1 sport. Obviously in Chicago, they\u2019ve got the Bears, the Bulls and baseball and everything. We\u2019re huge, as well. But I think it\u2019s a perfect balance. We get great fans, but also you can walk around and it\u2019s pretty chill.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Vlasic is a long shot for the 4 Nations tournament, but he was on the U.S. roster for the World Championship in the spring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26],"class_list":["post-1573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks","tag-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n