Chicago Blackhawks’ Prospects Proving Defense Wins Championships

Chicago Blackhawks prospects Blake Hillman and Ian Mitchell are set to defend their NCAA title this year at the University of Denver

Culture in sports has a unique relationship with prestige. We often hear words like storied, historic and traditional used to describe teams with winning cultures (like the recent Chicago Blackhawks), but you can only truly experience prestige by feeling it. And there are more ways than one to do so.

Tuesday afternoon, I walked through the halls of Magness Arena, the sports complex on campus of the University of Denver where the Pioneers play hockey. Everywhere I looked, there was an item with historical significance. Trophies, memorabilia and statues lined the hallways down to the ice level where the team was taking its 2017-18 photo.

As I walked the tunnel underneath the concourse, my eyes glossed over motivational quotes and DU emblems, just as those of every hockey player do on his way to a game. I felt inspired in the short time it took me to get where I needed to go.

As the players flocked from the locker room to the ice, laughter filled the air. The Pioneers sported pure white jerseys that weren’t stained with the blood and sweat from last year’s championship run. But there’s plenty of time for new decor this season.

Chicago Blackhawks

Many of the reporters were asking for interviews with players like Team USA’s Troy Terry and Florida Panthers first-round draft selection Henrik Borgstrom, but my interests today were elsewhere. I asked for Blackhawks prospects Blake Hillman and Ian Mitchell, who I got to see over the summer at prospect camp. I had a lot of follow-up questions for them, and I was excited to get to know them a little more as people.

After speaking with both guys, I was humbled with their level of professionalism. It wasn’t their first time talking to a reporter, although they probably didn’t know it was my first time talking to players. They were both thorough, honest and excited to be a part of this Pioneers team.

All week, I have been attending seminars at Denver Startup Week where business leaders and executives talk about their experiences with startups. Most of them now head venture capitalist firms that have new business concepts presented to them on a daily basis. The piece of advice that they emphasized is that they don’t invest in ideas, they invest in people.

This concept of investing in people made a lot of sense to me when I was interviewing Hillman and Mitchell. Both are great young kids and they have the integrity to succeed at a very high level. I now see from a personal point of view why the Blackhawks’ front office selected these gentlemen out of a sea of hockey players.

I hope you enjoy these interviews as much as I enjoyed speaking with Blake and Ian.

Interview with Blake Hillman

What was your experience like at Blackhawks prospect camp this summer?

BH: It was a little bit different this year in the sense that Mitchy (Ian Mitchell) was there, and I also had to be more of a leader. Last year was my first year there, so I was a bit nervous, tentative and I tried to follow other players to see what they did. But this year I stayed with (Mitchell), answered his questions and tried to be more of a leader.

Who were the players that impressed you the most at prospect camp?

BH: The forward I was most impressed with was Dylan Sikura. He was lights out in camp and everybody was talking about him. It was pretty obvious he was out there making plays, dangling and doing everything right.

Defensively, it was Luc Snuggerud. He played at Omaha and I’ve played against him all of my life growing up in Minnesota. I’ve known him for a while now and I’ve seen him progress over the years into a really good player. I’ve always looked up to him as a good player from Minnesota that I could watch and learn from what he does out there.

This year the Blackhawks prospect camp was more focused on player fundamentals. What were your thoughts on the new structure?

BH: Yeah, I really did enjoy it because there was a lot more teaching involved whereas in games you just got out there and played your own style. This year having practices every day, we got a lot more one-on-one time with the coaches and got a better idea of what they expect out of us as far as the ‘Hawks’ system. It was good in that sense and also how the coaches told us what we need to improve on going back to college.

Would you say the ‘Hawks play a similar system as the Pioneers at Denver University?

BH: Oh, yeah. They’re an up-pace team that likes to move the puck up to the forwards, and they have really active defensemen. We actually have a couple plays named after the ‘Hawks. There are definitely some connections there. I try to model my game to their style, and Monty (coach Jim Montgomery) has helped me a lot with that in my two and a half years here.

Were you surprised Montgomery came back to Denver to coach this season given he had a couple offers from NHL teams?

BH: I wasn’t surprised. I knew he was here for the long run. If we win another (championship), then maybe. I think he’s pretty content and happy here. I think he likes coaching our age group because of the development process, whereas in the NHL everyone’s basically where they’re going to be unless you get really young kids. I was a little nervous, but I wasn’t surprised that he stayed.

What are your goals for this season?

BH: My goals this year are to be a steady defenseman, take care of the defensive zone first and be able to worry about offense second. I think last year I kind of got ahead of myself thinking that I was going to have a 10-goal year, or a 30-point year, but I set my goals a little too high. I was let down by that throughout the first half of the season, and then I had a meeting with Coach Monty.

He really helped me understand that I need to play defense first. After that, I started to get more offensive chances. I’ve definitely worked on things this summer that will help me succeed in having a more offensive this year, but I’m more focused on keeping the puck out of our net.

This year the Frozen Four is being played in your home state of Minnesota. How special would it be to play in front of your friends and family?

BH: My parents are already telling me, “You guys have to make it! You made it to Tampa, Chicago, now Minnesota!” It would be amazing. When we made it to Tampa my freshman year, we played regionals at the Xcel Energy Center and I had a lot of family there.

I’m sure there would be two to three times the amount of family that would come support me, and I would have a lot of friends that would like to come so it would be really special. But you don’t want to get too far ahead of yourself yet. We haven’t even played a game yet, but it would be really special.