The Blackhawks offered a glimpse of their future with Lucas Carlsson

The 2019-2020 season was all over the place, and it felt like if you blinked, you may have missed a few fleeting moments of optimism for the Blackhawks.

Lucas Carlsson was one of those fleeting moments that giving hope in the moments of gloom for the Chicago Blackhawks. He has worked his way through the system and was rewarded with a handful of games, including one during the postseason.

He didn’t have a defensive partner per se but did play alongside Connor Murphy in more of a shutdown role when de Haan was injured. While Carlsson isn’t as dynamic a player as de Haan, he looks to be a serviceable defenseman for Chicago.

Stats:

Age: 23
Contract: Carlsson is entering the last year of his contract and will become an RFA for the 2021-2022 season.
Games Played: 6
Goals: 0
Assists: 1

Rating for the year: B

Future With The Team:

Carlsson should be a part of Chicago’s plans for years to come. Even though he only played six games, he never looked out of place. When Carlsson was on the ice, he appeared to be having a positive impact on the game for Chicago.

He makes simple smart plays and gets the puck where it needs to be. Most importantly for Carlsson and Chicago is that he’s not a liability in his end. His puck management is great and it helps him exit the defensive zone pretty well.

It’s doubtful that he puts up many points, but that doesn’t matter if he can continue to be a steady presence on the backend. He breaks even on his possession metrics, but with only six games played there aren’t too many conclusions that can be drawn from his advanced stats.

Despite not having much NHL experience, he hasn’t compromised himself with too many rookie mistakes. He’s only 23, but despite not getting many games he made the most of his opportunities. At the very least he should be competing for a spot in the opening night roster. He’s at least earned this much for his play.

Maybe a bit less obvious is that Carlsson represents a rare instance where the organization drafted and developed their player. If Chicago is going to be a successful team, then they need more of this. Additionally, Carlsson working his way through the system into the chance at being an NHL regular is a positive sign for other prospects.

For all intents and purposes, despite having only a few games Carlsson’s season was a success. There’s certainly room for improvement, but he hasn’t done anything to hurt his chances of getting more games in the upcoming season.