How Blackhawks' Ethan Del Mastro has used adversity to grow his confidence

Defenseman Ethan Del Mastro’s future with the Chicago Blackhawks was unclear throughout most of the offseason. As a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level contract, the Blackhawks and Del Mastro didn’t come to terms with a contract extension until Sept. 16, the day before training camp started.

With the new additions of Bowen Byram and veteran Ian Cole on the blue line, and with Del Mastro having to go through waivers to be sent down to the Rockford IceHogs, it seemed like he might be the odd man out. However, he and the Blackhawks agreed to a two-year contract with an annual cap hit of $950,000, even if his spot in the lineup was uncertain. Due to a shortened training camp, he didn’t have as much opportunity to prove himself. The Blackhawks already had a set lineup, and Del Mastro was on the outside looking in.

Sure enough, the 23-year-old only played in one of the Blackhawk’s first seven games. He’s now drawn into the lineup the last two contests due to the loss of Bowen Byram, who’s currently day-to-day with an upper body injury. It’s safe to say Del Mastro is trying to make the most of his opportunity.

Coach Blashill turns to Del Mastro with Byram out

With Byram sidelined, many thought young defenseman Kevin Korchinski would be the D-man who head coach Jeff Blashill turned to. After all, Korchinski is much more offensive-minded, similar to Byram. But the coach looked to Del Mastro instead.

“I thought Delly played pretty well when he went into Buffalo (Buffalo Sabres),” said Blashill. “He hasn't had a chance since, but I thought he played a good game when he went to Buffalo. I think Delly’s got a little bit of gamer in him when he gets out there. He's not afraid of the moment, which will be important. And then just being simple, fast, and hard out of our end, simple, fast, and hard in the neutral zone. He's got ability to make a play in the O-zone. So just do those things, make the right play. I don't necessarily want him to make the simple play, but you got to be fast and hard so don't overcomplicate it.”

While Blashill hasn’t been very complimentary of Korchinski so far this season, he’s been quite supportive of Del Mastro. He seems to see a compete level in Del Mastro and his style of play that could benefit the defensive corps as a whole.

Del Mastro brings a heavy, defense-first game

Many of the Blackhawk’s current defensemen are touted for their offensive-minded games. Byram, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel and Korchinski all fit into this category. While this is great to have, ultimately a defenseman needs to defend. This is one of the main areas the Blackhawks have struggled with to start this season. They’ve given up way too many odd-man chances against, and have had trouble efficiently exiting their zone.

Del Mastro brings more of a defensive-minded mindset to the table. I asked him after practice Thursday (Oct. 22) if he felt that might be an asset for him. “Yeah, 100%. I mean, I think that's kind of what I try to keep as my bread and butter. The things I try to focus on is being hard to play against defensively, be your best out there. And being that shut down guy that can also make plays, obviously. You want to be able to still make plays and be able to break out of your zone, and still add offense if you can. But I think that's something I really focus on is trying to be a guy that can shut down players. Be physical, be hard to play against.”

In his three contests so far, the 6'4", 210-pound defenseman has been credited with eight hits and four blocked shots while averaging 14:31 minutes of ice time. He's been playing on the third defensive pairing with Sam Rinzel.

Blashill also touched on Del Mastro’s physicality. “Yeah, he's a big man that can be physical. I think ultimately it can help differentiate (him). It just depends, like at the end of the day, you're still probably judged on good plays versus bad plays, and the more good plays he makes, whether that's a physical play, whether that's a play with the puck, whether that's a defensive play than bad plays, the better light he's going to be seen in, and that's probably true with the rest of the players too. So physical is an element of it. Certainly, his size is an element of it. He's still going to go out there, and he's done a good job.”

Confidence is key

We already heard Blashill credit Del Mastro for being a “gamer” and “not being afraid of the moment”. I asked Del Mastro what he thought of Blashill’s assessment. He laughed and said he thinks it’s a compliment.

“I think when he's saying that, I try to make plays whether there's lots of pressure or not. I try not to let the moment of maybe coming in and you're the guy that's on the outside kind of like (on the) bubble. You don't want to let that affect how you play. Because that's when you're shying away from making plays, and you want to be confident out there. Everyone wants to be confident. You know, the best players are most confident. So I think that's just something I try to do every game.”

But how do you keep that confidence, I wanted to know? “Yeah, I think sometimes when you're coming in and there's lots of good D that are trumping you a bit, it’s just obviously hard. But I've done it a little bit now in the last year or two of kind of having that role. So I think I've gotten a little better at it, and I think that's just my mindset and how I am. I'm kind of easygoing, nothing rattles me too much. I think, and like I said, when you let it rattle you too much, it's when you're thinking about it on the ice, and then it's getting into your game, and you don't want that. Because you want to be able to play confident.”

Ah, if we could all just harness our confidence like Del Mastro seems to be able to do! He’s embraced the adversity and is somehow using it to his advantage. Almost like he has nothing to lose, so just go out there and give it your all.

Byram is “trending towards” being able to play again, as Blashill phrased it Thursday after practice. So Del Mastro’s chances to play in more games might be limited. He could be on the outside looking in again very soon. But he’s making the most of his time right now, and will be confident and ready for the next opportunity.

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