Louis Crevier has been the pleasant surprise of this Blackhawks season

Feel-good stories in sports are always fun to track. Those players who persevere through adversity and surpass the odds stacked against them in their respective fields are easy to root for. The Chicago Blackhawks have one of those cases on their team in defenseman Louis Crevier.

His play has been one of the pleasant surprises of this season, having established himself as a reliable everyday defenseman in this league. The chances of this happening for Crevier were slim, but he has made it work.

Louis Crevier's journey to the NHL has been hard fought

Making it to the NHL is no small feat for anyone, but especially in the case of Crevier. The 6'8 228-pound mammoth of a defenseman spent his junior career in the QMJHL, split between the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and his hometown Quebec Remparts. His stint with Quebec saw him coached by legendary goaltender Patrick Roy, who recognized Louis's potential.

Crevier was selected 188th overall in the 7th round of the 2020 NHL draft by Chicago. It is a rare feat for a player drafted that far back to even make the NHL, let alone become a full-time player in the big leagues. However, that is exactly what he has done through a development path forged with steady growth year after year.

Crevier spent his first three years of pro hockey bouncing back and forth between Rockford and Chicago as he fought to earn a place on the Blackhawks blueline. Success did not come right away, as he struggled to secure a consistent spot in the Chicago defensive core during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.

This led to him signing a two-year bridge deal this past offseason, upon the conclusion of his entry-level contract, to give him a chance to prove himself at this level without the Rockford fallback and to stamp his place in the show. Crevier has taken this opportunity and run with it.

The 2025-26 season has seen Crevier enjoy a breakout campaign with the defenseman taking the bull by the horns. playing his way into a top pair role with Alex Vlasic. The two have been far and away the most productive defensive pairing for this Blackhawks team, as the duo covers plenty of ice with their long sticks and wreaks havoc on the opposition on a nightly basis.

While more known for his shutdown game, Crevier has stepped up his offensive play as well with four goals and 11 assists in 62 games. He has not been afraid to use his bomb of a slap shot from the point, which has been clocked at as much as 100 miles per hour at times, among the fastest recorded in the NHL.

Despite the heavy youth competition on Chicago's back end, "The Big Louis Crevier," as Blackhawks announcer Rick Ball would say, has cemented his place as a part of this team's defensive formation for the future. He is playing his way into a nice payday on the horizon for him in 2027.

Crevier's success can be mainly attributed to a player who knows how to play to his strengths. He has been able to use his massive size as a competitive advantage, with his frame making him hard for other teams' forwards to go up against. Crevier has upped his physical play as well, not shying away from using his body to separate the man from the puck. He is also a deceptively good skater, with his powerful stride making it easy for him to cover the ice quickly and efficiently.

The development of Crevier has been a joy to watch. It is hard to give former Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman credit where it's due, but he found a late gem with this project defenseman. It will be interesting to see how he continues to refine his game and what his long-term role with this team will be as his fellow young defensive teammates hope to make strides themselves.