The Chicago Blackhawks are expecting more out of Lukas Reichel this season

Things did not go well for Lukas Reichel last season.

There were high hopes that he would be the Chicago Blackhawks long-term second-line center. Instead, he struggled so mightily in his first full NHL season that he was demoted to Rockford by last February.

He eventually earned his way back to Chicago and scored two goals and four assists over the final 15 games. That still left him as a prime candidate to be non-tendered this offseason, but the Hawks gave him a second chance with a two-year contract extension.

Reichel still has the potential to be a top-six player and that is what the team is expecting from him this season.

Davidson on Reichel: "My expectation is that he competes hard for a top-six spot... We don’t want him playing on the fourth line or anything like that. But he’s been around enough to know...what the NHL requires from a consistency standpoint."
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) September 20, 2024

Reichel played like a forgotten top prospect last season. What is forgotten is that Reichel is still 22 and an immensely gifted offensive player.

He showed he might be capable of reaching his potential at the Hockey World Championship. Having the talent to produce offense is why Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson is expecting more from Reichel than being a bottom-line player like some might think his career will turn out to be.

It is just time to be consistent and stay confident.

Another reason is expecting more from Reichel other than being a player who fills out the end of a roster is he now has the perfect mentor in Teuvo Teravainen.

Head coach Luke Richardson has them on the same line to start training camp. It makes sense since Teuvo was a highly touted prospect in the Hawks system at one point. Richardson likes how Teuvo has embraced being a mentor to Reichel. It will be interesting to see if Philipp Kurashev can center that line since he has not been asked to do that.

If Kurashev does not work out and has to go back to the wing, Richardson can always move Andreas Athanasiou up. Athanasiou and Reichel had good chemistry at the end of the season.

Reichel put in the work in the offseason.

You have to like the approach Reichel took in the offseason as it shows growth.

Lukas Reichel said he went on vacation for a week after last season ended, was in the gym for two weeks, and then immediately got back on the ice: "I was skating pretty early because I felt not as good last year when I took like a month or two off from skating." #Blackhawks
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) September 21, 2024

The other encouraging part is Reichel realized his shot had to improve if he is to get the puck past NHL goaltenders.

Lukas Reichel said he worked a lot on his shot this summer and using his legs more to step into it: "If you look at [Connor Bedard], his upper body is really strong. He does it with his upper body. I've got to do it like — if you look at [Patrick Kane], he kind of steps into the…
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) September 21, 2024

The front office is behind Reichel, and it is good to see the coach not giving up on him. It is also good to see the Hawks' veteran talent being willing to tutor him. One thing that did seem to be lacking last season was someone on the roster who could help Reichel adjust to the NHL full-time.

Nick Foligno's time was mostly spent being Connor Bedard's unofficial hockey dad. Athanasiou got hurt and missed a huge chunk of the season. There was just no one there to help guide him.

Now he has that in Teuvo. Also, this is a make-or-break season for Reichel so that should be motivation enough. Either he will finally get it and prove he belongs on the second line or he will continue to flounder and eventually end up on the fourth line or worse.

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