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player ready...It’s a good thing for Alex Vlasic that his dad didn’t know what he was talking about.
John Vlasic once considered the NHL a pipe dream after growing up playing hockey in a Montreal suburb with his brother, Eddie.
When Eddie’s son, Marc-Édouard Vlasic, decided to forgo college to pursue professional hockey, “I had said all along, ‘Nobody makes the NHL, Ed,'” John said with a bit of snark, fully aware of the irony of the outcome.
Marc-Édouard not only made it, he’s in his 16th season as a San Jose Sharks defenseman.
Alex Vlasic, a 20-year-old defenseman, is trying to follow in his cousin’s footsteps. The 2019 second-round pick on Tuesday agreed to terms with the Chicago Blackhawks on a three-year, entry-level contract with an $824,167 annual salary-cap hit.
Oh, and Alex’s sister, Emma, plays for the Premier Hockey Federation’s Connecticut Whale.
So that’s Vlasic kids 3, Dad — aka Uncle John — 0.
“We’re happy. We’re at peace with him leaving (Boston University after his junior year),” John said of himself and wife Tara, who raised Alex, Emma and Eric in Wilmette. “It was the right move to chase his dream since he was a kid to follow his cousin’s footsteps.”
Said Alex: “It’s just cool. I’m a hometown kid playing for his hometown team. My friends (from Chicago) are pretty pumped about it.
“(Emma is) really proud. She’s been a huge influence on me … with hockey and with everything, always keeping me in check, always keeping me working hard and sticking to it. I couldn’t have gotten here without her, that’s for sure.”
Alex is scheduled to practice with the Hawks on Thursday. If all goes well, he could make his NHL debut soon, perhaps even this weekend.
“They said they’d give him every chance to show himself,” John said.
Added Alex: “It’s literally a dream come true, especially being drafted by my hometown team. I’m excited to get back to Chicago and start working with the guys, start seeing what it’s like. Definitely a little bit nervous.”
Vlasic finished his college career on a high. The alternate captain and Hockey East Association All-Star had a goal and seven assists and led BU (19-13-3) with 51 blocked shots in 32 games this season.
“It’s rare to find a player of Alex’s skill level and size, and we look forward to him continuing his development path with our club,” Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson said in a statement. “His steady development at Boston University was noticeable and encouraging as we chart his future with our team. I know Alex shares our excitement in bringing him back home to Chicago to begin his professional hockey career.”
Vlasic called the decision to leave BU and turn pro “bittersweet” but said the timing was right.
“I’m pretty big — 6-6, like 210 pounds — defense is my strength, and I feel like this year I got comfortable playing defense,” Vlasic said. “Being able to use my size and strength to my advantage, talking to my advisers and my coaches, we all agreed that it was ready for me to move on and accept bigger challenges and accept what was to come in the future and playing against bigger, faster, stronger — just better players in general.”
In some ways, Alex and his dad feel as if he already has tested himself against NHL talent. Some of his contemporaries from the U.S. national team development program already are thriving in the NHL, including Jack Hughes, Trevor Zegras, Cole Caufield, Spencer Knight and Matt Boldy.
Alex has been playing against some of them since he was 8, his father said.
“He knows what he can do against them, and then he sees how successful they’ve been,” John said. “The transition makes it a little easier that he knows kind of what he’s up against.
“But, of course, you never know until that puck drops.”
John was careful not to build up expectations, especially when comparing Alex to other players.
“You’re talking about Boldy, Hughes, Zegras, Knight,” John said. “They’re all formidable players already. (Alex is) not that kind of a player, flashy, but he gets the job done. He’s hardworking, diligent and plays an honest game of hockey.”
John also knows other Chicago-area hockey families, such as the Minnesota Wild’s
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Ryan Hartman and his parents, and the pressures of playing on the hometown team.“You’re there with 21,000 people (at the United Center and you’re) thinking they’re looking at you if he makes a mistake,” John said.
Alex doesn’t feel any added pressure playing in Chicago.
“It would be the same if I got drafted anywhere else, to be honest,” he said. “Just playing in the NHL is going to be a lot of pressure.
“Now it’s a job, and you have to earn your spot on the team and keep it.”