10 bonus takeaways from Rockford: State of the IceHogs and potential future Blackhawks

With the Blackhawks away from action for nine days, the lengthy break allowed NBC Sports Chicago to pay a visit to Rockford to catch up with some prospects. It's always a great time, and we did our best to gather as much content as we could.

If you missed it, here's some of the ground we covered:

— How Dylan Sikura is dealing with NHL growing pains and rediscovering his confidence
— Anton Forsberg on challenges of 2017-18 season, resetting in Rockford and uncertain future with Blackhawks
— After whirlwind 2017-18 season, Victor Ejdsell trying to adapt to life in pro hockey

Here are 10 other bonus takeaways from our trip to Rockford:

1. State of the IceHogs

A season ago, the IceHogs had their best run in team history. They finished with 88 points, swept their first two opponents in Rounds 1 and 2 of the Calder Cup playoffs and reached the Western Conference Final for the first time before losing to the Texas Stars in six games.

This season has been much different, in large part because a lot has changed. Jeremy Colliton was promoted to head coach of the Blackhawks, with Sheldon Brookbank recently joining his staff. Injuries have also hit them in a tough way. And many key pieces from last year's group are with the big club now: Carl Dahlstrom, Collin Delia, Gustav Forsling, John Hayden and David Kampf. 

This is clearly a transition year for the IceHogs. They're tied for third-worst in the West with a points percentage of .500, and have scored the fewest goals scored out of anyone in the AHL with 105 through 46 games. 

Next year should be different. The pipeline is expected to replenish again, both up front and on the back end. But there's still a great opportunity to make a name for yourself this season, despite the constant changes making it difficult on the coaching staff.

"I think it's challenging as a coach because your lineup changes every day," IceHogs interim coach Derek King said. "You prepare for your weekend games and then all of a sudden there's call-ups, so then you got to prepare again. That affects specialty teams and what have you. But being a part of it over the years and seeing how Jeremy handles it and other coaches I've had handle it, it's made the adjustment a lot easier. We have enough bodies here that can do the job. It's a chance for some of our young guys to get an opportunity to play in key situations."

2. How Derek King has handled transition to interim head coach

It's been a crazy past three months for Colliton, both professionally and personally, since he was named head coach of the Blackhawks. Mid-season changes are always challenging.

King was going through something similar in Rockford where he's the assistant coach one day, and the next he's running the team. The transition on the fly isn't easy. But the adjustment has been as smooth as it can be.

"It's been great, it's a lot easier now to be honest," King said. "When it first happened, it was just, 'Wham, in the face.' It took me a little time to adjust of the position I'm in, cause I've always been an assistant coach. But it's been good, it's been fine now. I feel comfortable and we're ready to go."

What was King's reaction to Colliton's promotion?

"Well I thought, 'Why didn't they pick me?,'" King joked. "But no, it's an opportunity for me. I was happy for him and I knew Jeremy just working with him for that year. He's a young guy, he's up and coming, but he does a good job. There's a time where you knew he was going to be in the NHL, whether it was with the Hawks or somebody else. So I guess they read my mind and figured they better get him before somebody else takes him."

3. Erie Otters reunion?

When Dylan Strome got traded to the Blackhawks, Alex DeBrincat was ecstatic. The former set of linemates who dominated the OHL together were reunited in the NHL. But there's another player who was equally excited: Darren Raddysh.

He was Strome's teammate with the Otters for four years and DeBrincat for three. After the trade went down, Raddysh said he immediately FaceTimed with DeBrincat and the two reacted just as you imagined they would.

"I called Alex, we FaceTimed and we both started screaming in the FaceTime for five seconds," Raddysh said. "And then we're just like, 'Wow, I can't believe this is going to happen.' It's great to see them together in Chicago and hopefully like to get up there playing with them."

4. Darren Raddysh's biggest leap

The Blackhawks signed Raddysh to an AHL contract in 2017 after he was named the OHL's defenseman of the year. It was a nice under-the-radar signing, and he turned it into a professional contract.

At the time, the Blackhawks were thrilled with adding a right-handed shot defenseman to the organization because they didn't have many of them. That's a big reason why Raddysh signed in Chicago. But now they're loaded in that department, with Adam Boqvist, Henri Jokiharju and Ian Mitchell on the way.

Raddysh isn't worried about where he slots in, though. His game has taken great strides since he arrived. He's tied for the team-lead among defensemen with 22 points, matching his total a year ago in 23 fewer games. What's the biggest difference?

"I think I'm a little more confident with the puck," Raddysh said. "Last year I was kind of hesitant to make plays and to try to jump up in the rush, but I know the coaches this year have given me a little bit more freedom to do that and it's been working out pretty well."

5. Why Anthony Louis is excited about today's NHL

Someone that has been in the organization since the 2016-17 season but hasn't gotten much attention has been Louis. A part of that might be his size: he's 5-foot-7, 151 pounds.

But this is the way the NHL is trending these days. Smaller, faster and quicker players. That skillset suits Louis, who leads the IceHogs with 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in 46 games and is a regular on the power play.

There are still areas he'd like to improve upon, such as playing a 200-foot game and being more consistent in all areas, but he's on the right track. It has to help that a fellow 5-foot-7 skater is currently having monster success with the Blackhawks in Alex DeBrincat.

"Yeah, for sure," Louis said. "Obviously in the past I probably wouldn't have even gotten looked at, I probably wouldn't be here. But nowadays the game has changed so much for me and smaller, faster guys, more skilled, so I think for sure it gives me confidence that I know up there definitely gives me a little more."

6. Player profiles

I asked King to provide a brief synopsis on several IceHogs, and how their seasons are going. Here are his thoughts:

— On Anthony Louis: "His game has had some strides, faded a little bit, he's got to get back on track but another guy that needs to get stronger."

— On Victor Ejdsell: "Ejdsell needs to work on his skating, but he's got an NHL shot and he's a little inconsistent right now."

— On Darren Raddysh: "Rads has been great for us all year. He gets his ups and downs, but now his downs are not as bad as they were last year. He's pretty steady. But somebody who needs to work on his skating."

— On Lucas Carlsson: "Carlsson has been a surprise. I think he's got an NHL game, but a lot of times it's the pace. If he can pick up his pace and be a little more consistent with that, I think you'll maybe see him in the NHL here in the future."

— On Joni Tuulola: "Tuulola, he's a character. It's too bad he's hurt because I think he made some great strides this year. I'm looking forward to having him back and hopefully he's ready to go. But he's a character kid, brings a lot of energy, it's not always pretty but it's effective."

7. Most surprising player?

I also asked King who the two most surprising players of the season have been so far. His response?

"Carlsson. And [Jacob] Nilsson," King said. "Those two. [Nilsson's] probably one of our most consistent forwards this year for us. When he went up, we missed him. When he came back down, we were happy. Those two right there are pretty good hockey players. NHL is a different pace, different mindset. This is a good place to hone it."

8. Why Carl Dahlstrom's game is better suited in NHL

When Dahlstrom was called up to Chicago, it came as a bit of a surprise because he wasn't exactly flourishing in Rockford. He had a minus-11 rating in 22 games, which ranks last on the team.

In the NHL, he has been drawing top competition on a nightly basis and his game appears to be translating much better in the NHL than the AHL. There's a reason for that.

"Dahly is a special player," King said. "He's got size, he can skate, he's got a great shot, he's a big body out there. I think his game translates to the NHL easier than it does down here. Everybody up there is a little more positioned, a little more structure to their game and that's why I think he's found it a little easier to play up there than down here. At times we can be a little sloppy here. But I think he'll only get better the more he plays and as the seasons go, and he becomes more of a veteran and more comfortable, you'll see him tearing it up."

9. Player comparables
 
One of my favorite things to do is ask young players who they try modeling their game after and which guys they study. We asked three of them in Rockford, and a couple of them came up with unique answers and not necessarily the household name NHL players.

—Victor Ejdsell: "During my time talking to all the scouts, everyone keeps saying, 'You should watch Patrik Berglund. He's your type of guy. Just watch him.' So I've been doing that ... see what he's bringing to the table every night, and that's what I want to do too. I want to be an offensive guy that makes good things happen on the ice."

—Anthony Louis: "I've watched [Patrick Kane] growing up. I've always been tracking his game style. And then there's other guys like [Johnny] Gaudreau, I used to watch [Martin] St. Louis, like those guys have always been guys I try to model my game after."

—Darren Raddysh: "I've been watching Matt Niskanen a little bit. He's a good defenseman, he can make plays and jump up in the rush."

10. Fun fact

When conducting research for our Rockford features, two trades stood out because of who the Blackhawks spent their draft picks.

In trading Scott Darling's negotiating rights to Carolina in 2017 for a third-round pick, the Blackhawks used that third-rounder on Evan Barratt at No. 90 overall. He's been a breakout star in college and was the NCAA's leading scorer before he left for the 2019 World Juniors to represent Team USA. His 1.52 points-per-game average ranks second in the nation right now.

The other one is the package that sent Ryan Hartman and a fifth-round pick in 2018 to Nashville for Victor Ejdsell, a first-round and fourth-round pick in 2018. The Blackhawks, most notably, spent that first-rounder on Nicolas Beaudin. The fourth-rounder? Philipp Kurashev, who was the leading goal scorer at the World Juniors and named to the All-Star team. Not a bad find.

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