Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
Lukas Reichel’s first full NHL season in 2023-24 was underwhelming, and he’s the first to acknowledge that. The 22-year-old forward managed just 16 points in 65 games and even found himself a healthy scratch on a few occasions.
Determined to turn things around, Reichel immediately revamped his offseason routine after the season ended. He took a week-long vacation, dedicated the next two weeks to off-ice workouts, and then quickly returned to 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," Reichel said. "I feel like I need the motivation, like wake up and know that you hit the ice and skate around. It was good. I feel good right now."
Although Reichel didn’t gain weight over the summer, he noted, "I feel stronger, and I felt that during the testing."
Reichel’s focus areas were clear. First, he worked on battle drills, often going head-to-head with his brother, which helped sharpen his physical game.
"He's a big guy and he's strong," Reichel said. "It was not easy 1-on-1 against him."
He also concentrated on improving his shot, particularly by engaging his legs more to generate power.
"If you look at [Connor Bedard], his upper body is really strong," Reichel said. "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 shot because he's strong in his lower body. So just using my legs to get a better and heavier shot."
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This offseason effort seems to have boosted Reichel’s confidence, something the Blackhawks coaching staff has noticed.
"He's been confident," Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson said. "He’s come up and had some good conversations with me where before he tried to be under the radar and slide through the day and just not confident. He’s definitely got more confident in his personality off the ice, and it’s showing on the ice."
Reichel believes his confidence stems from the disciplined summer he had.
"I think it came with the summer that I had," Reichel said. "I was really dialed with everything, with working out, just the consistency I had in the summer. That's how you gain your confidence, and I feel it now in those scrimmages and in the practice. I mean, it's normal to have heavy legs in a practice or scrimmage but just have that confidence and translate what I worked on in the summer on the ice skill wise in the game."
It's no secret this is an important season for Reichel, who's trying to show the Blackhawks that he can be an important piece in the rebuilding process. The organization is watching closely, hoping he can rise to the challenge.
"My expectation is that he competes hard for a top-six spot, and we’ve got bodies, so he’s going to have to earn that," Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson said. "He’s going to have to come in and take that role. It’s on him, in a way. We don’t want him playing on the fourth line or anything like that, but he’s been around enough to know what the expectation is and what the NHL requires from a consistency standpoint.
"He’s still a young player. We’ve known him and he’s been around longer than some of the other younger players, but he’s still young so he has to figure that out and find his way.
"Last season was a bit of a speed bump for him but we know what he’s capable of and confident he can come in and be an impact player for us. Hopefully over the next few weeks and months he can prove that and take a spot."
