Blackhawks' Alex Vlasic will work on conditioning after getting worn down by heavy workload
MONTREAL — This Blackhawks season tired out defenseman Alex Vlasic.
Vlasic, 23, began to notice an ‘‘energy deficit’’ around three-quarters of the way through the season. He powered through the fatigue, but it caused his performance to be less consistent than usual. Everybody is more prone to mistakes when they’re tired, and he’s no exception.
‘‘It wore on me, the length of the season,’’ Vlasic said Monday. ‘‘That’s something that, next year, I need to look into. [I need] to make sure I’m conserving my energy the proper way, taking care of my body, recovering and stuff like that.’’
Vlasic, Connor Bedard, Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi are set to be the only four Hawks to play in all 82 games this season, assuming they dress for the finale Tuesday against the Senators.
And during those 82 games, much has been asked of Vlasic. He has been the Hawks’ most relied-upon defensive defenseman in both even-strength and short-handed situations and also has spent stretches on the power play.
He has averaged more than 23 minutes of ice time, totaling 1,887 minutes — 14th-most in the NHL. He had skated more than 257 miles (entering Monday), putting him in the 93rd percentile in that category.
Plus, his size makes a difference. Moving his 6-6, 217-pound body a certain distance burns more calories than, say, Bedard moving his 5-10, 185-pound body the same distance.
Vlasic played a hefty 76 games last season without encountering fatigue issues, but those games were slightly more spaced out (because the 4 Nations break wasn’t squeezed in). He also had two brief injury-related absences, which allowed the rest of his body to recuperate.
‘‘It’s a combination of all those little things,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m not overly concerned about it. It’s just something to pay attention to.’’
Vlasic, a native of Wilmette, is one of relatively few Hawks who lives in Chicago year-round, so his summer plans are never complicated. He plans to work primarily with Hawks skills coach Brian Keane, just like he did last summer.
But conditioning will be a bigger focus for them this time around. Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen called it a ‘‘good self-evaluation’’ by Vlasic to identify that as an area to work on.
Increasing his physicality will be another focus for Vlasic, although that is difficult to practice in individual workouts. Despite his intimidating size, he doesn’t use his body to dispossess opposing forwards as much as, say, Ethan Del Mastro and Louis Crevier do. Vlasic is 11th on the Hawks in hits this season, averaging fewer per minute than he did last season.
‘‘I definitely rely on . . . getting a stick on the puck and not playing the body first,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m trying to learn how to do both at the same time.’’
There are plenty of positives to take from Vlasic’s season, though. His discipline improved, for example. He has taken only six minor penalties, down from 14 last season.
His offensive production increased, too, largely because of his power-play opportunities. He has tallied 30 points, up from 16 last season. Only four of those are goals, but his shot has become more powerful and accurate.
And he further established himself as an elite puck-moving defenseman, specifically in terms of retrieving dump-ins and orchestrating breakouts. He ranks seventh in the NHL in retrievals per minute and 11th in defensive-zone exits with possession per minute, according to All Three Zones.
‘‘[I have more] confidence with the puck, skating with it and holding on to it,’’ Vlasic said. ‘‘[In my] first year in the league, you’re just trying to make the simple play and not do too much. This year, I feel comfortable with the puck on my stick.’’