Ice Hockey Wiki
Advertisement
Ice Hockey Wiki
Ice Hockey Wiki
92,247
pages
in: Articles without Wikidata item, American men's ice hockey defensemen, Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players,
and 3 more

Alex Vlasic

Sign in to edit
Alex Vlasic
Born (2001-06-05)June 5, 2001,
Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.
Height
Weight 		6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team 		Chicago Blackhawks
Rockford IceHogs (AHL)
NHL Draft 43rd overall, 2019
Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career 2022–present

Alex Vlasic (born June 5, 2001) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Rockford IceHogs in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Blackhawks in the second-round, 43rd overall, in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Early life[]

Vlasic was born on June 5, 2001, in Wilmette, Illinois[1] to parents Tara and John, and grew up alongside his older siblings Emma and Eric.[2] He is of Yugoslavian descent; his grandfather immigrated to Montreal.[3] Despite growing up in Illinois, Vlasic was a fan of the San Jose Sharks due to his cousin Marc-Édouard Vlasic's affiliation with them.[4] Vlasic began skating at the age of three and played organized hockey with the Wilmette Braves at the Mite, Squirt and Pee Wee levels.[5] His older siblings were also involved in the sport, as Emma played at Yale University and with the Connecticut Whale while his brother participated in the Chicago Blackhawks Special Hockey program.[6] He played in the position of forward until he was nine years old when he switched to defence.[2]

Playing career[]

Growing up in Illinois, Vlasic played for the Chicago Young Americans and Chicago Mission.[4] While playing with the Chicago Mission Midget U16 team, Vlasic committed to play NCAA collegiate ice hockey the Boston University Terriers.[7] At the time of the commitment, Vlasic was also considered a top five draft pick for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).[8] Instead of joining the OHL, Vlasic was recruited to play for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) for the 2017–18 USHL season.[9] Vlasic later credied the NTDP's intense and fast-paced practices with improving his game, along with the assistance of the Under-17 coaching staff including John Wroblewski and Greg Moore.[2] He also praised the addition of Dan Hinote as an associate head coach for furthering his development and muscle growth.[10]

Collegiate[]

Vlasic played three seasons with the Boston Terriers while enrolled in the Boston University College of Arts and Sciences.[11] Prior to his first year with the Terriers, Vlasic was drafted in the second-round, 43rd overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Following the draft, Vlasic reaffirmed his commitment to play collegiate ice hockey with the Terriers.[12] He subsequently joined the Terriers for the 2019–20 season where he played in 34 games and recorded four assists.[11] His first collegiate assist came on October 18 in 4–4 tie with the Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey team.[13] When the collegiate season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vlasic and his sister created a makeshift weight room in the basement of their home and skated at a local ice rink. He also worked on his skills development with Tristan Musser, who was then with the Chicago Steel, and with Brian Keane who owns Prodigy Hockey.[14]

Once the 2020–21 season began, Vlasic stated he felt his confidence soar as he was able to "figure how to use my size as an advantage and protect the puck much better."[14] On February 5, 2021, Vlasic recorded his first collegiate ice hockey goal to lead the Terriers to an overtime loss against Boston College.[15] By March, he had tallied three goals and eight points through 15 games.[14] This includes his first career multi-point game in a 5–1 win over Maine on January 23.[11]

The following season, Vlasic became one of the best defensive defensemen in the conference and was praised by his head coach for being an "elite skater for his size."[16] He led the team with 50 blocked shots and has also tallied one goal and a career-high seven assists for eight points.[11] As a result of his improved play, Vlasic earned Hockey East All-Star honors.[17]

Professional[]

Vlasic signed an entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on March 15, 2022, after playing three years in the NCAA with the Boston University Terriers. He played in his first NHL game on March 19, 2022.[18][19][20]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2017–18 U.S. National Development Team USHL 34 4 9 13 12 8 1 2 3 18
2018–19 U.S. National Development Team USHL 27 2 13 15 28 — — — — —
2019–20 Boston University HE 34 0 4 4 10 — — — — —
2020–21 Boston University HE 16 3 5 8 10 — — — — —
2021–22 Boston University HE 32 1 7 8 31 — — — — —
2021–22 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 15 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 15 1 1 2 2 — — — — —

International[]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2017 United States U17 6 1 2 3 2
2019 United States U18 7 0 1 1 6
Junior totals 13 1 3 4 8

References[]

  1. ↑ Alex Vlasic. Elite Prospects.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hockey Was Not Love at First Sight for Alex Vlasic. USA Hockey National Team Development Program (January 30, 2018).
  3. ↑ "Rozner: A father, a son and a love of hockey", Daily Herald, July 8, 2019. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "'Playing for the Hawks would be crazy': Alex Vlasic's hockey journey began in Wilmette and could take him all the way to the United Center", Chicago Tribune, June 29, 2019. 
  5. ↑ "Prospect Alex Vlasic, a 6-foot-6 Wilmette native, is ready for a bigger challenge with the Chicago Blackhawks", Chicago Tribune, March 17, 2022. 
  6. ↑ Vlasic Family Values. USA Hockey (September 2020).
  7. ↑ Mission Midget U16's Alex Vlasic commits to Boston University.. Chicago Mission (February 19, 2017).
  8. ↑ Men's Hockey: Terriers Recruit Top-Level Defenseman. WTBU Sports (February 21, 2017).
  9. ↑ 2017-18 U.S. National U17 Team Roster Announced. Team USA Hockey (April 24, 2017).
  10. ↑ Alex Vlasic Learning and Growing His Game With NTDP. USA Hockey (February 26, 2019).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Alex Vlasic. Boston University.
  12. ↑ Six Incoming Terriers Picked in 2019 NHL Draft, Including the Ninth Overall. Boston University (July 15, 2019).
  13. ↑ No. 20 Terriers Skate to 4-4 Draw with Northern Michigan in Weekend Opener. Boston University (October 18, 2019).
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Blackhawks defenseman prospect Alex Vlasic took a 'huge, huge step' this season. Here's what it looks like. The Athletic (March 25, 2021).
  15. ↑ No. 15 Terriers Fall in Overtime at No. 1 Boston College, 4-3. Boston University (February 5, 2021).
  16. ↑ "Blackhawks prospect Alex Vlasic has developed the physicality to match his size", Chicago Sun Times, February 28, 2022. 
  17. ↑ Fensore, Skoog, Vlasic Named Hockey East All-Stars. Boston University (March 11, 2022).
  18. ↑ New Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic an early bird on first day - Chicago Sun-Times (17 March 2022).
  19. ↑ Jets' Harkins scores twice in 6-4 win over Blackhawks.
  20. ↑ Chicago Blackhawks reach 3-year, entry-level deal with Alex Vlasic (2022-03-15).

External links[]

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Alex Vlasic. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement