Chicago Blackhawks forward Lukas Reichel made a few sacrifices this summer: favorite foods, sleep, even his jersey number.
He swapped No. 27 for 73, his number with the German national team, in part because Hawks great Jeremy Roenick will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in November and his No. 27 could be in the United Center rafters in the not-too-distant future.
“I’m not really superstitious about having a No. 73, (but) my dad was born in 1973, so that’s why I had it in the national team and that’s why I have it here now,” Reichel told the Tribune.
New number, who’s this? A new Lukas Reichel?
“I hope so,” he said. “Even with this team now, we have so many new guys and we think we can surprise fans and the hockey world. But now it starts (with) this camp for me — I want to restart.”
Last season, Reichel had a handful of healthy scratches, 13- and 26-game goalless droughts and a 10-game stint in Rockford. But after a call-up in mid-March, he took a noticeable step forward and punctuated his comeback with a goal in the season finale against the Los Angeles Kings.
“Even from last year, I learned so many things, he said. “I’ve just got to translate it in the game.”
Much of what he learned applied to being a professional off the ice. Changes he forced himself to make.
“I was really dialed in this summer,” he said. “I was working really hard. I was doing those things that I usually don’t … like getting up at 6 in the morning or 5:30 and skate. Those things make you mentally stronger.
“I hate waking up in the morning. I still did it because I had practice in the morning and then I recovered a little bit. I had a workout, recovered and went back to sleep. It was like a daily routine.”
Lukas Reichel on skills he worked on in the offseason:
“Just like lots of battle drills against my brother (Thomas). He's a big guy and he's strong, so it was not easy 1-on-1 against him.” pic.twitter.com/rKz99N8KLj
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) September 21, 2024
He worked out five or six times a week for a few weeks, then began skating up to four times a week. He also cut down on socializing with friends.
But the hardest sacrifice was giving up his family’s Bavarian food.
“I love Bavarian food, but it’s fatty … the sauce. I was really dialed in with eating good, healthy food, working out, taking my vitamins and just like being a pro.”
With his mother’s help, he now eats salad, chicken and rice, salmon, broccoli and other vegetables. All healthy meals.
Well, almost.
“My grandma cooks, I can’t say no to that,” he said. “So once a week I have a cheat meal. It’s not like fast food, but not as healthy.”
Other family members helped.
“Lots of battle drills against my brother (Thomas). He’s a big guy and he’s strong, so it was not easy 1-on-1 against him,” Reichel said. “Dad gave me a couple pucks and I was shooting a lot on everything, even getting faster.”
All the adjustments are admirable, but Reichel has to find a way to bring them to the rink when the puck drops. There’s a lot riding for Reichel this season — as well as the Hawks.
The Hawks can’t send their former 2020 first-round pick, who signed a two-year contract in May, to Rockford again without exposing him to waivers.
“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,” general manager Kyle Davidson said. “He’s going to have to come in and take that role. It’s on him in a way.
Reichel may profile as a top-six forward, but the offense hasn’t been there consistently, nor is he a checking, corner-battles type of player.
“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,” Davidson said. “He’s still a young player. 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.”
The player who might have the most impact on him is right winger Teuvo Teräväinen, who in scrimmages has played on a line with Reichel and center Philipp Kurashev.
Kurashev, a locker-room friend and fellow German speaker, has had chemistry with Reichel, but it’s Teräväinen who bears a similar profile as Reichel’s and the Hawks hope can be a model for him.
“I feel like I have the whole offensive game inside me hiding somewhere too.”
—Teuvo Teravainen on being a two-way player #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/gIdxtEqlON
— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) September 21, 2024
Teräväinen, who hadn’t seen Reichel play before camp, said “he reminds me about my young self.”
“I feel like he’s quick everywhere,” Teräväinen said. “He thinks the game quick and he can handle the puck pretty well and he sees the ice pretty good too.”
Teräväinen said he had to learn the league and become more comfortable: “Maybe sometimes it just takes some time.”
Reichel has watched Teräväinen intently.
“Just looking at him in the scrimmage and practice, he’s so good at making those little plays,” he said. “If you watch him, you notice it a lot. He’s so good, just like a little sauce pass, he’s so good making his linemates better.”
Coach Luke Richardson has asked Teräväinen to talk with Reichel and Kurashev.
“Hopefully Reichs takes advantage of playing with a guy like Teuvo and learning from him and he can emulate what he does out there and maybe there’s a little chemistry.”
Richardson has noticed an air of confidence in Reichel, and Reichel has sounded more sure of himself during interviews.
“He’s had to work his way here, probably a slower place than he would have liked, but sometimes that happens with young guys,” Richardson said. “He’s not the biggest physical guy, so it’s a hard league for him to get steady and comfortable in. 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 (gotten) more confident in his personality off the ice, and it’s showing on the ice.”
After playing 65 games last season, Reichel tied Alex Vlasic for ninth on the team with 16 points (five goals, 11 assists). Among 11 qualified skaters who averaged at least one shot per game, he was eighth with a shooting percentage of 6%.
Reichel knows there’s more to the game than just shooting but understands he has to get better there.
“Even last year I worked with (Brian Keane) a little bit, I used my legs more just to step into the shot and I worked on that the whole summer and I feel like, well hopefully I can score more goals,” he said.
Reichel also has studied Connor Bedard’s technique, as well as others’.
“If you look at Bedsy, his upper body is really strong. He does it with his upper body,” Reichel said. “I’ve got to do it like … Kaner (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.”
If the Hawks play Reichel on the second line, they’ll be counting on him to help create scoring chances and finish some of those chances he has missed in the past.
“We need him to be an offensive guy,” Richardson said. “That doesn’t mean you score every shift, it just means you manage the puck better every shift and then we’re going to have more opportunities to strike when it’s open.”
