Rookie Midterms: Slow and steady development paying off for Alex Vlasic

One of the season’s great developmental success stories is quietly unfolding in Chicago. Alex Vlasic, who the Blackhawks took 43rd overall in the second round of the 2019 draft, is turning into one of the NHL's premier shutdown defenceman in only his first full season of action.

Playing on the first pair, next to Seth Jones, he's accumulated impressive defensive results no matter which model you cite, all while playing among the most difficult minutes in the NHL.

This hasn't happened by accident either. When the Blackhawks travelled to Edmonton to play the Oilers in the midst of their near-historic win streak, Vlasic often lined up opposite Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. It was a similar story when the coaching staff called his number to take the ice opposite Elias Pettersson and J.T. Mi