GA_070519

30 | July 5, 2019 | The glencoe anchor sports
glencoeanchor.com
NHL Draft readies Vlasic for next step in career
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
For many athletes with
aspirations of playing professional
sports, the ultimate
dream is to play for
the hometown team.
Alex Vlasic, a Wilmette
native, felt that being able
to play on the same rink as
some of the Chicago Blackhawks
greats, in front of all
of his biggest fans, would
be something to cherish for
a lifetime.
“I think a lot of people
that asked me before the
draft was coming around,
‘What would be your ideal
team to get drafted to?’ And
I’d always say the ‘Hawks,
just because I feel like that
would be something cool,”
Vlasic said. “In the future,
having your friends and
family be able to just drive
40 minutes to watch you
play. I think that’s something
really special for
me. Growing up, watching
Kane, Toews, all those top
players play in our hometown,
hopefully I’ll be able
to play on the same ice as
them.”
Vlasic got one step closer
to that dream June 22 when
the Blackhawks made him
their second-round pick in
the NHL Draft, the 43rd
overall selection.
“It was a little bit scary,
just waiting there to hopefully
hear your name
called,” he said. “I think
every name that was getting
called before me,
people like that, I kept
shaking a little bit every
time a team came up to
the podium or whatever.
I think for the most part,
looking back on it now, I
think it was, it was a little
bit nerve-wracking when
you were there, but I’m
pretty happy with the way
things turned out.”
Vlasic, who started
skating when he was just
3, played his last two
years as a member of the
U.S. National Team Development
Program in
Michigan.
To make the USNTDP,
Vlasic had to go through
a process and multiple
tryouts. At around the age
of 13-14, hockey players
start doing development
camps, first a regional one
and then more of a national
camp, camps that,
Alex Vlasic looks to move the puck in a game earlier
this season. The Wilmette native and former New Trier
student was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the
second round of the NHL Draft. Rena Laverty/USA Hockey
according to Vlasic, have
around 100 people.
After that, scouts and
coaches from the program
send out around 40 invitations
to players that they
want at the actual top 40
camp. At the top 40 camp,
players are divided into
two teams and they play
games, do workouts and
then they pick 20-22 players
for the actual team for
two years, the duration of
the program.
Making the team meant
that for the first time Vlasic
would be away from his
family and his surroundings
for an extended period
of time.
“It was pretty tough,”
Vlasic said. “I think the
first few months being
there you miss your family
and miss your friends,
but I think after that you
realize how much time and
effort is needed to put in
to become a good hockey
player and you realize that
it’s worth it, moving away.
“Another thing was the
bonds that our team built
with one another. I’ve got
friends on the team that I’ll
still stay in contact with
for the rest of my life that
I didn’t even know coming
into the program. It’s
kind of like a brotherhood.
You’re with each other
every day for two years
straight. That becomes
your family, almost, your
second family. It’s pretty
cool to have them be there
as well as have your family
at home.”
Vlasic also was able to
play as a member of the
United States National
Team at the 2017 U17
World Hockey Challenge,
where he won a gold medal,
as well as the 2018 U18
World Championships,
where the United States
won a bronze medal.
Representing his home
country was something
he’ll always remember, he
said.
“I think that was one of
the coolest things so far in
my career,” he said. “Being
able to represent my country
and being able to put on
the USA sweater every day
at practice and in games
as well. I think it was really
cool going overseas
and playing against Russia,
Sweden, Finland, Canada,
all those other teams ... just
representing your country
and knowing that you’re
playing for something bigger
than just a team.”
Playing against those
national teams has helped
Vlasic progress, but so
has playing with the development
program. That
program saw 17 players
drafted, the highest number
of players drafted from a
single team in one draft in
NHL history.
“I think the biggest thing
was in practice, because the
competition we were going
up in practice was honestly
better than a game most of
the time,” Vlasic said. “So
I think we got a lot better
and we were able to benefit
from that as well.”
Vlasic attended his first
two years of high school at
New Trier before graduating
from a school in Michigan,
closer to the training
center for the development
program.
After graduating, Vlasic
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