Nobody expected A.J. Spellacy to finish September still in Chicago, himself included.
But the Blackhawks prospect forward, a mere third-round pick in June, has become one of the most interesting stories of training camp. He has stood out every single day since rookie camp began three weeks ago.
“After the first couple practices [and] the first scrimmages, I felt like I belonged in this speed and game,” Spellacy said Monday. “It was a good transition, but nothing I couldn’t handle.
“I expected that I was going to get sent back [to juniors]; I wasn’t sure when. I just had the mindset of putting my best in and seeing where that takes me, and I think I’ve done that.”
Spellacy will make at least one more NHL preseason appearance Tuesday against the Wild before finally returning to his OHL club, the Windsor Spitfires, by the end of the week. The Hawks approach prospect development with too much patience to brashly put him on their opening-night roster right now, regardless of how impressive he has been.
It’s meaningful, however, that the 18-year-old Cleveland native (who’s listed at 6-2 and 195 pounds) has outlasted every other junior-level Hawks prospect.
He’s not quite ready for pro hockey yet, but he has demonstrated he is far closer to being ready than anyone realized. His efforts this fall will leave a lasting impression and have permanently elevated his standing within the organization’s crowded prospect pool.
“He has had a great camp,” coach Luke Richardson said. “He’s a big guy; [he] skates well. He looks good here in the NHL. He’s probably got some things to work on, but he has earned an opportunity to play in a game closer to the regular season.”
Luke Richardson shouted out Spellacy after the Hawks’ first preseason game.
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Before this month, Spellacy’s most interesting attribute was his football background. He starred as a wide receiver and free safety in high school, receiving offers from colleges like Iowa State and Toledo before deciding at age 16 — just two years ago — to instead commit to hockey and move to Canada.
This out-of-the-blue Hawks camp run has far surpassed the football stuff in terms of intrigue, though. There’s a new storyline surrounding Spellacy now.
He blew away Rockford coach Anders Sorensen with his powerful skating in rookie camp — and he both figuratively and literally blew him away, since Sorensen said he nearly ran him over. He then earned a shoutout from Richardson after the Hawks’ first preseason game last Wednesday, and now he’s skating on a line with established NHL veterans Andreas Athanasiou and Pat Maroon.
Nevertheless, his football experience continues to be evident in his gritty, hard-hitting style of play on the ice, as well as in his pervasive self-confidence.
“There aren’t too many guys who are physical nowadays, so [me] playing that physical role, everyone in the NHL needs someone like that,” Spellacy said on draft night. “I think that’s something that’s going to keep me there for a long time.”
The Hawks are also excited that Spellacy already looks this promising after just two years of focusing exclusively on hockey, since most of his peers have been doing so much longer. If he developed this much this quickly, it’s fascinating to imagine where he’ll be two or three years from now.
His intelligence may partially explain his development curve. Richardson has mentioned several times how intently he listens to advice and how swiftly seamlessly he implements it into his game.
The most recent example of that came Monday, when Richardson talked to him about five-on-three penalty-killing strategies after throwing him over the boards into such a situation Friday in Detroit with no advance prep or warning.
“You can tell he’s picking it up and he’s not just glazed over,” Richardon said. “You can tell he understands when you tell him something.”