Opinion: Might Filip Zadina Be a Cautionary Tale for Lukas Reichel?

As the Chicago Blackhawks continue to rebuild, there will be prospects who find their way to the big club. Others will have a cup of coffee and maybe go back down. Others may never make it. So when it comes to Lukas Reichel, one can only hope it’s the former and not the final two options.

Sending Reichel back to Rockford Sunday signals that the Blackhawks have run out of options in Chicago. Nothing has worked and it’s probably merciful for both team and Reichel that the 21-year-old forward gets a fresh start with the IceHogs. He’s found success there before and maybe it sparks what was missing in Chicago.

But when the optimism is peeled back and realism kicks in, there’s concern, especially amongst many in the fanbase, that maybe he was a bit overvalued in the first place. When that thought sinks in, then it can spiral into a “well what if” hypothetical of other prospects who might be overvalued as well.

After all, every team tends to have that cognitive bias when it comes to its own prospects. But Reichel and the Blackhawks can certainly avoid the fate that has befallen other young players that had fanfare.

Filip Zadina is a Similar Story to Lukas Reichel

When I wrote for Detroit Hockey Now, Filip Zadina played the role of Reichel for the Red Wings fanbase. Drafted sixth overall in 2018, Zadina famously chirped those who passed on him that he would fill their net with pucks.

That never happened. Zadina had great AHL numbers but could never figure it out in Detroit, being moved around from line to line and given every chance to succeed.

Eventually, both the Red Wings and Zadina agreed to terminate his contract so he could get a fresh start in San Jose. The results there have been similar.

As Reichel has struggled and become a lightning rod of sorts for the fanbase, it’s brought me back to the Zadina argument that had some in Detroit’s fanbase clamoring to trade him while the other half said it was too early to give up on him.

But both sides waited–and waited–and waited for something to happen. It never did. Zadina never became the 20-goal scorer everyone expected. He didn’t break through or turn a corner.

Zadina wasn’t even traded. His tenure with the Red Wings ended as anti-climatically as possible.

But he provides a bellwether as to the path Reichel could potentially have.

Reichel’s Path Back Starts Now

Zadina ended up signing a three-year deal after his best season in Detroit, which truthfully wasn’t much better than his previous ones. He’d play just one season out of the three. But the interesting part is that Zadina’s first real look in the NHL featured 28 games (at age 20) with the exact same output as Reichel’s. Though his goal and assist totals were reversed (8-7-15), his follow up season featured nearly twice as many games but just four points more (6-13-19).

Reichel regressed, posting just 10 points in 50 games and potting just three goals. Heading into a contract year, at most Reichel gets a bridge deal of two years where he would get some reassurance while not being signed for long.

Perhaps Chicago opts to only go it a year.

But what to do? Where the Zadina comparison diverges is that he was always a wing. The decision to put Reichel at center may have stunted his growth. I get that he’d been centering lines in Rockford, and even looked good in the face off circle for Chicago early on.

But Reichel thrives on creativity, and speed. Centering a line puts more defensive responsibility on the forward, which while making them more well rounded if playing wing, can cause some cognitive dissonance when it comes to pushing the play or pulling back to be responsible in one’s own end.

Watching Reichel all season long, his confidence waned as games wore on and his goal and point totals remained stagnant. My point in another article was that in any walk of life, confidence breeds success. It also encourages calculated risks.

Reichel hasn’t show that for some time. Watching highlights from last year versus this year speaks to that. The right move here is patience–and then ensuring Reichel is placed in the right spots to succeed.

No one can predict where Reichel will end up but the clock has started on his time with the Blackhawks. Rockford could very well do some good and ignite the player Chicago thought it was getting.

But if Zadina is indeed an apt comparable, Lukas Reichel will need to figure it out quickly and how to maintain it if he hopes to avoid a similar outcome.