DeBrincat looking to win spot with Chicago Blackhawks

One week into Chicago Blackhawks training camp and we've seen an awful lot of 19-year-old Alex DeBrincat skating on a line with Patrick Kane and Nick Schmaltz.

The prevailing thought is DeBrincat - the speedy jitterbug who scored 167 goals the last three seasons in the OHL - would be better off starting in the AHL, rather than making the leap to the best league in the world.

But Joel Quenneville is certainly giving DeBrincat every chance to make this roster, and the coach had to love what he saw during the Hawks' preseason victory over Detroit at the United Center on Thursday.

"Obviously I'm fighting for that spot each and every day, and coming to the rink with that mindset," DeBrincat said before the game. "I can't take the line for granted and just fool around out there. I've got to work hard, compete and show them that's where I should be."

He certainly did that Thursday, scoring a goal in the second period and helping his line totally dominate a scrub-filled Red Wings lineup.

DeBrincat gave the Hawks a 3-0 lead when he flipped a wrist shot from the slot past goalie Petr Mrazek after taking a pass from Richard Panik.

"Those are the spots I look for," DeBrincat said. "He made a great pass and I was kind of wide open there."

DeBrincat also was impressive in 5-on-5 play. His best moment came midway through the first period when he took the puck deep into the offensive zone, wove away from two Red Wings and fed Schmaltz in the middle of the ice. Schmaltz then zipped the puck to Kane, and Kane's shot came inches away from getting past Mrazek.

"You watch him in practice, he's competitive every single day and he's one of those guys that the puck follows him around," Quenneville said earlier this week. "Got a tremendous stick and a great knack for the puck.

"So he'll tell us where he's going to start the season. Either way, we expect him to be a great prospect."

We do need to take this performance with a grain of salt, seeing as it came against second-tier players. Still, DeBrincat didn't falter under the bright UC lights and looked totally at ease playing with one of the best players in the league in Kane.

There have been concerns about DeBrincat's size (5-feet-7, 170 pounds), but Kane - who also got his start in the OHL - said he has never been intimidated going up against bigger foes.

"As hockey players you don't even think about that," Kane said. "You're just out there playing the game and not worried about if the defenseman you're going up against is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. You're just worried about trying to get the puck and make a play."

DeBrincat wholeheartedly concurred.

"Everyone's just a player out there," he said. "I don't really notice who I'm going against. I'm just trying to make plays and create offense. I mean, I don't see myself as 5-7."

DeBrincat was excited to play his first game as a Blackhawk, especially against the team he grew up rooting for in the Red Wings. But fear not, Hawks fans, the native of Farmington Hills, Michigan, knows where his bread is buttered these days.

"My Wings days are over," he said. "I'm a full Hawks fan now. Definitely a Hawks fan the minute you're drafted."

And maybe - just maybe - he'll BE a Hawk when the regular season arrives in less than two weeks.