Verdi: Blackhawks prolific DeBrincat brushes off defenders, doubters

Alex DeBrincat is The Little Engine That Could. The puck follows him around like it's his pet. The puck followed DeBrincat to the Blackhawks while he was still a teenager. Here, this gifted young man talks about the love of his life, hockey.

Q: So, at age 19 you made it to the big show in Chicago without spending a day in the minors, scored your first NHL goal, then registered a hat trick. But now you're already 20. When are you going to finish high school?

A: Pretty soon (laugh). My mom will like that. I've got only a couple credits to go, classes online, and I should be done by the spring or summer.

Q: That's a lot like what John Hayden did. He was finishing his education while playing with the Blackhawks last season.

A: His situation is a little different. He got a degree from Yale. Ivy League.

Q: This all started when you were 15 and decided you wanted to be a hockey player, correct?

A: Yeah. I completed my freshman year of high school at home in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Then I went to Lake Forest Academy, a really good school north of Chicago with a great hockey program. My brother, Andrew, went there. That's where I did my sophomore year. Then I went to the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League. I took some classes there too.

Q: You also scored 167 goals in three seasons. Did that make your parents feel a little better about your career path?

A: Well, they were strong on my getting an education. But they also encouraged me to pursue hockey, which is all I ever wanted to do. They were fine with Lake Forest Academy but had to learn more about the OHL. I got what they call the "school package," where your college is paid for if the hockey thing doesn't work out. And I was committed to the University of Massachusetts. Once you sign a contract with the NHL, the school package is off. But the hockey thing worked out.

Q: Sure has. You rarely hear experts say that a prospect is too big to play in the NHL. But you no doubt heard you were too small. Thing is, to get where you are, you've probably had to play against bigger players at every level, no?

A: Exactly. I don't really pay too much attention to that stuff. I'm 5 foot 7 and I don't think I'm going to grow much more.

Q: You were passed on 38 times by 25 teams before the Blackhawks drafted you 39th overall in 2016. Cause for motivation?

A: Not really. I don't think about that. Naturally, you want to go as high as possible. But I was thrilled to be drafted by them because, by that time, I had had a few dinners with them and they showed an interest in me as a person, not just a hockey player.

Q: What about October 10, 2017?

A: First goal in the NHL, we won in Montreal, 3-1. That was pretty cool, doing it there against an Original Six franchise, with all the history. Sharpy (Patrick Sharp) passed me the puck, which was nice because right from the start he tried to take me under his wing. Surreal moment. I celebrated a bit. Parents were watching back home in Michigan.

Q. You just turned 20. Why would the Original Six mean anything to you? That's 25 franchises ago.

A. I like all that history. I grew up with the Detroit Red Wings. Steve Yzerman, then Pavel Datsyuk. When they won the Stanley Cup in 2002, I wanted a Cup hat so bad. I kept bugging my dad. I finally got one. To be honest, the Blackhawks were not my favorite team. But I was watching guys like Patrick Kane do some of the amazing things he does. If you're a fan of hockey, regardless of what team you root for, you watch him. Plus, I knew from the outside that it's a first-class organization, and now I see that up close. That new practice rink of ours, MB Ice Arena? Biggest locker room I've ever seen. Unbelievable.

Q. In late November, you registered a hat trick-or 'Cat Trick'-and were the second-youngest Blackhawk ever to do so, just four days older than Jeremy Roenick.

A. That was one of those nights where the puck was just kind of ending up on my stick. Schmaltzy (Nick Schmaltz) made a great pass to me on the first one. We had a good cycle going on the second, and I had a wide-open net after Hartzy (Ryan Hartman) made a play. Third one, Kaner passed to me on a 2-on-1. You knew he would. Got to credit the guys I was playing with. One of those nights. I didn't think it would happen so quickly.

Q. You appear to be confident, but not cocky. Are you at all surprised that you've made it to the NHL?

A. You never have it made. You can't get too comfortable. I went into training camp with the mindset that anything could happen. My goal obviously was to make the Blackhawks, but I was ready to go to their minor-league team in Rockford if I needed to. Honestly, I was kind of planning in the back of my mind to be in Rockford this year. But I showed up at camp ready to give it my best effort and work hard every day. I didn't want to get my hopes too high, because there are guys who could be up here instead of me.

Q. You still think that?

A. I do. For sure, there are guys in Rockford who are as good as me.

Q. Well, then why do you think you're here?

A. (Laugh.) You'll have to ask Q (Joel Quenneville).

Q. He says you have a tremendous upside and a chance to be a really "special" player. He said he not only likes the way you play hockey, but the way you think hockey. Among your early goals were two empty-netters. That means somebody trusted a 19-year-old rookie to be on the ice at crunch time.

A. Honestly, I never thought I would be put in some of those situations. I think Q trusts me. I hope so. To be out there in the last minute or so of a close game, I didn't expect that. I appreciate the confidence he shows in me, but that doesn't mean you stop working.

Q. Was there a point this season when it struck you that, yes, I belong here with the Blackhawks and in the NHL?

A. Maybe about the eight- or 10-game mark, I thought to myself that I can do this for sure. Then I was told to get out of the hotel and find a place to live. That helps the confidence. And I started to feel better with the puck, judging the timing of things, the pace of the games here. There are ups and downs, and everybody has them. I am pretty hard on myself and I try to learn from failure.

Q. When and where did you fail?

A. Well, I got cut from Team USA for the World Junior Championship last year, and the Americans won a gold medal. That kind of woke me up. Upset me.

Q. Before you were born, there was Denis Savard. A lot of experts said he was too small. But you know what? His plaque at the Hall of Fame in Toronto is the same size as everybody else's.

A. I don't remember anybody, a coach or player, telling me to my face that I was too small. But I guess it's out there. Now that I've gotten to the NHL, I've got to stay. Hopefully I can stick around for a while. I come to the rink with a smile on my face, and I leave the rink with a smile on my face.

• Editor's note: As part of an alliance with the Blackhawks, the Daily Herald offers occasional reports by Team Historian Bob Verdi, who writes for the team's website at www.chicagoblackhawks.com.