How Hawks' defenseman Boqvist earned Colliton's trust

For any young hockey player - no matter where they're drafted or how impressive they looked in another league - earning their NHL coach's trust can be a tall order.

Mistakes will be made. Goals allowed. Games lost.

It's all part of the process - one you hope builds a player's confidence and doesn't crush it.

A slew of Blackhawks defensemen are currently traveling through this phase, but there's one who has apparently come out the other side and is on the cusp of becoming a true difference-maker on a nightly basis.

And that's Adam Boqvist, who has seen his playing time soar over the past month.

"He's earned the trust," said coach Jeremy Colliton. "Give all the credit to him. He's done a great job where we want to have him out there in big situations.

"I mean he's killing a penalty the other night and did a good job. He looked comfortable and made the right read. That's fun to watch."

Boqvist, still only 20 years old, has displayed plenty of offensive potential with 6 goals and 21 assists in 67 career games.

But like most coaches, Colliton is about defending first.

From that standpoint, it's definitely been a work in progress for Boqvist, who was exposed during the Hawks' five-game playoff series with Vegas last year. From ending up on the wrong side of the puck to pushing too deep into the offensive zone to simply being outraced to the net, Boqvist found out just how disciplined you must be against the league's top players.

"We don't mind it when guys go through adversity," Colliton said. "We've got to help them through it (and) not let it push them off course. But going through hard times and coming through it makes you stronger in the end. That's probably been the case for him."

There have still been hiccups this season, but they are happening less often as Boqvist's defensive instincts improve.

A good example came late in the first period against the Hurricanes on Tuesday when Boqvist deflected a pass intended for a charging Steven Lorentz, then blocked a point-blank shot by Jaccob Slavin two seconds later. Plays like that were a big reason the game remained scoreless after a first period in which the Hawks were outshot 13-5.

Then, early in the second period, Boqvist did a nice job getting his team back into the offensive zone while on the power play. That smooth transition led to the Hawks' first goal as Patrick Kane stole the puck in front of the net and fed Alex DeBrincat at 15:58.

On Boqvist's next shift, he took a pass from DeBrincat, walked down the middle of the ice and fired a shot that hit the crossbar.

This kind of well-rounded play is a big reason Boqvist's average ice time has gone from 16:39 in his first 19 games to 19:36 in the last seven.

"I feel from last year I've been better overall out there," Boqvist said. "I feel comfortable. And obviously when the coaches trust you, it makes you more confident. You want to be out there when the game is on the line."

Still, Boqvist's far from the finished product, as he showed early in the first period of a 3-1 loss to Nashville on Saturday when he decided to close in on Viktor Arvidsson below the goal line. That left Ryan Johansen wide open in front of the net, and Johansen wound up with an easy tap-in off a perfect feed from Arvidsson.

"You're going to make mistakes," Boqvist said. "But it goes so fast so you have to make a read, go on your instincts. I thought that guy in front of the net was blocked off, but obviously I didn't read right and it ended up in the back of the net. ... I have to forget about that and look forward and do my best out there."

Colliton, for one, expects the best is yet to come.

"Obviously everyone can see his growing confidence with the puck and making plays," he said. "Where it was every other game or every third game (that) you'd see the flashes ... now it's every night, multiple times. ...

"We're happy with him But at same time ... we've got to keep pushing him. There's a lot more there."

Hawks add defenseman:

The Hawks signed defenseman Isaak Phillips to a three-year, entry-level deal. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder was taken in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. He has 2 goals and 4 assists in 14 gams for Rockford this season.