Blackhawks expect Lukas Reichel to earn top-six forward spot in bounce-back season

One of the biggest talking points of Blackhawks training camp has been that the players will determine whether they make the team — and their role on the team if they do — based on their performance.

Given that context, it was surprising how specific Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson was about his forecast for Lukas Reichel.

“My expectation is that he competes hard for a top-six spot,” Davidson said. “We don’t want him playing on the fourth line or anything like that. But he’s been around enough to know what the expectation is and what the NHL requires from a consistency standpoint.”

The enigmatic German forward actually spent a significant amount of time on the fourth line last season — after several other attempts to ignite him failed — so this represents a shift away from that approach.

Then again, it’s not like that fourth-line stint ignited him, either. Only after returning from a month in the AHL in March did he show tangible signs of improvement.

“Last season was a bit of a speed bump for him, but we know what he’s capable of and [we’re] confident he can come in and be an impact player for us,” Davidson said. “Hopefully, over the next few weeks and months, he can prove that and take a spot.”

The Hawks hope a fresh start in a new season, with a new contract, with new linemates and with another year of experience and maturity will make that possible.

Reichel, 22, has skated on the second line with Philipp Kurashev and Teuvo Teravainen in camp. There are some similarities between Reichel and Teravainen in particular — they’re both soft-spoken, European first-round picks who needed a few years to find their rhythms in the NHL — so coach Luke Richardson hopes they develop some chemistry.

Richardson has noticed an increase in Reichel’s confidence and willingness to reveal his personality, but he has also noticed a continuing tendency to try too hard to make perfect plays, which usually leads to turnovers instead.

“I think he feels like he has to make something happen,” Richardson said. “He’s got to be a little bit smarter with the puck. It doesn’t have to be a home run every play. It can be batting singles — talking Cubs language here, I guess. And then that means we can have the puck more.”

Back at home in Germany this summer, Reichel altered his offseason schedule after competing in the world championships in May. He spent one week on vacation and two weeks in the gym before promptly getting back to skating, much earlier than in summers past.

“I feel like I need the motivation, like [to] wake up and know that you [will] hit the ice and skate around,” Reichel said. “[With] the consistency I had in the summer, that’s how you gain your confidence, and I feel it now in those scrimmages.”

Much of his on-ice training involved battling one-on-one against his older brother Thomas, a pro player in Germany.

But his individual work focused on perfecting an adjustment to his shooting motion that he and Hawks skills coach Brian Keane first discussed last season: stepping into his shot with more power.

“If you look at [Connor Bedard], his upper body is really strong,” Reichel said. “He does it with his upper body. I’ve got to do it like [Patrick Kane]. If you look at ‘Kaner,’ he steps into the shot because he’s strong in his lower body.”

After scoring on just five out of 84 shots on goal last season — one of many factors that contributed to his disappointing 16-point total — that extra power could give goalies more trouble this season.