Three summers ago, the Blackhawks invited six goaltenders to development camp.
One of them was Collin Delia. Then a rising senior at Merrimack College, Delia attracted the Hawks’ attention, earned another invite to the 2017 camp, and signed his entry-level contract on site.
That’s a path that the Hawks’ four 2019 goalie invites — Devin Cooley (University of Denver), Zackarias Skog (American International College), Stefanos Lekkas (University of Vermont) and Mareks Mitens (Lake Superior State) — are eyeing tantalizingly.
“For sure, the end goal is an NHL contract,” Cooley said Wednesday. “But when you’re here, you’ve just got to take things one step at a time.”
There’s substantial opportunity with the Hawks at this position. The franchise only has four goalies on NHL contracts right now: Delia, prospect Kevin Lankinen and veterans Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner, both of whom will be UFAs next July.
Rockford also has Matt Tompkins and Chase Marchand on AHL contracts, and the Hawks retain the rights to recent draft picks Alexis Gravel and Dominic Basse, the other two goalies at camp this year. Nonetheless, the organization has relatively little system-wide goaltending depth compared to other franchises.
“The message to these players is you’re here for a reason, because we think you’ve got skill and potential,” GM Stan Bowman said. “We want to see how you perform this week and [see] how you take feedback, what’s your work ethic like? And then we’re going to follow them.”
The Hawks have already been following Skog. AIC coach Eric Lang and Hawks developmental goaltending coach Peter Aubry sent back and forth clips and feedback starting midway through this past season.
Skog’s overall .899 save percentage at AIC wasn’t great, but he was at .915 from mid-January on, and stopped 33 of 34 in a huge postseason upset of top-seeded St. Cloud State.
“Me and Peter had a good talk during the year, and they liked us, so I got an invite,” the 24-year-old Swede said. “It’s always cool to see new faces and new facilities, and the Blackhawks organization is great.”
Cooley, 22, and Lekkas, 23, are both coming off excellent college seasons. Cooley’s .933 save percentage was the second-best in Denver program history; Lekkas finished at .930 on a rebuilding Vermont squad.
Cooley, who also attended the Maple Leafs’ development camp in June, was noticed by Hawks scouts in town to watch Denver teammate Ian Mitchell. Now, Mitchell is serving as his de facto Hawks ambassador.
“I get to room with him and spend time with him, and he’s introduced me to a lot of the other staff and prospects,” he said.
Yet the monstrous 6-foot-4 goalie has done more than serve as Mitchell’s sidekick.
He’s stood out as the best goalie at camp this week, even including draftees Gravel and Basse. He’s looked nearly flawless, both in goalie-specific workouts and during mini-scrimmages. And his size is obviously a big plus, too.
Cooley could very possibly be the Hawks’ next Delia — and if not, perhaps Lekkas, Skog or Mitens will be.
“It’s not out of the realm that, a couple years from now, these guys could become Blackhawks,” Bowman said. “They’re not all going to fall into that category, but if they show well and they impress us...”
