Chicago Blackhawks send top prospect Lukas Reichel back to Rockford: ‘Why not go be the best center down there?’

The suspense over whether Lukas Reichel will start the season with the Chicago Blackhawks finally was answered Tuesday.

He won’t.

The Hawks ended training camp for their top prospect, shipping Reichel to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.

Coach Luke Richardson said he and general manager Kyle Davidson met with Reichel.

“Kyle said, ‘I’m sure this is not the news you want to hear, but we want you to go down and continue to play,’” Richardson said. “He had a pretty good attitude in the meeting. He took it really well.”

Cole Guttman, another forward the Hawks really liked who was a long shot to make the roster, also got his ticket to Rockford.

“Great training camp, great rookie camp for his first pro camp out of college,” Richardson said. “That was the message to him: Your first taste of pro hockey and (you) showed really well at different levels. Just to go down and get some games in and get accustomed to the pro life.”

The Hawks also assigned forwards Michal Teplý, Josiah Slavin, David Gust and Kale Howarth and defenseman Isaak Phillips to the IceHogs. The moves reduced the camp roster to 35 players: 20 forwards, 12 defensemen and three goaltenders.

Throughout camp, Richardson praised the progress shown by Guttman, Slavin and Phillips, among others, but Davidson has put a premium on prospects getting seasoned in the minor leagues.

Still, for a team that has struggled to find offense throughout the preseason — five goals in four games and two straight shutouts — Reichel displayed the hands and hockey sense to be a contributor.

Reichel — who wasn’t available to the media Tuesday — told the Tribune early in camp he thought he was ready, but he later resigned himself to whatever decision the organization thought was best.

“I don’t think about it now,” he said last week before scoring a goal in his preseason debut against the Red Wings in Detroit. “We’ll go day to day and see what they decide. I can’t control it. I just focus on my game and focus on practice. That’s all I can do.”

Reichel had three stints with the Hawks last season in January, February and April.

Guttman stood out in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase and scored the Hawks’ only goal in the preseason opener against the St. Louis Blues. He played in Sunday’s “home-away-from-home” game against the Minnesota Wild in Milwaukee. Reichel didn’t play in that game.

The Hawks don’t want to see young players yo-yo between Chicago and Rockford — like Reichel did last season — and would rather let them get plenty of ice time, have success and build confidence with the IceHogs or their junior teams.

The rebuilding Hawks will wait.

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“He’s going to be a high-end talent,” captain Jonathan Toews said of Reichel after practice Tuesday at Fifth Third Arena. “The way he’s going to be successful in this league is if he’s allowed to really go out there and play with creativity and play with confidence.

“So for a guy like him with his skill set and his size, I don’t think there’s really any rush. You know, let him just continue to play his way and develop his game and get confident.”

Richardson said of Reichel before Sunday’s game in Milwaukee: “There’s some flashes that he’s shown. Obviously he’s got the skill.”

Richardson said he cut video clips for Reichel to work on his defense, which has been a work in progress. Reichel bulked up to 185 pounds over the summer.

“He’s just got to dig down and fight for that spot,” Richardson said. “He’s not going to be a penalty killer or fourth-line energy guy, but he’s definitely skillful enough to play in this league. He just has to make sure he keeps pushing to deserve that opportunity.”

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Richardson elaborated after practice on the aspects Reichel needs to develop and said he went over examples with Reichel on video.

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“There were a couple instances that I talked to him about where he turned the puck over,” Richardson said. “(Red Wings forward Dylan) Larkin snagged a puck and went back down to the other zone, and we spent 25, 30 seconds there killing in the zone.

“Then the next period, same line, we showed the play where (Philipp) Kurashev got it deep and they spent 25, 30 seconds buzzing — and Reichel had a real glorious opportunity. … So (it’s) just learning curves. You can’t turn the puck over as a skilled guy in this league. It’s going to be in your net or in your zone for 30 seconds.”

The fourth line typically is the simplest path for a prospect to try to stick on a roster, but that hard-checking, energy type of role doesn’t fit Reichel’s skill set.

“Why not go down (to Rockford) and be the best center down there?” Richardson said. “Work on your game, get a little harder in one-on-one battles and manage the puck and light it up down there.

“So when you get a chance here, you’re firing on all cylinders and you’ll show your best. That was the message to him.”