Ethan Del Mastro has a short runway in Blackhawks camp, and he made the most of his first crack at it.
With Chicago carrying eight NHL-caliber defensemen and only six spots in the opening lineup, the competition on the back end is already sharp. The preseason is shortened, too, which means Del Mastro may only get two games to make his case. That makes every shift count.
Against the Minnesota Wild in the Blackhawks’ first preseason game, Del Mastro looked like a player trying to force his way into the conversation. He skated on the top pair with Kevin Korchinski, logged heavy minutes as head coach Jeff Blashill said he would, and finished with 23:55 of ice time. He also handled 3:58 on the penalty kill and came away plus-2 in Chicago’s 3-2 overtime loss.
That kind of night matters for a defenseman like Del Mastro, who is not built around flash. At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, he’s more about staying composed, reading the play, and making the right small decisions. Chicago is looking for him to prove he can do that every night.
Del Mastro played only 19 NHL games last season, spending most of the past three years developing with the Rockford IceHogs. Even so, the Blackhawks rewarded him with a two-year contract extension on Sept. 16, and now he’s trying to turn that vote of confidence into a permanent role.
He said he’s entering camp feeling more settled after getting more NHL reps late last season. When asked before the team left for Minnesota on Sept. 19 if that comfort was still there, Del Mastro said, "Yeah, for sure.
I mean, when you look at all the guys that are in the room, they're all kind of guys that you've been playing with for the last little bit here, and young guys that are around a similar age. And all the new guys that have came in are super nice and good guys.
So, it's kind of been easy to have them gel. But we're a super tight-knit team, and kind of able to talk and communicate pretty easily.
So, yeah, it's been pretty easy to kind of be comfortable with all of them."
Blashill has already hinted at where Del Mastro fits best at the NHL level. The coach sees him more as a penalty-kill defenseman than a power-play option, and Del Mastro said that lines up with how he views his game.
"Yeah, for sure. I think that's something I've kind of been working on the last couple years and trying to continue to add to my game... not that it hasn't already been there, but to continue to grow it.
But yeah, for sure, I think that's something I can continue to do and kind of be a little bit more of a force in, just because, you know, obviously the size and the length, and I think my ability to kind of read on defensive plays and kind of sniff out offense and stuff like that. But, yeah, I think it's something I'm gonna continue to do and try to do for the rest of my career."
His summer work was aimed at tightening the details that help a defenseman survive at this level. Del Mastro said he spent a lot of time on skating, especially pivots at the blue line and the ability to open up, close off plays, and improve his mobility when attackers are coming into the zone.
The path in front of him is clear enough. The projected top six appears to be Alex Vlasic, Bowen Byram, Wyatt Kaiser, Artyom Levshunov, Ian Cole, and Sam Rinzel, which would leave Korchinski and Del Mastro on the outside looking in for now. General manager Kyle Davidson said carrying eight defensemen would not be a problem, but that doesn’t change the fact that every blueliner wants one of those six starting jobs.
Blashill made that battle plain when discussing Korchinski and Del Mastro, saying, "... That's over 15 years of saying, 'whatever team I'm on, I'm anchoring a spot.'
That's how it is, man. Someone's got to go beat them out.
You got to go beat them out. You got to go earn it, and I think both those guys...
Delly would be in the same boat. Every time you step on the ice, you have a chance to kind of say to me whether you should be above somebody or not, and we'll just keep judging."
Del Mastro’s own approach is simple. He wants to look like a player who belongs in the lineup every night.
"I think, like, any preseason game, getting ready for the season, and it's still camp. You still want to show well.
So, I think it's just go out there and do what you can, show the best you can, and leave a good taste in management and (the) coach's mouth that they can think that you're an everyday NHL'er, and hopefully, they can see that when you're playing."
He’s off to a solid start. One more strong showing would only strengthen the case that he belongs in Chicago’s plans for more than just a look.
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