Quietly, Blackhawks defensive prospect Dennis Gilbert is trending towards NHL future

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Dennis Gilbert is a year out of college and four years out of high school.

But in a way, he’s still going to prom.

“Coach [Derek] King always says, ‘Dance with the girl you came with,’ ” Gilbert said. “So I play to my strengths.”

When the Blackhawks selected the then-Notre Dame blue-liner No. 91 overall in 2015, they had a dire lack of defensive depth in their system. That has changed dramatically in the four years since — from Adam Boqvist to Nicolas Beaudin, Ian Mitchell to now Alex Vlasic, the list goes on and on.

Gilbert doesn’t boast the same playmaking ability or sky-high upside as any of them, but he’s nonetheless steadily, quietly, progressing toward a future as a solid, dependable NHL defenseman.

“Those guys are all really good players, really skilled players, and they bring a lot to the table,” he said after the Hawks’ loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

“My thing is, I’m a different player than those guys. I try to be a complement to them offensively, and then defensively try to help them out, carry more of the load that way.”

Todd Reicher/Rockford IceHogs

Through two games this weekend in the Traverse City prospects tournament, Gilbert has served as the Hawks’ team captain and logged big minutes alongside Boqvist on the top pair.

To the dedicated fans who have braved the dysfunctional Wi-Fi and somewhat remote location to attend, he certainly hasn’t been noticeable. He hasn’t scored, he hasn’t made any big hits and he hasn’t done anything particularly memorable.

Those things, however, will never be Gilbert’s calling cards. What he has consistently done is cover for Boqvist’s turnovers, stay in position and manage the back end.

Fans might not notice it all, but King, who coached Gilbert through his 62-game debut season with Rockford last year, certainly does.

“From the last time he was here last year, to now, it’s night and day. He’s really made some great strides,” King said. “He’s going to be a good NHL-er at one point of his career. Not sure when it’s going to be, but he will play in the NHL, I think. He’s just got to keep growing, keep getting better.”

Technically, Gilbert already was an NHL-er for a day, making his Hawks debut in April in a win over the eventual Cup-champion Blues.

That taste of the pace, intensity and atmosphere of the top level fueled him through the offseason, aiming to build in 2019-20 off a 2018-19 campaign that improved as it went.

Nine of his 14 points with the IceHogs came after Feb. 7, and his defensive dependability — as aforementioned, a strong suit to begin with — grew in tune. He became a self-described “hard to play against” defenseman.

That has held true again in Michigan this week.

“I know it’s a process for me and I’ve got to keep getting better in all the little facets of my game, but I’m excited,” Gilbert said. “[I’ve] worked extra hard this summer, harder than I ever have, to put myself in a good position.”