Leddy turns heads at Blackhawks camp but not offered contract

Gophers coach Don Lucia said Wednesday that as far as he knows the Chicago Blackhawks have not offered defenseman Nick Leddy a contract.

He was recently at the Blackhawks camp and impressed everyone there.

Lucia said the Blackhawks marveled at the great condition Leddy was in -- his body fat was measured at 6 percent. He made great progress as a Gophers freshman, Lucia said, after returning from a broken jaw in the first half of the season.

Lucia said he told Leddy all the elite NHL defenseman the U has produced waited until they were 22 or so before going to to pro careers except Erik Johnson, who he called a freak of nature. That's a compliment.

Leddy turned 19 on March 20. He was listed at 5-11, 180 last season as a freshman.

The Wild took Leddy in the first round, No. 16 overall, in the 2009 NHL draft but traded him to Chicago last Feb. 12 in a three-player deal. Defenseman Cam Barker came to the Wild.

Here is what IndianHeadNation, a Blackhawks fan blog wrote about Leddy's camp showing:

Literally identical to Duncan Keith when he broke into the league, Leddy has a good amount of work to do in order to develop the way Keith has. Nick displays the same tendencies as Keith did at a young age.

His skating technique is better than most NHLers right now, and can keep up with anyone. He likes to defend the puck carrier by giving them hell body-to-body and driving them into no mans land. He can start, stop, and go in a heart beat making him quick in transition and impossible to shake off. Although his skating is out of this world, like a young Keith, his positioning can use some work and sometimes is caught running around too much. Needs a bit more patience in some situations and sometimes should rely on his partner a bit more.

Although his potential is high, he isn't ready for the next level yet. I'd give him a year or two before he is ready to play at a pro level on a nightly basis.

Literally identical to Duncan Keith when he broke into the league, Leddy has a good amount of work to do in order to develop the way Keith has. Nick displays the same tendencies as Keith did at a young age.

His skating technique is better than most NHLers right now, and can keep up with anyone. He likes to defend the puck carrier by giving them hell body-to-body and driving them into no mans land. He can start, stop, and go in a heart beat making him quick in transition and impossible to shake off. Although his skating is out of this world, like a young Keith, his positioning can use some work and sometimes is caught running around too much. Needs a bit more patience in some situations and sometimes should rely on his partner a bit more.

OK, that's a fan blog. Here is what Chicago GM Stan Bowman said of Leddy in the Daily Herald, a suburban Chicago newspaper:

Defenseman Nick Leddy had a special camp as well. Leddy is the former No. 1 draft pick of the Minnesota Wild who was acquired by the Hawks last February with Kim Johnsson for Cam Barker.

Leddy is small (5-11, 179) but plays the kind of puck possession, speed game the Hawks want from their defensemen.

"Nick Leddy was excellent," Bowman said. "It's the first time we've seen him here in Chicago because we traded for him during the season, but he's really smooth out there. He's going to be a Blackhawk for many years."

Leddy will be a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, and it's likely the Hawks want him to go back to school for at least one more year of seasoning.

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Back to the view at the U: Lucia said he expects Leddy and all the other non-seniors on the 2009-10 team to be back. The one exception, of course, is center Jordan Schroeder, who turned pro after his sophomore year.

LINE TALK

Two years ago at this time, Lucia had his first line pretty well set. Freshman phenom Schroeder would center Ryan Stoa, who missed the previous season after knee surgery, and Jay Barriball.

This year Lucia is not so sure. He said Jacob Cepis and Mike Hoeffel would be the top two left wings, but is not sure who will be on the first line. Barriball, the team captain, will be the first line right wing.