BLAKE HILLMAN READY TO CONTINUE MAKING HARTFORD A ‘SECOND HOME’
Oct 4, 2024HARTFORD, CT – In October of 2021, Blake Hillman came to Wolf Pack training camp on a professional tryout contract (PTO). Although the defenseman did not make the team’s roster that fall, Hillman made an impression on the Pack’s coaching and management staff.
In July of 2022, after spending the 2021-22 season with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye and AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins and Providence Bruins, Hillman inked a free agent contract with the Wolf Pack. He’s been a staple in the Connecticut capital ever since.
Hillman signed his third contract with the Wolf Pack during the off-season, ensuring a third season with the club will begin this fall. Hillman has embraced the city, the team, and his role. For him, returning to the Wolf Pack was always a priority. After all, the city has become a special place to him.
“Everyone from my teammates to the staff has made things easy for me to transition into playing in Hartford,” Hillman said. “On a personal level, it was just getting an opportunity to show what I can do on the ice. I bounced around from team to team for a couple of years. To be back in Hartford for a third year, it feels like a second home to me.”
The native of Elk River, MN, enjoyed a career year in 2023-24. He skated in 60 games, notching four goals and 11 assists for 15 points, all career-best marks. He added three points (1 g, 2 a) in ten Calder Cup Playoff games, having an impact for the Wolf Pack for the second straight spring.
Hillman’s individual success, in his opinion, comes from the culture that has been built during his time in Hartford.
“The culture we have built here over the last couple of seasons has helped a ton throughout the season and into playoffs,” he said. “It's a culture of having fun but pushing each other every day during practice to be better. We all enjoy coming to the rink and spending time around one another.”
The culture has taken hold thanks to a strong veteran core that has given Hartford stability. In addition to Hillman, forwards Anton Blidh and Jake Leschyshyn and goaltender Louis Domingue will also be playing their third seasons in Hartford this winter, among others.
That continuity not only helps the culture that Hillman raves about but also helps the club hit the ground running for the biggest goal, winning a Calder Cup.
“It definitely helps potentially having a lot of returning players, especially early in the season when it always seems to be a bit hectic with understanding the systems,” he said. “Every year you strive to be better than the last both individually and as a team. We are constantly trying to push ourselves in order to reach our goal of winning the Calder Cup, and we’ve got a great group to do that.”
That continuity especially applies to the team’s defensive group. The club could have as many as six returners from a season ago. That certainly helps as the team begins a new era behind the bench, with Grant Potulny taking the reins.
“Having that continuity with each other on the backend helps a lot,” Hillman pointed out. “Since we have spent a lot of time together over the past couple of years, we all know each other's tendencies as players. To our team, I think this will help with the new systems coach Potulny puts in place.”
For Hillman, finding a second home in Hartford has given him stability in his career. The goals are still the same as when he was, in his own words, “bouncing around from team to team”. To keep improving and to win a championship.
“As a team, our goal is always to win the Calder Cup,” he proclaimed. “That starts with having good habits daily on and off the ice. We know what we are capable of doing and we just need to find a way to get over the hump.
“Personally, I am looking to build off last year and be a steady two-way defenseman that our team can rely on. At the end of the day, team success usually leads to individual success, so making sure I am pushing my teammates to be their best every day while setting a high standard for myself.”
Undoubtedly part of Hartford’s leadership group, Hillman will get his chance to push his teammates in his second home soon, as the regular season sits just over one week away.
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ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team’s inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and play at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers newest faces including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.