Sacha Boisvert’s style of play stood out in college, but it might fit like a glove in the NHL.
The aggressive, hard-nosed forward — whom the Chicago Blackhawks drafted with the No. 18 pick in 2024 — agreed to a three-year entry-level contract Monday that runs through the 2027-28 season with an average annual value of $974,167.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Boisvert could bring a much-needed feistiness to the Hawks that trade-deadline addition Andrew Mangiapane has begun to implement.
“If I was to sit here based on what I’ve seen, (Boisvert) could be a guy who will need to have a physical impact on the game on a night-to-night basis,” Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. “If he can do that, he becomes a real commodity because then he has a physical impact with some ability to make a play, with the ability to hold on to the puck, those types of things.
“He can add something to our team I don’t know we have enough of, and that’s that hard skill. If he can do that, it’ll be a real positive for us.”
Boisvert, 19, won’t play against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday as the Quebec native works through the immigration process, and Blashill still is figuring out what his role will be upon arrival.
“We’ll take it game by game and see where he fits exactly, (but) it’s also important that guys understand they’re going to get some opportunity, but you have to earn it,” Blashill said. “It’s a little bit misleading to bring him in here, play him every game, play him on the first line and be like, ‘Oh, that’s the way it is.’ A lot of times you have to earn it.”
Boisvert is coming off an uneven sophomore season at Boston University after transferring from North Dakota. He had nine points in his first nine games with the Terriers, including a four-assist game Nov. 8 at Merrimack, but inconsistent play and injuries loomed over the rest of his season. He had just eight points after Nov. 15 and didn’t score a goal after Jan. 12.
He was a healthy scratch in BU’s Hockey East Tournament opener versus Vermont, and College Hockey Insider’s Mike McMahon reported that Boisvert was late to a team workout — not for the first time — and was left out of the lineup.
The scratch raised questions about Boisvert’s off-ice discipline before BU’s season-ending loss to Connecticut in the quarterfinals, but it didn’t stop Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson from inking a deal with his 2024 draft pick.
Before the Hawks drafted him, Boisvert had 113 points (53 goals, 60 assists) in 118 regular-season games with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, becoming a point-per-game player in his second season.
He then had a quality freshman year at North Dakota with 32 points (18 goals, 14 assists) and was named National Collegiate Hockey Conference Rookie of the Year. The Fighting Hawks, however, missed the NCAA Tournament and fired coach Brad Berry. Amid the uncertainty, Boisvert transferred to BU.
“After the last game, I was excited going back with the guys and everything,” Boisvert told Henry Dinh-Price of the Boston Hockey Blog. “And then the coaching change kind of made me rethink the whole process.”
Practice notes
• Nick Lardis has spent his most recent call-up on the fourth line, an unfulfilling position given his offensive potential. Blashill said the young left wing is learning the NHL takes time.
“There are certain things he’s going to have to continue to get better at: his play on breakouts, his board plays,” Blashill said. “He probably has a natural tendency to not want to skate with the puck, and it’s something we talked about before. Make sure when he gets it, he goes.
“He has to show us the depth of his game and that he can add offense without having to be on the ice with the very best players on the team. It’s hard to learn how to play 10 minutes a night when you’re playing 20 minutes a night, so learning this is an important part of development.”
• Artyom Levshunov skated with Alex Vlasic in the top defensive pair during Monday’s practice. Blashill called it a “reward for his play” Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights (four hits, four blocked shots) and likely will run the pair together versus the Wild on Tuesday.
“I think (Levshunov) played probably his best game of the year last game, certainly from the defensive and the physicality side,” Blashill said. “We just want to mix the pairings a little bit, give it a try out there and see how he does.”
