BLOG: Colliton comments on Jokiharju's game

The Chicago Blackhawks want Henri Jokiharju to be an elite player in the NHL. That's going to take time, patience and development.
Sometimes, it's easy to forget the 2017 first-round pick is only 19. He shouldered big minutes early in his rookie season and displayed great poise and solid advanced statistics. But the Blackhawks have since tapped the brakes on that full throttle, thrown-into-the-fire development tactic, electing instead to utilize the slow-and-steady approach that many in the hockey world see as the best way to build up a young defenseman.
Jokiharju was recalled by the Blackhawks on Friday due to a Brent Seabrook abdominal injury and a Carl Dahlstrom illness, which thinned the team's numbers on defense. He played just one game, logging just 9:14 of ice time.
The team re-assigned Jokiharju on Saturday, sending him back to Rockford in the American Hockey League where he will play a ton of minutes in all situations and, hopefully, return to the NHL locked and loaded at a later date.
"When I look at Henri's game, we're happy," said Head Coach Jeremy Colliton. "I see growth from when he left to go to Rockford to now. Circumstances required us to bring him for the game, just with Seabs and Dahlstrom. Dahlstrom probably could have played in the end, but we didn't know that in the morning. We wanted to get Henri in, seeing as we called him up, but we feel he's where he should be in Rockford. We're happy with his progression and how he's handling it. He's playing 21-22 minutes every night and we're seeing growth in his game. That's a positive on that."
The Blackhawks say Jokiharju has handled this season like a professional and continues to grow. The club is hoping that when Jokiharju returns for good, he'll be ready to take on that role as a dominant leader on the ice.