Sikura, Louis learning and thriving in Rockford

One of the best Twitter accounts to keep up with Blackhawks prospect Dylan Sikura features highlights and stories about the Northeastern senior. There's a Blackhawks TV interview with Senior Vice President/General Manager Stan Bowman on Sikura, and even a few gifs of the 22-year-old showing off at the team's Prospect Camp.
The owner of that Twitter account sat next to an empty stall in the MB Ice Arena locker room on Tuesday morning.

"That's basically what my Twitter consists of at this point," Rockford IceHogs center Tyler Sikura said. "[My brother's] obviously receiving a lot of accolades and a lot of attention. Extremely proud of him and my older sister as well, both of their accomplishments. It's pretty incredible to see."
It says something about Dylan's potential that, on the day Tyler Sikura signed his first NHL contract, the assembled media asked more than a few questions about his younger brother. Tyler played this season on a minor-league deal with the IceHogs, after a career spent between the ECHL and AHL.
The IceHogs practiced at MB Ice Arena this week, giving many players an opportunity to check out the Blackhawks' new practice digs for the first time.
It was perfect timing for Sikura, who signed a one-year contract with the Blackhawks on Tuesday.
"He plays right now expecting to have success, where at the beginning of the year he was playing to stay in the lineup and survive," Blackhawks GM of Minor League Affiliations Mark Bernard said. He's just continued to work hard and put our coaches in a very good place where they can play him in any situation."
Of all the surprises in Rockford, Sikura's production through the beginning of March (16G, 9A) has been huge. He showcased that ability during his college career at Dartmouth, but his time in the minor leagues became a search for stability.
Sikura signed with the AHL's Springfield Falcons in 2015 and played in only two games. The next season, he joined the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. He blew up in Toledo and earned another AHL shot with the Portland Pirates, but was sent back to Toledo after just four games. He continued to impress for the Walleye, until Sikura was traded to another ECHL team in March of 2017.
"That was probably the low point of my career," he said.
A call up to the Iowa Wild of the AHL marked the latest stop in a four-year whirlwind for Sikura, during which he recorded zero AHL points. Enter the Rockford IceHogs and first-year head coach Jeremy Colliton.
"He's been absolutely massive," Sikura said. "For me, I think he was the perfect coach at the perfect time. I've been fortunate to have a lot of great coaches, a lot of great mentors, but for me, I think I lost a little bit of my offensive game trying to work into this league, playing fourth line and trying not to make mistakes."
During four years spent in the minor league shuffle, Sikura had yet to show the offensive prowess that landed him All-Ivy League First Team honors at Dartmouth. Sikura credits Colliton with helping him recapture that.
"This year, he's really challenged me to play on the offensive side and not be afraid to go in the offensive zone and try and make some plays when we have the puck," Sikura said. "He taught me when to do it, without cheating. I'm a pretty defensive responsibility-minded guy, but there are certain situations where he taught me, 'You can jump ahead here' or 'we're expecting our D to make this play.' I've been able to get up the ice and create because of that."
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As the Blackhawks continue to hand opportunities to their top prospects, the IceHogs' playoff push hasn't gotten any easier. What this season has done is give players like Anthony Louis hope that an NHL call-up could be right around the corner.
"There's an opportunity there and everyone's pushing for it," Louis said. "I'm just going to keep playing my game, stick out a little and hopefully get a shot here at the end of the year."
The Blackhawks drafted Louis with the last pick in the sixth round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. A four-year college career at Miami (OH) gave NHL teams plenty of reason to believe Louis had talent, but his undersized frame and inconsistent production in college lowered his draft stock.
Louis has led the IceHogs in points (34) and goals (11) during his rookie season, providing Colliton with a reliable offensive option.
"He's a very explosive offensive guy," Bernard said. "Anthony came in at the end of last year, I think he played about a dozen games for us. He got his feet wet, learned a little bit about the league, went to Traverse City rookie camp, came to his first main camp and then once he got settled in Rockford, he's just continued to grow into his game offensively."
Louis credits the coaching staff in Rockford, who have brought an inexperienced team together and sent several players to the NHL.
"All the coaches are doing a really good job. We have a lot of rookies, so they do a good job teaching the game and letting us know what we need to know," Louis said. "It's never just telling us something we want to hear."
The IceHogs are trying to thread the needle this year, competing for the AHL playoffs while providing the Blackhawks with young talent on affordable contracts.
And they're doing it with players like Sikura and Louis, who were largely overlooked by the rest of the NHL.
"We've learned, especially here in Chicago, that it doesn't really matter where you get drafted," Bernard said. "[Alex] DeBrincat, how many guys would give up a second [round pick] for him right now? I think our scouts do a fantastic job recognizing these players, recognizing that they're still available and grabbing them for our organization."