Ryan Hartman staying out of box, playing on top line

NEW YORK -- Chicago Blackhawks rookie forward Ryan Hartman could have engaged and dropped his gloves to fight Casey Cizikas after the New York Islanders forward went after him following a big hit Thursday. Six months ago, Hartman probably would have done just that.
A lot has changed.
"There's been times in the past where I've kind of gone over the line," Hartman said following Chicago's 5-4 win at Barclays Center. "I did a lot of mental stuff this summer with some books, some stuff like that, to be able to try to keep an even keel."

So even though Hartman knew a fight at that juncture, 8:14 into the game, could have energized his team, especially with Chicago already trailing 2-0, he realized going on the power play was the better play.
Hartman let Cizikas push him back toward Chicago's bench. He let Cizikas take the roughing minor. He stayed in the game. Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin scored on the power play.
"It put our guys on the power play and you can see how good they are on the power play," said Hartman, Chicago's first-round pick (No. 30) in the 2013 NHL Draft. "So in that aspect I tried to keep an even keel."
Hartman might be on the power play soon if he keeps playing the way he's playing and toeing the right side of the proverbial line. His skill and tenacity got him to the NHL, and now that he's added discipline to his game, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville can entrust him with a bigger role.

Hartman is playing on Chicago's top line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.
"I don't think anybody that coached him and was down here with him for the last few years would bet any money on that happening," said Ted Dent, coach of the Rockford IceHogs, Chicago's American Hockey League affiliate. "That's really remarkable, that he's been able to do that and have the restraint and the discipline that he's had this year, and also the ability to hound pucks and chase pucks down, use his speed instead of the hooking and grabbing, things he might have been doing with us."
Hartman limited himself in Rockford because of penalties. He had 249 penalty minutes in 130 games during the past two seasons, including 129 in 61 games in 2015-16.
He has four penalty minutes in 27 games with the Blackhawks this season.
"He's getting smarter," Hossa said. "Obviously when you're a real young player you sometimes go head against the wall. But right now he understands the game, he understands when to be physical, when he can fight. I think he's done an excellent job this year. He's still effective physically but he doesn't take bad penalties. That comes with maturity."
Hartman said he was guilty of foolish penalties in the AHL, including undisciplined stick fouls. There were even times when he would chase an opposing player back to the bench.

"There's definitely times where I lost my cool," Hartman said.
There were also times when Dent would take Hartman into his office and tell him that he'd better find the right side of the line or he'd never get to Chicago.
"I told him Chicago does not take penalties," Dent said. "I said it's all about back pressure, all about sticks. It's not so much about physicality and contact; it's more about discipline and 5-on-5 hockey. So we had some heart-to-hearts, and I also had to sit him out. When is when, right? I sat him out for a period in Chicago against the Wolves one night to try to just help him."
The Blackhawks banked on Hartman finding his way because they didn't have any other choice after they traded Andrew Shaw to the Montreal Canadiens on June 24 because of salary cap constraints.
Hartman is physical and skilled, just like Shaw. He's also a rookie on an entry-level contract, whereas Shaw was due a raise, which he got from the Canadiens in the form of a six-year, $23.4 million contract.
The Blackhawks hoped Hartman would be the newer, younger, cheaper version of Shaw, but that he wouldn't come with the same type of undisciplined penalties Shaw was prone to take.
Hartman understood all that too. He saw the opportunity in front of him and remembered his talks with Dent, which is why he worked extensively this past summer with Dr. James Gary, Chicago's mental skills coach.
He recommended Hartman read two books: "Mind Gym: An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence," by Gary Mack; and "Finding Your Zone: Ten Core Lessons for Achieving Peak Performance in Sports and Life," by Dr. Michael Lardon.
"There's a lot of stuff in golf that they talked about, how there's so many different shots and so many different things that go wrong that you just have to try to let things go and focus on the next one," Hartman said. "I think you can relate to that shift-by-shift wise. You may have a bad shift, but you take that and just look forward, kind of just let the past go."

Hartman said he still thinks of the lessons he learned in those books as he plays. Four penalty minutes in 27 games is an indication he's taken them to heart.
"When you're not in the box you're on the ice more, your team is on the power play more, you're winning more games and you get to play with 19 and 81," Hartman said, referring to Toews and Hossa, respectively. "You don't want to pass up opportunities by being in the box when you can play with those two guys. Hopefully I can keep doing that."