Rockford IceHogs coach Ted Dent teaches many different hockey skills to young players coming up in the AHL.
Dent deals a lot with physical skills but also mental ones. Among the latter, he tries to get his players to learn patience. Few quickly make the jump from the AHL to the NHL, particularly with the Chicago Blackhawks, and it's not always easy to accept.
Dent has been working with top Blackhawks prospect Teuvo Teravainen to understand that. The 20-year-old Teravainen went through a stretch this season during which he was frustrated about not being in the NHL and worried that his finesse and puck-carrying game wasn't suited for the AHL.
Teravainen has gotten over that as of late and is making the best of his situation. He registered his first three-point game with the IceHogs over the weekend and is having his best month in the AHL with three goals and seven assists in 11 December games.
Dent said he has also witnessed a different level of intensity in Teravainen in recent weeks.
"Recently, yeah, for sure, he' playing better," Dent said by phone Tuesday. "The whole battle level and compete level just has to be there every night. It's tough. It's a tough league. You have to fight hard to get the puck back when you don't have it.
"Maybe he's gotten over that hump mentally. He's gotten to know his teammates better. He's been with them three months now. They're a good group of guys. I think he's settled in there as well."
Teravainen has also been displaying more of his offensive skill by carrying the puck more. He developed his offensive reputation by doing just that in his native Finland. It has been paying off in the form of more offense created for himself and his teammates. Teravainen has averaged nearly three shots on net in December and had five primary assists in the month.
"I think he's just getting a little confidence with the puck, hanging onto it a little longer maybe," Dent said.
Dent placed Teravainen on a line with Mark McNeill and Peter Regin against the Chicago Wolves on Sunday and liked how they worked together. Teravainen had a goal and two assists in a 4-2 Rockford victory, and stood second on the team with 23 points in 31 games entering Tuesday.
Dent has allowed Teravainen some space when it comes to his offensive game.
"With those skill guys, you have to give them some freedom to do their thing and make plays," Dent said. "We don't try to complicate things too much. We want to try to play a team game and all be on the same page in certain aspects of the game."
Dent has also given Teravainen more of a defensive role. Teravainen was recently added to the IceHogs' penalty kill and scored a short-handed goal against the Iowa Wild last week.
Overall, Dent has liked Teravainen's defensive game.
"Defensively, he's been real good," Dent said. "He's been smart defensively. He's always in position. He has a good stick. There's no issue there at all."
When Teravainen will get his NHL next call-up remains difficult to predict. Dent's advice for Teravainen has been to approach his game as he has lately. If he does that, you never know what can happen.
"He's been good lately," Dent said. "Hopefully he can keep it going."
