In storybook fashion, defenseman Blake Hillman on Friday made his NHL debut in Denver — where he played for the Denver Pioneers for three years ending Tuesday, when he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Hillman, donning No. 55 for the Hawks — he was No. 25 for DU — started for Chicago and paired with Jordan Oesterle. Hillman produced the game’s first shot against the Avalanche at the Pepsi Center.
Hillman, 22, helped the Pioneers win the 2017 NCAA championship at the United Center in Chicago. The Minnesota native was a 2016 sixth-round draft pick of the Blackhawks, and he became the third player selected in the last three rounds of that draft to play in the NHL.