When some members of the Blackhawks‘ young generation aren’t together on the ice, you might be able to find them on the battleground instead.

There’s no health or injury risk, though. These battlegrounds exist solely within the virtual worlds of Fortnite or Call of Duty, first-person shooter video games whose worldwide popularity stems from the fact they’re designed for multiple players to form a team together — or fight against each other — from their own real-life homes and screens.

Hawks defenseman Alex Vlasic usually organizes these gaming hangouts, while Colton Dach, Landon Slaggert and Ethan Del Mastro are also staples.

The sessions haven’t been as frequent so far this year as last year, but the group hopes to change that soon — and hopes to recruit rookies Ryan Greene and Sam Rinzel, plus anyone else who might be interested, to join in.

“You can get seven or eight guys in a lobby and just play with each other and mess around away from the rink,” Vlasic said. “It makes it fun to keep in touch. It’s like you’re hanging out, but you’re not. It’s easy; it’s not taxing.”

Said Dach: “[We’re] probably going to start getting into it now that it’s getting a little colder inside [and we’re] staying indoors.”

For Vlasic, the same competitiveness and hunger that has fueled his success in hockey — he leads the Hawks in ice time this season, averaging close to 22 minutes per game — has fueled his expertise at video games, too, albeit to a lesser degree.

In college at Boston University, COVID restrictions and online classes gave him plenty of free time to practice, for example, quickly building forts for protection in Fortnite or quickly firing accurate shots in Call of Duty.

“I would watch pro players on YouTube videos and try to learn from them,” Vlasic said. “I just feel like, if I play a game, I have to be good at it. Otherwise it’s like, ‘What am I doing? Why am I playing it?’

“Whenever I lose or don’t do well, it frustrates me. I need to figure out why and try to get better.”

Vlasic claims to have lost his touch somewhat — he’s too busy now to stay as sharp as he once was — but his teammates don’t completely buy that. He still dominates their games.

“He plays on a controller, but we forced him to [use a] keyboard and mouse so he wasn’t as good,” Dach said. “I’ve got to go see his setup because he’s got something that’s not legal. He’s too good.”

Said Vlasic: “I had to mess around a little bit so the guys wouldn’t get so mad at me.”

Slaggert, on the other hand, gets ribbed as the worst player in the group. He admitted he prefers sports games — such as EA Sports’ NHL series or recently reinstated College Football series — when playing against his brothers, but he’ll abide by the collective choice in these situations.

If the Hawks are playing as one team, his character will carry some virtual medical kits that can heal Vlasic or Dach’s characters if they take damage. If they’re facing each other, he simply accepts the odds won’t be in his favor.

“Last year we did ‘Vlas’ and ‘Slags’ vs. me and Del Mastro,” Dach said. “‘Delly’ and I would just go up to ‘Slags’ so we’d get at least one kill.”

Said Slaggert: “I’m honestly just out there for moral support.”

All three of them laughed a lot while explaining the dynamics, which exemplified what a refreshing escape from the NHL grind the video games can provide. It’s a competition that doesn’t really matter.

“Obviously guys are home with their families and stuff,” Slaggert said. “But when they have a little downtime, we’re still able to communicate and have some fun together.”

Said Dach: “It’s nice to get away and share that goofy side of ourselves.”

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