If Cole Guttman has questions about pro hockey, he found himself in a good place this week.

Four days after the Tampa Bay Lightning’s claim to his draft rights expired, Denver’s captain last season signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks for a reported $950,000 per season.

Thursday’s signing capped a year of peaks and one valley for the Guttman, whom Tampa Bay had drafted in the sixth round, 180th overall, in 2017.

“The national championship was obviously an amazing way to cap off my time here at Denver,” Guttman said Thursday. “Obviously I wanted to celebrate that with my team for a while. I went home (to Los Angeles) for the summer, had a great time and then free agency was the other day (Aug. 15).

“Chicago came around, I just thought it was the right fit with a great organization, so I’m really excited about it.”

Guttman isn’t dwelling on the door that closed, disappointing as that might have been. Instead, his focus is on what’s ahead.

“You’ve got to go wherever is best for you,” he said. “It’s a job, it’s a business. I’m really happy with how things worked out.”

Guttman will join an organization that has committed itself to a long rebuilding process, but when he heads to training camp he’ll see at least one familiar face. Defenseman Ian Mitchell, a fellow former DU captain who turned pro in 2020 and Pioneers teammate for two seasons, is participating in this week’s pro camp at Denver as well.

That the 5-foot-9, 175-pound Guttman would draw immediate interest upon his arrival on the free-agent market isn’t surprising given his acumen at scoring (career highs of 45 points and 19 goals), leadership (captain in youth, junior and college hockey) and face-offs (better than 60 percent in college). He had 22 points or better every season at DU, finishing with 111 in 140 games.

Every direction he could turn this week he found resources available. More than two dozen pro’s have gathered at DU this week for off-ice and on-ice workouts as well as daily scrimmages.

“We have a great pro group that comes in,” Guttman noted. “We have good skates, and the workouts with (Senior Associate Athletic Director of Sports Performance) Matt Shaw have been great.”

There are plenty of intangible benefits as well for a young player about to embark upon the next step in his hockey journey.

“Just watching their habits this summer and seeing the steps they (take) it’s really good for us younger guys to follow,” Guttman said. “I’m picking their brains when I can. It’s really helpful. They’re all great.

“The nice thing about Denver is we’re really close with the alumni group. Just watching the younger guys move on to the NHL, see what they do, they’re all really helpful.”

©First Line Editorial 2022