Welcome back to "Who Is That Player?"
Today we once again dip into the well of obscure blueliners to examine that famous Blackhawk,
Isaak Phillips.
If you thought he might be Swedish from his first name, well, you'd be wrong. He's from Ontario. But the story doesn't end there. His mother is Finnish. His father is from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. And he represents Jamaica internationally. Got it?
Selected in the 5th round of the 2020 entry draft 18 picks after Antonio Stranges, Phillips rose quickly through the Hawks' system to become an injury fill-in option. Doubtless he's also benefited from Chicago's polar-opposite strategy of throwing prospects in the NHL and seeing what happens. HFHawks voted him the organization's 12th best prospect over the summer.
With Seth Jones out, Phillips has risen quickly in terms of responsibility and he doesn't lack for confidence:
“I think I’m proving myself every game,” Phillips said Friday. “I can’t control what they think or what anyone else thinks, but I can control how I feel and how I believe. And I think I’ve been solid and I can continue to get better.”
source
Lately he's regularly been logging over 20 minutes of ice time each outing! And been getting caved in, but let's not focus on that. Hey, it's Celebrini time after all. We've got another dynasty to build here folks.
This has been, "Who Is That Player?"
