CHICAGO -- NHL teams were in line waiting for Trevor van Riemsdyk when he became eligible to sign earlier this year.

Alexander Schall, van Riemsdyk’s agent, took numerous phone calls from teams interested in the University of New Hampshire defenseman after his team’s season ended in March. Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman’s sales pitch went above and beyond everyone else's.

"He chose the Blackhawks over I would say multiple NHL offers because of the efforts of both [player recruitment director] Ron Anderson and Stan Bowman, who got personally involved in talking with Trevor about coming to the Blackhawks," Schall said by phone Monday. "He was the only general manager to get personally involved before the very end. He got involved in a deeper level. He sat down with Trevor, and that meant a lot to him.

"In our opinion, every organization has a lot of great players. We decided it made sense to focus on the quality of the organization. We were really impressed with the quality of the Blackhawks."

Bowman was able to convince van Riemsdyk the Blackhawks were a perfect fit for his versatile defenseman's game. Six months later, van Riemsdyk is proving just how good of a fit they are, as he's made it through a few rounds of roster cuts and is one of a handful of prospects still competing to be on the NHL roster.

"I think every camp there is always a surprise or two," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said after practice Monday. "That's definitely one area where we're very pleased. I'm going to say surprised; I've never seen him play before. We like how he's played in the games. He was steady in [training camp at] Notre Dame and had a real good London [Ontario] tournament and played two excellent games against NHL competition. But it's still early in measuring him and seeing where he could go. But we'll look a little bit longer because we like what we saw."

After roster cuts Monday, Van Riemsdyk and Kyle Cumiskey were the only two defensemen on the team's NHL roster who didn't play for the Blackhawks last season. The Blackhawks return seven defensemen from 2013-14.

The Blackhawks do still have to get under the salary cap before the season, so that could open a spot or two for someone like van Riemsdyk. He said Monday he was trying to stay in the moment and not allow his mind to wander to his NHL chances.

"I'm trying not to think too far ahead like that," said van Riemsdyk, who has been texting with his brother, Toronto Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk, throughout the preseason. "I know it's cliché and everything, but just one day at a time. Have a good practice here today, and come back tomorrow and do the same thing and see where it goes from there. Try not to think too far ahead right now and just stay within myself and play my game.

"I tried to not come in with too much expectation. There's a lot of good players in this organization, whether it be up with the Hawks or down in Rockford. I knew it would be a challenging start here, but I just wanted to play my game, show them what I can do and let them make the decision. I try not to worry too much about the stuff I can't control. All I can control is how I'm playing. It's been going pretty good so far. Hopefully, I can keep it up."

One person who isn't surprised the 23-year-old van Riemsdyk is making such an early impact with the Blackhawks is New Hampshire coach Dick Umile. Umile is entering his 25th season at the school and coached both van Riemsdyk brothers.

"To be quite honest with you, you just don't know how valuable he is until he plays for you, how skilled he is, what he does with the puck with any kind of pressure on him," Umile said by phone Monday. "He’s very clever, great composure. He's very, very skilled. He understands the game. He's got a lot of his brother in him even though he's a defenseman and the brother is a forward. They have great awareness on the ice."

Umile's lone regret is not being able to coach van Riemsdyk for all of last season. Van Riemsdyk broke his left ankle in January and sat out the rest of the way. Schall said he wasn't sure if the injury affected van Riemsdyk's NHL stock because a lot of teams were still interested in him.

Van Riemsdyk spent the summer strengthening his ankle and getting his game back into form. He thought participating in the Blackhawks' prospects camp in July and playing for their rookie team in September were helpful to his current success.

Van Riemsdyk has had to take a longer route to the NHL because he went undrafted and didn't catch scouts' eyes until he flourished at New Hampshire. Schall said over the years he's learned not to underestimate van Riemsdyk.

"To an extent, it's surprising [what he's doing with the Blackhawks], but Trevor has been surprising me since he was 14 years old," Schall said. "He was such a physical late developer. Just at every level, 'OK, it looks like Trevor isn't going to continue,' and then he would not only step up, but he would thrive. That's why I say he doesn't surprise me anymore."