When the Blackhawks selected Ryan Hartman, Vinnie Hinostroza and Nick Schmaltz in the NHL Draft, their names were announced with the latest program they had played for.

Hartman was drafted out of the Ontario Hockey League, Hinostroza and Schmaltz from the United States Hockey League. Playing in those leagues furthered their development and helped them catch the Blackhawks’ attention.

But there was another program that was even more important to Hartman, Hinostroza and Schmaltz’s development that wasn’t mentioned on their draft days. They all spent their formative years playing for the Chicago Mission AAA Youth Hockey Club.

With Hartman, Hinostroza and Schmaltz all making the Blackhawks’ season-opening NHL roster, the Mission has been beaming with pride.

“It’s kind of surreal,” said Anders Sorensen, who coached all three players at the Mission and now splits his time between the Mission and being a Blackhawks development coach. “You always hope the best for your players and for them to develop and play college and go onto pro. To have the three of them in the Blackhawks’ organization, obviously makes it special. I think if you ever worked in youth sports or anything, the best part is when the players succeed. That’s the biggest reward we can get as coaches, I think. It’s a lot of fun.”

On top of what it means for the program to have three products playing for their hometown NHL team, the players haven’t forgotten where they’ve come from. Their individual games took the next step with the Mission. They won a whole lot more than they lost with the Mission. They developed lifelong friendships with the Mission.

“I just remember how fun it was,” Hinostroza said. “We had a blast every day going to the rink. We had fun practices. We had great coaches. Yeah, we were a really close group. We still keep in touch with pretty much everyone. We got guys playing college, guys playing pro, guys working now. It’s pretty cool to keep in touch with all of them.”

Ryan Hartman, far left, and Vinnie Hinostroza, second to left, were even linemates at times for the Chicago Mission. (Courtesy of the Hinostroza family)

All three players had shown early promise, and their families chose the Mission to guide them through the next phase of their development. Hinostroza and Hartman, who are both from the Chicago suburbs, came up the ranks as teammates on the Mission’s 1994 birth-year team. Schmaltz and his older brother Jordan, a St. Louis Blues prospect, felt so strongly the Mission would enhance their development that they drove two-plus hours from their home in Wisconsin to join the Mission at Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge, Ill. Schmaltz played for the 1996 birth-year team.

The Mission then and still is the program to play for in the Chicago area. Just last season, their boys and girls teams combined to win nine state championships and three national medals. They also produce players. They had 31 players commit to Division I hockey programs last year.

“I don’t know how it happened or if there’s a reason it happens, but I guess people want to win,” Hartman said. “You can watch college football. Teams that win a national championship, all the top recruits want to win a national championship. They all kind of go to that team. You know Alabama, they kind of get all the top end guys that come in.”

Hartman and Hinostroza were teammates on one of those successful Mission teams. They won six state championships coming up together. Their teammates included Tommy Di Pauli, who recently signed an entry-level deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and 10 others currently playing Division I hockey.

“We pretty much dominated throughout growing up,” Hartman said. “We won five or six state championships in a row. There were a few years we only lost four or five games maybe. All around, I think we had that team, we were good and we were all very good friends and all played well together. It was fun. Obviously winning’s fun. It was a special team, for sure.”

Hartman and Hinostroza had known each from their earliest days on the ice. At first, they were opponents and weren’t exactly friendly ones.

“We just used to battle,” Hinostroza said. “We used to play each other in state championships all the time. That was AA before we went to the Mission. We had some battles. I don’t think we liked each other very much. When we went to the Mission, we were pretty good buddies.”

Ryan Hartman scored his first NHL goal on Wednesday. Vinnie Hinostroza and Nick Schmaltz will look to join him in that career accomplishment later this season. (Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports)

Hartman and Hinostroza joined forces on the ice and the football field. There was a stretch where they played football together for the Bloomingdale Bears. Hinostroza was the halfback and Hartman was the fullback.

Hartman remembers Hinostroza in both sports similarly.

“Real hyper, always buzzing around,” Hartman said of Hinostroza. “Especially in football, he’d friggin’ run right past you and then he’d blow you up. He was definitely feisty, same with hockey, too. He was always one of the faster guys. The same time, he laid the body and still played really hard. That’s what I always remember playing with him.”

Hartman had a feistiness about himself, too. Just as the Blackhawks try to get Hartman play on the right side of the line now, the Mission had that same mission back then.

“He thought the game really well back then, too,” Sorensen said. “He was always playing on the edge. He was always on the edge in terms of taking penalties and all that stuff. He was a kid you would have to wheel in a little bit, to hold back a little bit because he would get frustrated. Mentally, he was taking himself out of the game. You could tell he had a lot of potential in his game because he thought the game so well.”

Hinostroza and Hartman flourished with the Mission and then broke off on two different paths. Hartman first went to the United States National Team Development Program and then to the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL. Hinostroza played for the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL and then the University of Notre Dame.

The Blackhawks brought them back together. Hinostroza was drafted in the sixth round in 2012 and Hartman in the first round in 2013. They participated in Blackhawks prospect camps together at first and then were officially teammates again last season with the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Wednesday’s season opener marked the first time they were teammates in the NHL.

“It’s almost second nature now,” Hartman said. “We’ve played together so long. We even played football together on the same team. We have a lot of chemistry. We roomed together all of training camp. There’s definitely a lot of chemistry there. It just kind of makes the transition a lot easier. You got a guy you know really well and you can hang out with all the time. It’s definitely good to have a guy like that.”

Hinostroza has appreciated their friendship, as well.

“It’s amazing,” Hinostroza said. “I think it’s cool for our families to still be coming to the rink and get to see each other. I know they kept in touch throughout these years. We went our separate ways and now we’re back together, so it’s pretty cool. It’s pretty special. You don’t see that a lot. Even being with the same organization, it’s really special.”

Nick Schmaltz was drafted in the first round in 2014. (Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports)

Schmaltz played on his own successful Mission team. His Mission teammates included Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander, Arizona Coyotes forward Christian Dvorak and Blackhawks prospect Roy Radke.

Schmaltz was considered a special player even before he arrived to the Mission. Sorensen remembered coaching against a 11-year-old Schmaltz and the Mission losing 7-5 because Schmaltz scored six goals. While Schmaltz may have been talented, he believes he learned a lot about thinking the game during his time with the Mission.

“Anders at that age, he taught a lot of puck possession, not just throw it away, but to make plays,” Schmaltz said. “I think it helped our creativity and play with the puck. I think that was the biggest thing.”

Even with Schmaltz being two years younger, Hartman and Hinostroza were fully aware of Schmaltz at that time. All the players are familiar each other in the club. But aside from that, Schmaltz would often get on the ice with Hartman and Hinostroza’s team. Because Schmaltz made such a long drive, he was allowed to join other practices.

“A lot of us growing up when we played for the Mission we’d skate with the older teams and try to get better,” Hinostroza said. “I think Nick did that with us for some times because he was a ‘96. We practiced a bit after him, so he could stay out and stuff. We always stayed out with our older guys. It’s kind of what you do at the Mission just get better and learn from older kids.”

Schmaltz went from the Mission to play for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL and then to the University of North Dakota. He was drafted by the Blackhawks in the first round in 2014.

Schmaltz turned pro this summer and made his NHL debut on Wednesday. Like Hartman and Hinostroza, it’s a unique feeling for Schmaltz to be playing with two other Mission products on the Blackhawks.

“It’s crazy,” Schmaltz said. “Three guys in one organization from the same youth hockey team is pretty crazy. It just shows how good of a program the Mission are. They definitely develop your skill level and just work on what you need to work on that age. It was a great choice by my family and I. Just exciting that those guys are here with me, too.”

In a way, Sorensen thought playing for the Mission prepared Hartman, Hinostroza and Schmaltz to someday play for the Blackhawks. What they want from their players isn’t a whole lot different than what they were taught as teenagers.

“The big thing we try to emphasize as a program is kind of how the Blackhawks play with puck possession,” Sorensen said. “We want players to make plays. We don’t want to them to ring the puck along the wall in the D zone. We don’t want them dumping it. We want them to make plays. It’s okay to make mistakes if you’re trying to make creative plays versus throwing it down and hoping we win the game.

“I think that’s an environment we thrive to have and a culture that we have here. I think it’s helped a lot of players. Obviously as an organization, it helps us, too.”

And now it’s helping the Blackhawks, as well.