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Blackhawks prospect Mikael Hakkarainen developed stronger 2-way game in USHL

Mikael Hakkarainen knows he made an unpopular decision last October by leaving Providence College after just one game to rejoin the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL.

But he stands by it and believes it was the best thing for him.

“It was everything based on hockey and how I can improve my game,” Hakkarainen said Saturday after the Lumberjacks were eliminated from the USHL’s Clark Cup playoffs with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Chicago Steel. “I felt like with the schedule I had at Providence that I really couldn’t develop my game to the level I wanted to.