Good morning and happy Sunday, Blackhawks fans! Connor Bedard and other members of the 2023 draft class are in town and met with the media yesterday. Head coach Luke Richardson also spoke with the media, and took a moment to not only acknowledge general manager Kyle Davidson’s birthday, but also showed off his sense of humor yesterday. You, too, can buy a Kyle from Chicago shirt from .
The headliner in Chicago this week is obviously Bedard. Ben Pope at the wrote a terrific column on Bedard being ready for the ridiculous hype train that’s going to gather only more momentum as he officially, finally, makes the jump to the National Hockey League this season. He’s been arguably the most anticipated prospect in the history of the NHL draft, and everyone knows he’s must-see TV (Pope notes ESPN and TNT have picked up the Blackhawks’ first two games of the new season). Between the television cameras following, ticket and — now — jersey sales skyrocketing and the big market of Chicago buying in, Bedard has a test in front of him.
It’s worth noting he’s been the face of his age level for Canada for a half decade and hasn’t blinked. He’s been expected to be great and has been. That’s what makes this so much fun… he’s a humble superstar and he’s a Blackhawk.
Roman Kantserov was at the draft, and was initially listed on the Blackhawks’ development camp roster. But he isn’t one of the prospects in Chicago because of his commitment in Russia. With the players not working out on the ice this week, we won’t get a first look at anyone so we aren’t missing much visually here.
The winner of Saturday — with respect to Connor Bedard — was the man so nice they named him twice: Marcel Marcel. He’s a big human being, but it was his sense of humor that won the day. He shared with the media that he was at home watching the draft and was alerted to the Blackhawks selecting him when… he came out of the little boys’ room.
Scott Powers on Saturday that the Blackhawks view newly signed forward Ryan Donato as a possible top-six right wing when the season starts. With that in mind, Powers and Mark Lazerus took a run at to begin the new year. Here’s what they have:
Taylor Hall — Connor Bedard — Tyler Johnson
Lukas Reichel — Andreas Athanasiou — Ryan Donato
Philipp Kurashev — Jason Dickinson — Taylor Raddysh
Nick Foligno — Colin Blackwell — Corey Perry
Extras: MacKenzi♏e Entwistle, Cole Guttman, Reese Johnson, Boris 🐻Katchouk
There are a few differences between their projected lines and what I put out there before free agency opened; I didn’t have Donato on the roster, and noted that Kurashev still needs to sign a contract.
I am very interested to see what the Blackhawks settle on at the center position. AA as the second-line center was an option when he re-signed; the Blackhawks really like what they saw from him on a line with Reichel last year. I’m still not sold on Tyler Johnson being a top-six guy, however. I like the idea of a Hall-Bedard-Donato line with Raddysh on the line with Reichel and Athanasiou.
I’m also very much on board with finding a new home for Blackwell; let Guttman center the fourth line. I think a line of Foligno-Guttman-Perry could be greasy and a lot of fun to watch. I also think that line might combine for 40-45 goals this season, which would be a huge value.
You can check out what Powers and Laz have to say about the individual players, their projected defensive group, and thoughts on the roster overall here:
Bedard and other prospects are supposed to be at Wrigley Field for the first pitch and Seventh Inning Stretch duties on Sunday. Please note the game time has been adjusted because of the weather (which sucks).
Finally, let’s stay on the prospects we’re loving right now course with some impressive work from PCA.
