The Blackhawks scrimmaged on Monday morning, splitting their practice into two periods. The opening faceoff was, appropriately, Connor Bedard against Lukas Reichel (Bedard won it). The final score: 3-2 in favor of Team Bedard with both Bedard and Reichel scoring twice (see below) and MacKenzie Entwistle adding the first for his side.
A few takeaways from the scrimmage that aren’t necessarily related to the goal scoring:
The Hall-Bedard-Donato and Athanasiou-Reichel-Kurashev lines both looked really good. Like, actual NHL top-six good.
Speed is the hallmark of the AA-Reichel-Kurashev line and that showed well, but I was happy to see Reichel being more selfish with the puck. His two goals were both pretty (see one of them below) and he will do a lot of damage this season if he shoots more often. He did that this morning.
Kevin Korchinski had a couple learning moments and spent some time on the ice with the coaches after the scrimmage ended talking about taking away angles and controlling space better. He’s going to have a learning curve against NHL players. How quickly/well he applies what he learns in these situations will go a long way in determining his staying power in the league for this season.
Wyatt Kaiser looked like a comfortable veteran with Seth Jones. Even when they were split up for a few shifts and Kaiser was with a similarly inexperienced player, he was noticeably loud communicating and did a nice job of controlling the play.
I thought Ethan Del Mastro had a nice scrimmage. There were a few times that he moved the puck effectively and skated with it. In a scrimmage against teammates in which he wasn’t supposed to truck anyone, he was physical enough to make his presence known.
Alex Vlasic‘s skating was really good, as was his puck control in traffic. For a guy his size he really did a nice job. Thus far he’s been paired with Nikita Zaitsev. I wouldn’t mind him getting some run with Nolan Allan at some point during the preseason.
In the battle for the extra roster spot (if one is still there), Entwistle stood out. He had some jump and was ready to shoot whenever he got the puck. His goal was pretty. I’m not sure Boris Katchouk is long for North America because he didn’t have a great scrimmage and his camp hasn’t been what you might expect from a guy trying to win a roster spot.
Ryder Rolston can fly.
Gavin Hayes‘ shot is legit, and his skating looked a lot better in NHL “action.”
Paul Ludwinski showed good speed and hands as well, which is great. He didn’t get to be part of some of these situations early in camp last year because of the concussion he suffered during the prospect showcase.
Highlights