Based on the guys who skated away from the majority of the team on Friday, we can expect Connor Bedard, Nick Foligno, Corey Perry, Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy to not be in St. Louis tonight. This isn’t a shock; none of them has anything to prove to make the team. It looked like Colton Dach could be back in the lineup tonight, and it looks good for him to go because the Blackhawks only recalled three forwar🦹ds on Saturday morning to com꧋plete the roster.
I mentioned this play when I wrote about being excited for this year’s Blackhawks and Ben got the clip out on the socials (thank you, Ben). THIS is why the coaches love Wyatt Kaiser and THIS is why we should be looking forward to what this young man can do in the NHL this season. If you want to tell me he’s a third-round pick and you can’t bank on third-round picks being top players, I’ll remind you that Duncan Keith (second) and Niklas Hjalmarsson (fourth) weren’t first-rounders back in the day.
The Hockey News published their list of this season, and the Blackhwaks were very well represented — they have eight of the 100 players named. Here’s where Chicago’s college prospects ranked:
16. Oliver Moore, C, Minnesota
17. Frank Nazar, C, Michigan
30. Sam Rinzel, D, Minnesota
48. Ryan Greene, C, Boston U.
68. Taige Harding, D, Providence
72. Aidan Thompson, C, Denver
84. Dominic Basse, G, St. Cloud State
97. Dominic James, C, Minnesota-Duluth
Here’s what they said about Greene: “Two-way center with terrific skating acumen, Greene is a Chicago Blackhawks pick who put up impressive numbers as a freshman.”
Here’s what they said about Harding: “Another monster, Harding is a Chicago Blackhawks pick who uses his size on the blueline and added a ton more offense as a sophomore.”
Here’s what they said about Thompson: “A point-per-gamer as a freshman with the Pioneers, Thompson is an excellent playmaker and a Chicago Blackhawks pick.”
Some injury news from around the NHL that will impact the Blackhawks division, starting in Winnipeg:
Apparently Minnesota lost one of their key defensemen because of a Reese Johnson hit on Thursday night in Chicago:
This didn’t result in an injury but it’s worth noting that Sid is apparently ready, willing and able to drop the gloves. Will he get after it with someone on the Blackhawks on opening night?
Finally, the Bears’ offense hasn’t been great all year but DJ Moore is proving to be worth the hype. Let’s enjoy it!
