After far too many months of waiting, the offseason is finally over! The Blackhawks will begin their season Tuesday night in Pittsburgh in a game that will feature the long-awaited regular-season debut of Connor Bedard. After a wild (yet seemingly successful) offseason in Chicago, the new-look team will be put to the test in order to find out just how much this team has improved.
One member of the Blackhawks’ staff who isn’t just waiting around for tomorrow night is general manager Kyle Davidson. Final rosters for Opening Night have to be turned in by 4 p.m. CDT today, and he’s still neck-deep in tough decisions.
Joey Anderson Waived
Throughout the preseason, the tightest roster battle was at the bottom of the forward depth chart. Players like Mackenzie Entwistle, Boris Katchouk, Reese Johnson, and Joey Anderson fought for the last few spots in the lineup – a great problem to have for a young, exciting team. As players on waivers were announced Sunday, only one name from the Blackhawks appeared on the list – Joey Anderson. He’ll now head to Rockford, but will likely serve as the team’s top option when they inevitably need to call up a skater later in the year.
Phillips Assigned To Rockford – Korchinski Makes The Cut
In seemingly the final move before this afternoon’s roster deadline, the Blackhawks announced around 10 a.m. that Isaak Phillips had been assigned to Rockford. The team will likely keep seven defensemen, and he appeared to be the eighth option. Meanwhile, Kevin Korchinski finds himself still in camp, so he’s expected to suit up tomorrow on the second line with Connor Murphy. If Korchinski is moved to Seattle at any point this year, which is the expectation, Phillips will likely be the first blueliner called up.
Dach To Start Amid IR Flurry?
Colin Blackwell is a lock to start the season on injured reserve, and it looks like Philipp Kurashev is headed there as well, as he’s still dealing with a wrist injury he suffered early last week. He likely won’t be out for too long, but in the meantime, there’s certainly a chance 20-year-old Colton Dach has earned himself playing time in his place. He had a terrific preseason and is one of just a few skaters left in the room who haven’t been sent back to where they’ll play this year. I like him getting a longer look on one of the team’s top lines, where he’ll hope to contribute or at least keep up. If we don’t hear his name this afternoon, expect him to get some sort of time in the first few games of the season. He didn’t practice this morning because of an ankle injury, but there’s no word on how serious it is. Hopefully, he’ll be able to get back and contribute to a team looking to get off to a hot start.
