The Blackhawks were finally back in action Wednesday night! And this time, I’m talking about the real Blackhawks, not just a group of prospects the team threw together. Chicago hosted its preseason opener at the United Center, marking an end to a summer that lasted far too long.
With the first look at the Blackhawks also came our first glimpse of Chicago’s newcomers and new-look lineup. After all, there will be a minimum of eight new guys donning red sweaters in a few weeks simply from free agency, plus the potential for more based on looming decisions for guys like Frank Nazar. While there will be plenty of changes before the regular season, a handful of Blackhawks are already standing out in good ways and bad.
Korchinski, Spellacy highlight young skaters
Of course, when we get our first look at the new Blackhawks, all eyes immediately point to their young skaters. Some guys currently on the training camp roster are fighting for permanent roster spots, while others are just trying to accelerate their development tracks. One player in each category stuck out Wednesday night.
Kevin Korchinski didn’t get into the scoring column, but he had himself an excellent night. He was on the ice for more even-strength shots than anyone else on the Blackhawks, and that was no fluke. He took the puck away from the Red Wings multiple times behind his own net and played the body well. For a player who has to prove he belongs at the NHL level to avoid being sent down for further development, he certainly didn’t hurt his chances.
While not having a chance to make the NHL roster this season, AJ Spellacy had himself another terrific performance. Chicago has praised his physicality, but also his solid, albeit raw, offensive skills, and he continued that trend with another hard-hitting game. Spellacy also won seven of his 14 opportunities at the dot, a great mark for a rookie and great news for a franchise who currently lacks depth down the middle.
Same old power play?
I’ll preface this by admitting it’s one game, and it’s a unit that takes time to develop, but the Blackhawks’ power play unit stunk again in frustrating fashion. They didn’t convert on any of their four opportunities and never came particularly close. Sound familiar? One of the main sources of Chicago’s struggles last season was a poor power play – the team converted just 16.6% of its chances. Again, it’s still early, and it’s a mostly changed group from last season. Still, not exactly a result you want to see on their first outing.
Veterans 1, youngsters 0
Chicago’s goal this season will be to effectively mesh its veteran skaters with young talent, which means there will naturally be some competition for roster spots between the two groups. On Wednesday, the veterans clearly won the battle. Newcomer Craig Smith had perhaps the best night of anyone, with a goal, five shots, and great energy on both ends of the ice. Teuvo Teravainen was also a bright spot in his return to the United Center, showing great playmaking abilities and adding a sweet goal.
On the other hand, the tandem of Nazar and Nick Lardis was ripped to shreds by Detroit on both ends of the ice. Neither mustered a shot, but both were on the ice for 11 shots against in the first two periods alone, logging 7-8 minutes of ice time in that span. We’re all excited about the offensive potential with this combo, but there’s clearly lots of work to be done before they can get to that point.
