Korchinski to Reichel Magic, Söderblom Shined, Regula Impressed, More Big Ten Love, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

No Kane or Toews? No problem! The Blackhawks rolled into Detroit and rocked the Red Wings out of their own barn. Juhjar Khaira and Sam Lafferty had a goal and an assist each to lead the younger version of the Blackhawks’ lineup to a road W.

  • In case you missed it last night, Kevin Korchinski and Lukas Reichel hooked up on a gorgeous goal and you could hear the heart palpitations of Blackhawks fans all over the area. An absolutely beautiful pass from Korchinski and an understatedly impressive handle of a bouncing puck by Reichel before the finish. The future on display in Detroit!
  • It took about 15 seconds for the Detroit broadcast team to rave about Korchinski’s skating. And they didn’t stop the entire night. So it isn’t just Blackhawks blinders that make us think the kid can fly — he has legit jets.
  • Reichel started as the Blackhawks’ top-line center but took only six faceoffs in the game. Of course he won only one of them, so maybe that was a contributing factor to the limited opportunities. He skated 13:57 with just one shot on net.
  • In the second half of back-to-back nights of NHL games, Korchinski skated 18:13. He had the pretty apple on the Reichel goal and blocked one shot but was credited with two giveaways. Again, this kid has all of the speed you desperately want on the blue line but he’s still a work in progress. After two games we can all agree he’s the goods. But let’s try our best to be patient.
  • Arvid Söderblom‘s brother, Elmer, skated for the Red Wings. But it was Arvid who stole the show. With about six minutes left in regulation he robbed Dylan Larkin of a couple Grade A chances, making three stops before the puck could be sent the opposite direction. He got the entire 60 minutes and was terrific, stopping 31 of 33 in the game.
  • I really like a lot of what I saw from Alec Regula in Detroit. Of course the Blackhawks acquired him from the Red Wings in the trade that sent Brendan Perlini to Detroit, and he looked like the opportunity to play in a building in which he grew up (his dad was the Wings’ dentist) had him amped up. He clearly had the green light to skate with the puck and push the offense and he did a nice job of making some things happen. Regula was credited with an assist on Khaira’s power play goal in the second period.
  • In his thoughts after the preseason game, Scott Powers of The Athletic said he, too, liked a lot of what he saw from Regula and thinks he’ll make the team out of training camp to start the regular season. I concur.
  • The Blackhawks like a lot about Regula with his size and how he sees the game and defends. They’ve asked him to make quicker decisions, and that’s something he’s focusing on.

  • Gavin Hayes made his professional debut in Detroit. One of the Blackhawks’ third-round picks this summer (No. 66 overall), he’s headed back to the Flint Firebirds in the OHL (the team announced on Thursday morning). He played pretty well last night. He got a lot of power play time from the coaches (over three minutes) and picked up an assist on the Khaira goal.
  • Luke Richardson liked what he saw in the defensive zone last night. Both Korchinski and Regula do a nice job of skating with the puck and allowing their forwards to get into a better position to receive a pass. Of course being in a zone instead of Jeremy Colliton’s man defense is going to help everything.
  • Before the game on Wednesday I spent about 40 minutes with the guys on the Bardown Hockey Talk show to discuss the Blackhawks thus far this preseason. No cigar this time, but the coffee was in full force after getting home late from the United Center on Tuesday night.
  • Jeremie Biakabutuka, who skated as a free agent defenseman for the Red Wings on Wednesday night, has a last name that’s almost too long for the back of a sweater. But it’s a name familiar to fans of the University of Michigan’s football program. He’s the nephew of Tim Biakabutuka, who was a running back for the Wolverines.
  • Today we’ll probably see some cuts from the Blackhawks. We’ll also be keeping an eye on the waiver wire to see if anyone specifically is headed to Rockford. I’m not sure if anyone the Blackhawks would send down who requires waivers would be on any other team’s radar, but those moves can start at 1 PM CT today.
  • The Big Ten has been highlighting different players from around the conference this week. On Wednesday they shouted out Ohio State forward Jake Wise, who was the nicest pick in the 2018 NHL Draft (No. 69 overall).
  • Wise started his collegiate career at Boston University, where he spent three seasons. He transferred to Ohio State last year and is taking advantage of having a COVID season for a fifth tour of duty with the Buckeyes this season.
  • A lot of people really like Wise’s skillset when he was drafted but it was a struggle for him at BU. He put it together last year at Ohio State so we’ll see how his fifth college season plays out. He’ll turn 23 on the last day of February.
  • The New York Rangers paid tribute to Yankees’ likely AL MVP Aaron Judge when he tied Roger Maris’ American League record with his 61st home run in Toronto last night. And yes, that’s our Anthony Rizzo peaking in from the side. If memory serves, Tony Rizz knew how to throw back a beer better than Judge at that game.
  • Finally, Rizzo got to try something new last night: managing. We like it. Just don’t take the job on the south side of Chicago next year…
  • written by

    Tab Bamford has been writing about the Chicago Blackhawks for almost two decades. He joined Bleacher Nation as the lead Blackhawks writer in May 2022. Tab is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and is the author of two books about the Blackhawks: "100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die" (Triumph Books) and "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter/X/Instagram/Threads at @The1Tab

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