After another tough loss on Sunday night, the Blackhawks announced a few roster moves on Monday morning.
The good(?) news: goaltender Alex Stalock is healthy enough to rejoin the team. He’s been activated off IR and the Blackhawks sent Arvid Sรยถderblom back to Rockford. Sรยถderblom has been a soldier this season, babysitting the crease while both Stalock and Petr Mrazek have dealt with health issues throughout the first few months of the season. Hopefully he can get some confident wins in Rockford and get his development path heading in the right direction to be an impact goaltender for the Blackhawks in the future.
The interesting news comes on the blue line. Unfortunately, Jarred Tinordi suffered another injury last night. If you watched the game, you saw him leave the ice with blood gushing from his face. After the game, head coach Luke Richardson said it wasn’t the stitches he got previously getting knocked open but a new injury. The Blackhawks announced Tinordi has been placed on IR with a facial fracture.
Coming up to help the depth on the back end is… Isaak Phillips, not Filip Roos or Alec Regula (who have already skated in the NHL this season).
I love the promotion of Phillips. The 21-year-old has been one of the big-time risers in the organization over the past couple seasons and he’s off to a great start this season. He leads Rockford defensemen in goals (3), assists (14) and points (17) in 25 games this year.
Phillips, originally a fifth-round pick (No. 141 overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Blackhawks, appeared in four NHL games last year. And at 6-3 and 205 pounds, he has the size to play a physical game in the NHL while moving the puck well. He could prove to be a nice catalyst for the Blackhawks’ blue line in the short-term.