Good morning and happy Snowmageddon Friday before Christmas, friends. The Blackhawks are supposed to play the Columbus Blue Jackets in their final game before the league-wide three-day break tonight and every indication is that the game will go on as planned. I’m interested to see what the attendance looks like tonight with the weather being awful.
If the Blue Jackets needed bulletin board material for tonight’s game — or if the front office needed an axe to grind permanently — Max Domi supplied it yesterday when he was asked about looking forward to three days off in Chicago. He didn’t gently throw the shade here…
The Blue Jackets will have one of their defensemen back on the ice for the first time in a couple months tonight. It’s Revenge Game season, and Adam Boqvist’s 25-game absence from the Jackets’ lineup will apparently end tonight. We’ll see what he has in store for his former employer.
I think we’ve all become so accustomed to coaches talking in circles that getting an actual, real response from one feels awkward. However, we’re blessed as Blackhawks fans to have a coach who has shown a willingness to answer some questions in surprisingly great detail.
As the Blackhawks’ season has fallen off the rails, Luke Richardson hasn’t limited his answers. Some rookie head coaches might become less open when the team sucks; others might become combative (Torts?). Richardson is coaching through the media as much as he is on the ice, which is both refreshing and educational.
The WHL is writing up nice pieces on the 11 players from their league representing Canada in the upcoming World Junior Championship before the games that count begin on Dec. 26. They recently profiled Blackhawks defenseman Kevin Korchinski.
I really liked what Korchinski had to say in the piece about having the Blackhawks’ top pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, Nolan Allan, join him on the blue line in Seattle:
“Once he was traded here it’s been awesome just getting a really good player and a good guy,” Korchinski said.
“Being [defensive] partners with him this year has been awesome. We’ve been building chemistry and we work well together.”
When they profiled Colton Dach, I was happy to see his confidence was high. “I’m going to go out there and show them I can play a 200-foot game.” He scored a goal in Canada’s second pre-tournament game, but has been projected as their 13th forward by some. A concussion cost him most of the prospect showcase games and training camp, but he looked good in his limited preseason action with the NHL club. Another concussion sidetracked his season with Kelowna, where he’s the captain this year. But he’s back and contributing for Canada.
If you’re looking forward to watching some Rockford IceHogs games in the new calendar year, there will be a new voice calling games. Mike Folta was announced as the new play-by-play broadcaster for the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate on Thursday.
Finally, let’s talk about a young player willing to make a change because he knows it’s what’s best for the team. Love to see this from Nico.
NEWSLETTER
