The Blackhawks played a really good team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, with Caleb Jones skating as a wing last night. And with Patrick Kane leaving the game early with a lower-body issue, it was time for a couple IceHogs to make the drive to Chicago.
On Wednesday morning, the Blackhawks placed forwards MacKenzie Entwistle (right wrist) and Jujhar Khaira (lower back) both on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 27. In their place, the Hawks called-up forwards Lukas Reichel and Brett Seney from the Rockford IceHogs.
I’m at least a little surprised Seney got the call in front of Cole Guttman, who has been playing well. But it’s impossible to argue with what Seney has done at Rockford this season. The 26-year-old forward has 14 goals and 24 assists for a team-leading 38 points in 32 games.
Seney signed a one-year contract with the Blackhawks back in mid-July and has spent the entire season with the IceHogs in the AHL.
Reichel is the higher profile promotion. Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson told the media after Tuesday night’s loss that there could be top-six ice time available with Kane banged up and Tyler Johnson sick, so it could create an opportunity for Reichel to skate with either Max Domi or Jonathan Toews in a more prominent role.
The Blackhawks’ first-round pick (No. 17) in the 2020 NHL Draft has 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points in 32 games with Rockford this season. He got called up once previously this year and appeared in one game for the Blackhawks when Toews was sick. Reichel registered one assist in 11 NHL games with Chicago last season.