The Blackhawks had a different setup for practices on Tuesday morning. While a monsoon came down outside the arena, the first group that took the ice for a lengthy skate was the group the Blackhawks plan to be the game group for Wednesday night’s preseason opener against the Red Wings at the United Center. That wasn’t the only news of the day, so let’s jump into some Tuesday takeaways:
The first thing that got my attention on Tuesday was a welcome sight: Artyom Levshunov. He was on the ice alone with the coaches doing some skating work. It was good to see him on the ice, even if he wasn’t doing many hockey activities. It’s also a good sign that he’s progressing well.
- The second thing that got my attention was the Blackhawks announcing they had assigned forwards Martin Misiak (Erie Otters), Alex Pharand (Sudbury Wolves) and Marek Vanacker (Brantford Bulldogs), along with defenseman Ty Henry (Erie Otters) to their respective junior teams. I am not surprised that Pharand and Vanacker were dismissed; they’ve both been hurt and not practicing with the team. Similarly, Henry is a 2024 draft pick who’s a long way off from being in the mix for an NHL roster spot, so with the depth on defense already he could go back to camp.
- I was, however, incredibly disappointed but not surprised that Misiak was sent back to junior. I noted a few times that he wasn’t impressing me much/at all in camp. There was a thought early in the summer that he would be in Rockford this coming season; he signed his entry-level contract at the end of May despite not having an overwhelming post-draft season. He got some run in the NHL preseason last year and looked okay. Not getting past the first five practice days this year is a tough look for the 2023 second-round pick.
- Now what you came here for: the lineup for Wednesday night’s game vs. Detroit. Here’s how the Blackhawks skated at practice on Tuesday:
Teuvo Terรยคvรยคinen — Connor Bedard — Tyler Bertuzzi
Taylor Hall — Frank Nazar — Nick Lardis
Ryan Donato — AJ Spellacy — Craig Smith
Joey Anderson — Paul Ludwinski — Samuel Savoie
Alec Martinez — Seth Jones
Alex Vlasic — TJ Brodie
Kevin Korchinski — Connor Murphy
🥅 Petr Mrรกzek
Mitchell Weeks
- Here are the two power play units we saw:
Jones-Bedard-Terรยคvรยคinen-Hall (bumper)-Bertuzzi (net front)
Korchinski-Nazar-Lardis-Smith (bumper)-Savoie (net front)
- First, I love Nazar with Hall. Putting a veteran with the experience of Hall on that line is good for the young center. I talked to Nazar, who grew up a Red Wings fan and is excited to play in his fourth game against NHL competition, and he is looking forward to skating with a player with Hall’s resume.
- I also really like Korchinski with Murphy. I’ll be interested to see how they distribute the ice time with this group, because this could easily be the blue line when the season opens for real in a couple weeks. Will it be? We’ve got six preseason games to sort thru the possibilities.
- At some point the Blackhawks are going to send Spellacy back to his junior team, but giving him some run between two established NHL players is fabulous. He’s been the talk of the preseason — starting with the prospect showcase practices — and this is a great opportunity for him. Maybe he’ll get a piece of paper to sign before departing? He’s still a work in progress and is still years away from being NHL ready, but he’s had a terrific few weeks in Chicago.