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The Blackhawks are back at it tonight, this time taking on the Minnesota Wild in Minnesota. They look to keep the ball rolling, coming off a 2-1 overtime victory Thursday night. Tonight's team is going to be a prospect, and the Ice Hogs heavy line-up, as exciting and fun as it was on Thursday, will be rough.
Projected Line Up:
#Blackhawks projected preseason lineup on Saturday vs. Minnesota: T. Johnson-Guttman-Raddysh Savoie-Ludwinski-Dach Katchouk-Entwistle-Anderson Bjork-Seney-R. Johnson
Korchinski-Zaitsev Phillips-Allan Del Mastro-Crevier
While we aren’t getting a line-up close to what we are going to get on opening night, there are a few players worth keeping an eye on, in my opinion. Guttman playing the 1C role tonight will be interesting to watch. He was pretty impressive in his small sample size with the Hawks last season before being shut down due to injury. I really liked the spark plug energy he brings to the line-up, showing shades of Andrew Shaw. Another player to keep an eye out for who plays in a similar style is Samuel Savoie. He made a bit of a mark for himself last preseason. The 19-year-old was almost a point per game last season in the QMJHL, with the Olympiques putting up 59 points in 60 games.
On the back end, we are getting the first look at Del Mastro and Phillips, both young pieces looking to put themselves in a spot to get the call this season when someone ultimately gets injured. I have been very high on Del Mastro and what he can offer this team. With his big frame coming in at 6'4' and 200 pounds, he had an impressive season last year, putting up 59 points in 52 games with the Steelheads and Sting. He also impressed at the World Juniors and put up another 10 points in 16 playoff games. At 20 years old, he will start the season in the AHL to continue his development, and when the time comes, it will be a great piece on the future of this D-Core.
Projected Powerplay Units:
#Blackhawks projected power-play units for Saturday's preseason game:
PP1: Savoie (net front), Raddysh, T. Johnson (bumper), Guttman, Korchinski
PP2: Entwistle, Katchouk, Seney (bumper), Dach (net front), Del Mastro
Now I know I said in the last blog that we have to take Bedard's first preseason game with a grain of salt, but man, was I impressed with the kid and what he showed us. You can just tell that this is a player that is going to make his mark on this league, from his hockeyIQ, hands, skating ability, and awareness, especially making that slick pass to Athanasiou for the OT winner. My one concern about this kid is if he’s going to wear himself out and be too hard on himself. Speaking after the game, he talked about how he needs to be better out there, even after picking up two assists. If this is how he is after the team wins, it's going to be interesting to see how he takes it when the team loses. Despite not being in the lineup tonight, he spent almost an hour to himself after practice today just shooting around. The dedication and love he has for this game is amazing to see, and man, I am glad he is part of this franchise.
Connor Bedard is out here shooting pucks by himself nearly an hour after practice ended. The Blackhawks may have to force him to get off the ice this season. pic.twitter.com/Veorupe3HJ
The Hawks made a few roster moves to trim the camp roster. Nick Landis, Martin Misiak, and Alex Pharand have been sent back to their respective junior clubs. They also assigned Jalen Luypen to the Rockford Ice Hogs and released Josh Healey, Ross MacDougall, Josh Maniscalco, and Andrew Perrott from their PTOs and have been assigned to Rockford. This leaves the training camp roster at 46 players (29 forwards, 12 defensemen, and five goaltenders).
Puck Drop is set for 6 p.m. central time, and as far as I can see, there is no local TV coverage. Have a great weekend, everyone.
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