News Blackhawks Team Notes

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks 4, Blues 2 — Preseason Takeaways

Spencer Knight got the start between the pipes for the Blackhawks in St. Louis on Saturday evening. The Blackhawks fielded more NHL players for the second game of their preseason than they did in the first in Detroit on Tuesday night. The Blues also had a nice list of NHL players on the ice.

The Blackhawks looked tired in their first preseason game in Detroit. They also looked young and, at times, like they were thinking too much. With more NHL players in this lineup, the hope was to see better play. At the end of the day, it was the young Blackhawks who made the big impacts in the third period.

First Period: 1-0 St. Louis​

• Oliver Moore absolutely exploded up the ice on his first shift, flying past a defender to get to a loose puck and getting a shot on net. That speed will play on any line the Blackhawks put out there.

• The Blackhawks were out-shot 14-5 in the first period (19-9 in shot attempts). Breakouts were still a hot mess. Whatever they’re working on needs more practice at full speed. I’ll hit a hard pause button here and remind all of us that this was the fourth period of the preseason and the first for a lot of the guys on the ice tonight. And a lot of the more offensive guys on the roster weren’t dressed tonight. But they need to find some flow to generate offense at some point.

• Ethan Del Mastro skated a team-high 8:15 in the first period — 94 seconds more than the second-highest total on the Blackhawks (6:41 for Kevin Korchinski and Connor Murphy). He was tied for the team lead with Colton Dach with two hits. I thought he had a strong period.

• Roughly six minutes into the first period it appeared Dalibor Dvorsky rifled a shot between the legs of Louis Crevier that beat Knight for the game’s first goal. Knight would probably want that one back.

• Lukas Reichel skated 5:37 (seven shifts) in the first period. I didn’t hear his name called or see him on the ice. He got the start in the top six again tonight.

• Nick Lardis wasn’t noticeable in the first period of his first preseason game.

• Ryan Greene won 7 of 9 faceoffs in the first.

Second Period: 2-0 St. Louis​

• Everybody lost Brayden Schenn only 52 seconds into the second period and the Blues doubled their lead. A nice pass from Jake Neighbours set up him but he was all alone. Somebody has to either communicate or check a forward like Schenn who’s skating all by himself there. Knight had no chance.

• Gavin Hayes had a a really good second period. He got to the blue paint and mixed it up with a few Blues on one shift and then stood up Cam Fowler in the neutral zone and forced a turnover a couple minutes later. He’s going to need to be a grinder in a bottom-six role at the next level and those were a couple good moments from him.

• Knight didn’t have much of a chance on the second goal of the game, but he made some really impressive saves later in the period to keep the lead at two.

Spencer Knight's been pretty good early — though the team in front of him has been struggling. He stretches for a nice save here: pic.twitter.com/SmdGmRLlkg

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) September 28, 2025

• Korchinski made a few nice, long outlets passes in the second period. He also skated fairly well with the puck. At least he appeared to be more comfortable with what the coaches were asking of him tonight. He did a nice job on the second powerplay in the period.

• The Blues almost scored a third goal about 11 minutes into the second period because a trailing forward was left all alone again. That’s going to have to be something they address between now and Oct. 7 because it’s been a problem in both preseason games.

• Dach dropped the gloves with Logan Mailloux. Decent scrap.

Colton Dach drops the gloves with Logan Mailloux pic.twitter.com/6VMz2cTBLo

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) September 28, 2025

• I liked Del Mastro’s game again in the second period. He carried the puck into the offensive zone a couple times, he stayed physical and continued to move the puck well. He had a big blocked shot early on the Blackhawks’ first penalty kill. Was he perfect? No. But he was solid and once again skating big minutes (14:38 thru two periods to lead Blackhawks defensemen). Del Mastro was credited with two blocked shots in the second period.

• The Blackhawks got two power plays in the second period. The first was meh. The second was better, especially from the second unit. The third, which started inside the final two minutes of the period, was easily their best. Lardis and Lukas Reichel were good with the puck, there were good, quick passes and shots on net — unfortunately, nothing that cut the Blues’ lead in half.

• Greene won 9 of 15 faceoffs thru two periods, and Moore led the team with three shots on goal (tied with Martin Misiak).

• After appearing to get slower as the game went on in the first preseason game, the Blackhawks looked stronger/faster as this game progressed. They had the same number of shots on net as the Blues in the second period (11), had a 19-17 shot attempt advantage and were able to control the flow over the second half of the second period; of course, two power plays helps.

Third Period: 4-2 Blackhawks​

• Sam Lafferty created a potential scoring chance while the Blackhawks were short-handed early in the third period. His shot was off Jordan Binnington and wide but he’s going to help that unit a lot.

• It appeared the strong power play late in the second period gave some energy to both Reichel and Lardis. They had a couple good shifts at even strength early in the third.

• Dominic Toninato got the Blackhawks on the board 11 minutes into the third period (assists to Lafferty and Murphy).

Toninato's shot finds its way through to get the Blackhawks on the board in the 3rd pic.twitter.com/sbyrmCOBFM

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) September 28, 2025

• Toninato added a second point to his ledger 27 seconds later, setting up Hayes for the game-tying goal!

Oh my, the Blackhawks have tied the game as Toninato finds Gavin Hayes in front off a strong forecheck pic.twitter.com/kInKdHEQup

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) September 28, 2025

• With three minutes left in regulation, Dach lowered the boom on a Blues skater trying to cross the neutral zone. The Blues decided collectively to try to jump Dach even though it was a clean hit, and Moore took the puck the other way and gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead. Huge hit, good finish. Two young guys making good things happen. Love to see it.

Oliver Moore has apparently given the Blackhawks the lead on one of the stranger sequences you'll see: pic.twitter.com/yP7t99u5vn

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) September 28, 2025

• Jason Dickinson finished the night with an empty net goal. That’s four unanswered goals in the final ten minutes of regulation. After the Blackhawks appeared to run out of gas in Detroit, they slowly took this game over and controlled the third period.

• Knight was really good tonight. The first 35 minutes had some sloppy moments and he made a few big saves.

• Dach was the big story for me tonight. The fight, the big hit in the neutral zone. He played physical again — and, this time, it was against more NHL players. If there are 3-4 guys fighting for a couple spots on the Blackhawks’ NHL roster to start the regular season, thru two games Dach has done what he’s needed to earn one of them.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blackhawks/2025/09/27/blackhawks-4-blues-2-preseason-takeaways/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Dach’s Strong Night, IceHogs Camp, Commesso’s Future, Frondell’s First, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Let’s get our Blackhawks Sunday rolling with a few thoughts about last night’s 4-2 win in St. Louis — before the Hawks are back on the ice tonight in Minnesota.

Colton Dach did exactly what you want/need to see from him to show he’s ready to be in the lineup in Florida on Oct. 7. The Blackhawks’ energy picked up after his fight, and his huge (clean) hit in the neutral zone late in the third period turned into the game-winning goal (from Oliver Moore). He’s had a good camp and is showing he’s ready. Another few check marks in the right columns for Dach.

As the game progressed, I thought Lukas Reichel and Nick Lardis were showing better chemistry and speed on the ice. Gavin Hayes had a really good night as well. And I liked what I saw from both Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro. Del Mastro skated a team-leading 23:25 in the game.

The #Blackhawks scoring four goals in the third period in St Louis was a direct result of the Cardinals intentionally walking Michael Busch this afternoon when he wanted a chance for the cycle

That’s how these things work, right @BleacherNation ? pic.twitter.com/pi1h6huj1y

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) September 28, 2025

• A reminder for your viewing questions/concerns this evening:

A weekend full of #Blackhawks hockey

Stream ALL #Blackhawks preseason games at NO CHARGE with login on CHSN

Just sign up with your email. No subscription required!

Watch tonight vs. the Blues: https://t.co/NJoiKPn1gl
Watch tomorrow vs. the Wild: https://t.co/TmucJXqNRW pic.twitter.com/5pOQCGt75g

— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) September 27, 2025

• Ben Pope wrote a couple solid pieces late this week at the Chicago Sun-Times and I thought I’d share them both on Sunday. The first was about how Alex Vlasic spent time this summer learning to take better care of his body so he has gas left in the tank late in an 82-game regular season.

• The second good story from Ben was on Drew Commesso, whose trajectory to top of the goaltending depth chart in Chicago took a hard left turn last year — and not because of anything he did personally. Just 12 months ago, his path to the crease in the NHL felt pretty easy: Petr Mrazek’s contract runs it’s course and he fights an underwhelming Arvid Söderblom for the starting job. Fast forward one year and Spencer Knight is now the starter, Söderblom figured it out and established himself as a trustworthy NHL goaltender, and Commesso is now in a very different spot despite having a good year with Rockford and getting his first taste of NHL action. Solid read here from Ben as well.

Drew Commesso: "I feel like I’m NHL-ready."

There's just one problem: the Blackhawks don't have a goalie roster spot for him right now.

What's his mindset? What's Blashill's message to him? New story: https://t.co/BD8j3rztH0

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) September 26, 2025

• Mark Lazerus at The Athletic wrote a nice piece on Connor Murphy, the longest-tenured Blackhawks player (by a decent margin at this point).

Connor Murphy, by far the longest-tenured Blackhawk, desperately wants to get his team back in the playoffs.

Not for him. For 𝒚𝒐𝒖.

My column on perhaps the easiest guy to root for in all of Chicago sports:https://t.co/4gm6SDBbSh

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) September 27, 2025

• The Rockford IceHogs announced their training camp schedule and initial roster on Saturday afternoon. And the first practice of the 2025-26 season will take place at 11 AM today! The initial roster is lengthy, and seven skaters were added to it when the Blackhawks sent those guys to join the IceHogs to start camp after practices on Saturday in Chicago.

Almost training camp time!!

See schedule and initial roster: https://t.co/W9CIETCHy5 pic.twitter.com/qhCgTZH7Gj

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) September 27, 2025

• Blackhawks prospect Anton Frondell scored his first goal in the SHL on Saturday!

First SHL goal for #Blackhawks prospect Anton Frondell

pic.twitter.com/czHF6veQ44

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) September 27, 2025

• Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov scored a goal in his KHL game on Saturday (morning, our time).

How about a Saturday morning (our time) from #Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov

pic.twitter.com/nAidhoUSmq

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) September 27, 2025

• Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham scored for the Kitchener Rangers again last night.

Saturday night from #Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham for @OHLRangers

That’s goals two nights in a row for Pridham

pic.twitter.com/Xc5sEpcVud

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) September 28, 2025

• Marek Vanacker scored his first of the season for Brantford last night. It was the Bulldogs’ fifth of the night in what ended up being a 7-2 blowout.

Saturday night from #Blackhawks prospect Marek Vanacker for @BulldogsOHL

pic.twitter.com/OxQUNPcB3j

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) September 28, 2025

• During the second intermission last night the Blues announced a three-year extension for defenseman Cam Fowler. The deal has a $6.1M AAV.

• I’m not sure it has anything to do with the stupid “6-7” trend, but the Ducks finally got a deal done with forward Mason McTavish. The team got the somewhat shorter term they wanted (six year), and the player got the AAV he wants ($7M). Now, about Luke Hughes in Jersey…

MAC-T IS SIGNED!

It's a 6-year deal for Mason McTavish.

Details https://t.co/SfDNTm1A8v

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) September 27, 2025

• The Buffalo Sabres announced an extension on their current lease with Erie County at the KeyBank Center through September 2031.

• Marc-André Fleury is still in camp with the Penguins, and they dropped two minutes of him with a hot mic during practice. It’s as amazing as you would expect from an all-time beauty. So good!

Volume for Flower. pic.twitter.com/sfIaTNkO1f

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) September 27, 2025

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• The Cubs had to put Cade Horton in the IL

• No Colston Loveland for the Bears today?

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...frondells-first-and-other-blackhawks-bullets/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks 4, Wild 1 — Preseason Takeaways

After skating lineups that were mostly prospects in their first two preseason games, the Blackhawks sent a group that was largely NHL players to Minnesota on Sunday afternoon. The hope — expectation — was that a lot of the game would look cleaner with players who will be playing in Florida making up the majority of the lineup.

This game felt a lot like a regular season battle with Minnesota. The Blackhawks’ speed was evident all over the ice. The young defense played well. And one of the young Blackhawks stars started his first full NHL season with a bang (three times).

First Period: 1-0 Blackhawks​

• Drew Commesso got the start and didn’t have to do much early on. He didn’t face a shot for the first ten full minutes.

• Almost eight minutes into the first period, Frank Nazar set up Wyatt Kaiser all alone on the doorstep for a glorious opportunity that, unfortunately, handcuffed Kaiser. It was a pretty backhand pass from Nazar. The Blackhawks got the game’s first power play moments later.

• The first Blackhawks power play unit came on mid-way thru the advantage and made it happen. Tyler Bertuzzi made a great play to keep the puck in the zone and found Teuvo Teräväinen, who made a gorgeous pass to Nazar on the backdoor for an easy goal. And, yes, that’s a 6-7 goal celebration from 91.

Teuvo Teravainen finds Frank Nazar backdoor to open the scoring on the power play. Peep the Nazar celly too pic.twitter.com/D9sKAg5rAF

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) September 28, 2025

• Nolan Allan came out hitting hard! He had a couple big hits in the first period.

• We got our first look at a top line of Ryan Donato, Connor Bedard and André Burakovsky and I thought they were good — and dangerous. They had a few terrific scoring chances, including one shot from Donato that hit the post so hard it bounced all the way back to him by the faceoff dot. He caught it and continued the play.

• Ryan Greene stayed hot at the dot. He won both of his draws in the first period after winning 13 of 22 on Saturday night.

• Artyom Levshunov led all Blackhawks with 8:18 of ice time in the first. He had a good period.

• If you’re one of those fans who’s wanted to see a stronger start, the more veteran lineup did that. Commesso faced only six shots in the first period and stopped them all. The Blackhawks were 1-1 on the power play and the penalty kill. The Blackhawks had an 18-8 shot attempt advantage. A strong opening 20 minutes.

Second Period: 2-1 Blackhawks​

• Nazar took a nice pass from Bertuzzi at full speed and unloaded a shot that found the back of the net for an even strength goal 80 seconds into the middle period.

Frank Nazar again! 2-0 Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/nV80zW4iVe

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) September 28, 2025

• Allan kept hitting people. I like it.

• In the middle of the period, a sky-high clear bounced a few times, found Tyler Pitlick and he set up Hunter Haight for a quick tap-in goal to cut the lead in half.

• I thought both Levshunov and Kevin Korchinski were solid in the second period. Levshunov (14:49) and Kaiser (14:40) were the Blackhawks’ ice time leaders after 40 minutes. Korchinski was only at 9:57 but he was skating well and made some good outlet passes. Allan had a team-high five hits on the pair with Korchinski. The young blue line looked good; the Blackhawks allowed 13 shots thru two periods.

Third Period: 4-1 Blackhawks​

• The Blackhawks spent most of the first seven minutes of the third period stuck in their own defensive zone. Their issues were amplified by Alex Vlasic leaving the bench; he skated one shift early in the third and went to the room. Vlasic appeared to tap his leg on the way to the bench.

• In any one-goal game, the next one is huge. The Blackhawks sent Bedard’s line over the boards after the TV timeout at the 13-minute mark and they created that next goal. Donato with the finish off a pretty backhand dish from Bedard. Kaiser with the second assist.

Connor Bedard with a spinning backhand pass to Ryan Donato who scores to extend the lead! pic.twitter.com/mahk45IpUo

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) September 29, 2025

• In the second half of the third period, the Wild turned up their physical play. That should have been expected; Minnesota always hits, and they were chasing two goals at home.

• Kaiser saved a goal with Commesso scrambling on a late penalty kill. Incredibly smart play by Kaiser and Rinzel to keep the puck out of the net in a big spot. The puck hit Rinzel’s skate and then Kaiser swatted it away.

• Just inside the final minute of regulation, Nazar finished his hat trick into the empty net.

Frank Nazar with an empty netter for the HAT TRICK pic.twitter.com/3zY938bABa

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) September 29, 2025

• Kaiser was magnificent — especially with Vlasic out of the lineup in the third period. He skated a heavy workload (more than half of the third period) and was terrific. Kaiser finished skating 25:30 and had assists on the final two goals of the game. Helluva night for Kaiser.

• I once again really liked Ryan Greene‘s game. He isn’t flashy, but he’s always in the right spot and he’s smart with the puck.

• Commesso was really good tonight. He was pressured a lot late; he faced 16 shots in a third period without Vlasic available and didn’t allow any of them to go in.

• We didn’t see as much of the physically aggressive versions of Samuel Savoie and AJ Spellacy that I expected. Spellacy was a missile last year in the preseason; Savoie has been a constant attacker in his pro career. Spellacy is coming off a shoulder issue he picked up during the prospect showcase, so I understand if he wasn’t looking to initiate as much. I would have liked to see more from Savoie tonight.

NHL GameScore Impact Card for Chicago Blackhawks on 2025-09-28: pic.twitter.com/nKk5du5AW6

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) September 29, 2025

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blackhawks/2025/09/28/blackhawks-4-wild-1-preseason-takeaways/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks Remaining Forward Roster Battle Breakdown

With the Blackhawks sending seven more skaters out on Monday morning, the roster battles are becoming more real in the final week of training camp. Chicago now has 17 forwards in camp, with 12 spots obviously available to play when the regular season begins in Florida next Tuesday afternoon.

I will note that the 17 forwards that are still on the Blackhawks’ roster include Dominic Toninato, who was on waivers Sunday for purposes of sending him to Rockford. That also includes an injured Joey Anderson as well. So the real number is 15. Assuming the Blackhawks keep 13 forwards, that means two guys have to go to Rockford to start the season.

There are four players who are fighting for those two remaining roster spots: Colton Dach, Lukas Reichel, Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene. So let’s break down their performances thus far in the preseason.

Before we get into the breakdown, a couple notes. First, I am not including Landon Slaggert here because he hasn’t played in a preseason game yet, and Blashill has said he would like to see Slaggert on his third line with Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev to start the season. Obviously, that’s dependent on him being healthy for the start of the regular season.

Secondly, the analytics I’m using for the comparisons are at 5-on-5 from Natural Stat Trick.

Let’s dig into some numbers from the four guys who are still with the Blackhawks who are battling for ice time.

[IMG width="746px" alt="Colton Dach
Chicago Blackhawks"]https://www.bleachernation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Colton-Dach_USATSI_25685170.jpg[/IMG]
Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Colton Dach​

• Preseason Games Played: 2
• Expected Goals For (xGF): 0.88
• xGF Percentage: 41.71
• Scoring Chances For Percentage: 53.33
• High Danger Chances: 5
• Corsi For Percentage: 43.24
• Shots For Percentage: 42.31
• Goals For/Against: 1 / 2

The Blackhawks have plenty of speed coming in the waves of prospects on their way to the NHL. What they need are guys who can score and more size up front. Dach brings something the other three we’re discussing here do not: a physical edge.

The numbers that stick out most to me are Dach ranks second on the team in xGF and high danger chances in the preseason behind only Connor Bedard. Dach had six hits in both of his preseason appearances thus far, including a big one in open ice that led to the game-winning goal in St. Louis. He also dropped the gloves against the Blues.

Lukas Reichel​

• Preseason Games Played: 2
• Expected Goals For (xGF): 0.82
• xGF Percentage: 50.92
• Scoring Chances For Percentage: 66.67
• High Danger Chances: 3
• Corsi For Percentage: 50.00
• Shots For Percentage: 47.37
• Goals For/Against: 0 / 1

Reichel can fly, we knew that coming into camp. The task for him was to prove that he can establish himself as a top-six capable player. His job in doing that has become tougher with the Blackhawks adding André Burakovsky this summer and putting him with Bedard and Ryan Donato on the top line. Reichel isn’t physical enough to win a spot on the third line (which, again, appears to be Slaggert-Dickinson-Mikheyev), which brings us back to how he can elevate a fourth line.

Reichel has had an okay preseason. He’s needed to do more than that to prove he’s worthy of a spot in the lineup over Dach, especially against a team like Florida in the regular season opener. The fact that the Blackhawks have scored a goal at even strength while the other three have been on the ice but haven’t with Reichel skating is the elephant in the room: finishing needs to happen for him to separate himself. The underlying numbers like his preseason, however.

Oliver Moore​

• Preseason Games Played: 3
• Expected Goals For (xGF): 0.71
• xGF Percentage: 31.32
• Scoring Chances For Percentage: 30.43
• High Danger Chances: 3
• Corsi For Percentage: 28.57
• Shots For Percentage: 31.03
• Goals For/Against: 2 / 1

Moore scored one of the most awkward goals you’ll ever see in the win in St. Louis. His speed is elite. The question has been whether or not he can finish enough to warrant a top-six role, or if he becomes a fast checking line forward to start his career. The goal in the preseason coupled with the goal he scored at the Prospect Showcase are good signs that he’s can score.

A difference between Reichel and Moore: Moore has been used in a checking-line role by both Minnesota and USA Hockey previously; he’s been successful in those roles. His ability to slide up and down the lineup makes him potentially more versatile than Reichel with the same speed element that makes him dangerous. And, again, he’s scored twice since arriving in Chicago.

Ryan Greene​

• Preseason Games Played: 3
• Expected Goals For (xGF): 0.72
• xGF Percentage: 30.47
• Scoring Chances For Percentage: 20.83
• High Danger Chances: 3
• Corsi For Percentage: 31.03
• Shots For Percentage: 29.03
• Goals For/Against: 1 / 1

After appearing in only two NHL games at the conclusion of last year, Greene came into camp as a mature player after spending three years at Boston University — but needing experience at the pro levels. He profiles as a checking-line center and has been used in that role in his three preseason appearances thus far. We should keep that in mind when considering his numbers above.

What’s been most impressive about his game is Greene has won 23 of 44 faceoffs (52.3 percent) in his three games. As is the case with most of the players coming up, there’s speed there. Greene has decent size as well.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...ks-remaining-forward-roster-battle-breakdown/