News Blackhawks Team Notes

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Knight’s New Mask, Bedard’s Penalty(?), Donato’s Future, Mikheyev’s Value, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Many thought the Blackhawks’ best trade piece heading to the deadline — including Seth Jones — was Ryan Donato. Signed to a two-year deal with a $2M cap hit before last season, Donato is enjoying a career year. We’ve talked about his value to the team a lot here; he’s the definition of an energy guy who consistently leaves it all on the ice every night. For as much as the Blackhawks’ free agent class left to be desired in the summer of 2024, Donato has been a fabulous addition to the room and the team on the ice.

However, the reason Donato was viewed by so many as a valuable trade chip is because he’s headed to unrestricted free agency this summer and turns 29 in April. Pierre LeBrun has reported that there were contract discussions before the deadline, and we heard what appeared to be a reference to the market not offering what the Blackhawks wanted for Donato at the deadline in the most recent edition of the “Every Shift” video series. Now, the question is what exactly is Donato’s future?

It sounds like the Blackhawks would like to keep him around; the players love him. His work ethic is contagious. But, as Mark Lazerus wrote in a great story on Donato, term might be the most important factor to the new dad. Donato made it clear he loves being a Blackhawk, though.

“I’ve loved it in Chicago, my wife loves it in Chicago,” he said. “We have a family here. So it’s definitely something you try to play for. You try to play for stability and certainty in life.”

"I could have been even more stressed than I am now — and I don’t know if that’s possible."

Ryan Donato tried not to worry about the trade deadline. Now he's trying not to worry about his future. But he might finally have stability on the horizon.

Story:https://t.co/QvmUBcKie8

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) March 13, 2025

• Spencer Knight got his new Blackhawks mask in time for the game last night. Love it.

It's Knight time pic.twitter.com/MSvNgDWv4t

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 14, 2025

• I really hope we get a better explanation from someone somewhere where the **** the “abuse of officials” came from Connor Bedard last night. Because, in the first ever battle between Bedard and Macklin Celebrini that should have had plenty of eyeballs on it, the Blackhawks’ top scorer was sent to the box for almost the entire final ten minutes of regulation. And for what?

Seems like a pretty soft 10-minute misconduct penalty by Connor Bedard for "abuse of officials" if this is the full video. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/kz5KskgUQt

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 14, 2025

• Scott Maxwell at Daily Faceoff put the spotlight on some forwards who have been defensively excellent this season but aren’t getting enough attention for their efforts. One of the six he named is Ilya Mikheyev, who the Blackhawks got (with a second-round pick for a fourth-round pick) in a salary dump trade with the Canucks this past summer. He’s got elite speed and has been really good in all situations. Throw in 14 goals entering Thursday night — the most he’s scored in a season since 2021-22 — and that trade looks like a win for the Blackhawks. Here’s part of what Maxwell wrote about Mikheyev:

Mikheyev has always had some defensive presence in the NHL, especially on the penalty kill, but it’d only developed to a stronger level in the past couple of seasons. Last season saw his defense take strides with a career-high 3.7 defensive goals above replacement (GAR) and a -0.149 regularized adjusted plus-minus expected goals against per 60 (RAPM xGA/60), but that’s been even better this season at marks of 7.9 and -0.303.

To make those numbers even more impressive, Mikheyev’s step up has come while going from playing bottom six minutes on a defensively strong 2023-24 Vancouver Canucks squad to a top six role with a lottery-contending Blackhawks team, all while facing competition in the 80th percentile.

Six NHL forwards not getting recognition for their defensive play:

They haven't previously been known for two-way play, but their metrics are excellent this season, writes @scotmaxw.#LetsGoOilers' Podkolzin, #Blackhawks' Mikheyev and morehttps://t.co/HXzqA1UJhz

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) March 13, 2025​

• I will note that Mikheyev scored his 15th goal of the season last night. I will note that 12 of those goals have come at even strength since Dec. 1 — which is as many as (among others): Nikita Kucherov, Auston Matthews, Artemi Panarin, Brayden Point and Bo Horvat.

• There were only two games in the OHL last night, and AJ Spellacy being suspended meant he wasn’t on the ice with Windsor.

• Brantford beat North Bay 2-1. After allowing the game’s first goal, the Blackhawks’ prospects handled the rest. Marek Vanacker scored the game-tying goal and then Nick Lardis scored the game-winner. Here they are. Vanacker had an assist on the Lardis goal as well.

Thursday night from #Blackhawks prospect Marek Vanacker for @BulldogsOHL

pic.twitter.com/RSq64yWA7X

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 14, 2025

Thursday night from #Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis for @BulldogsOHL

pic.twitter.com/ZEFnefmnS2

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 14, 2025

• The accolades for the Blackhawks’ prospects in the NCHC continue to pile up. The conference announced the finalists for their individual awards on Thursday. North Dakota center Sacha Boisvert is a finalist for Rookie of the Year and Minnesota-Duluth center Dominic James is a finalist for Defensive Forward of the Year.

• A reminder: the NCHC and Hockey East playoffs get rolling tonight and thru this weekend. We’ve got the schedules for you.

#Blackhawks College Prospects: Conference Playoffs Fire Up! https://t.co/s7Tadfqreq

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 13, 2025

• On Wednesday night, while Patrick Kane was putting up five points in Buffalo on behalf of the Red Wings, Chris Chelios was in the studio for TNT. He was asked about the whole former Blackhawk playing in Detroit thing, and he was pretty blunt with his comments. Of course he didn’t mind wearing the winged wheel to bring the Stanley Cup home to Chicago while he was there. But I’ve said it a thousand times: the Blackhawks got two first-round picks for a 37-year-old in that trade. It isn’t Chelios’ fault the Blackhawks whiffed with both of those picks. I know him accepting a trade to the one place he said he wouldn’t go will never sit right with many Blackhawks fans, but I moved on a long time ago and I’m glad he’s back in the family.

Chris Chelios CRINGED the first time he saw himself in the mirror wearing a Red Wings sweater pic.twitter.com/vrhLrxNGDc

— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) March 12, 2025​

• Goaltender Dominic Basse, who was drafted by the Blackhawks in the sixth round in 2019, signed a professional contract with the Idaho Steelheads in the ECHL. Basse, 23, played five collegiate seasons for three universities. Idaho is the Dallas Stars’ ECHL affiliate.

MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter

• The Cubs are reportedly talking to a veteran pitcher about joining their rotation.

• The Bears are adding Olamide Zaccheaus to their wide receiver corps.

• Coby White’s downhill mentality is paying off.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blackhawks/2025/03/14/blackhawks-friday-bullets/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Net Future, Knight’s Next Bag, Coaches Too Quiet, Prospect Highlights, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Let’s talk goalies for a moment, shall we? Over the past (how many years since Corey Crawford?) these piece have rarely been kind to the Blackhawks. Hell, most league-wide media really only liked the Blackhawks’ tandem in net when Ray Emery was with Crawford — even when the Blackhawks were winning championships there were Crawford doubters.

On Thursday, Jesse Granger at The Athletic ranked the goalie tandems across the NHL. When the Blackhawks came in at No. 18 in the league, I was interested. When Granger opened his comments with “It feels like Chicago is building something great in the crease,” I was in. He mentions Spencer Knight changing the entire formula, but Arvid Söderblom is having a great season and Drew Commesso is developing in Rockford. “That’s a lot of young talent in net.” Yes, yes it is.

What an incredible desperation stop by Spencer Knight pic.twitter.com/D1E2Wxpjb7

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 8, 2025

• While we’re on the subject of netminders, Ben Pope at the Chicago Sun-Times chatted with Blackhawks goalie coach Jimmy Waite and got some initial impressions on Knight’s game between the pipes. Terrific read here.

“There was a drill [where] he has to make a save and there’s a rebound, and I couldn’t believe how quick he was, getting to the post,” Waite said. “That’s a big part of the game nowadays, how good you are at sealing the post and pushing out. He’s very clean and good at that.

“And he’s a good kid, very intelligent. He wants to know more. If you do something with him, he wants to know why.”

What exactly makes Spencer Knight such an effective goalie?

Blackhawks goalie coach Jimmy Waite analyzes Knight's skills and style in this deep-dive story: https://t.co/bAUFrwDFva

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 13, 2025

• Matt Larkin at Daily Faceoff looked at the teams that might swing big this summer. “The Hawks seem far more likely to weaponize their $31.97 million in projected cap space in a seismic way this summer.” Um… yeah!

Which NHL teams could weaponize their considerable cap space this summer?@MLarkinHockey looks at which teams are positioned to be major players in free agency and/or the trade market, from the #RaiseUp to the #Blackhawks and more:https://t.co/cu1oPSfL7c

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) March 13, 2025​

• Those two topics kick off our Saturday morning well together because the Golden Knights agreed to an extension with their No. 1 goalie, Adin Hill, on Friday morning. He got six years at a $6.25 million AAV. Those terms become more relevant now for the Blackhawks because Knight’s current contract (that carries a $4.5M cap hit) expires after the 2025-26 season. He joins the list of Blackhawks who can sign an extension on July 1.

• Some thoughts from Mark Lazerus after the game in San Jose on Artyom Levhunov were interesting. The Blackhawks coaches and front office have not told the 19-year-old defenseman if he’s up with the NHL club for a brief taste or if he could stick the rest of the season. All they’ve said is that this is an evaluation period.

• I’ll note that Levshunov not playing 9 games or more means his contract slides a year so everyone involved benefits from him going back to Rockford at some point. And, as soon as Sam Rinzel‘s collegiate season is over, he’ll need somewhere to skate on the NHL roster. But this is interesting nonetheless.

Is Artyom Levshunov better suited to the NHL than the AHL? And can he stick around long enough to prove it?

Story from San Jose:https://t.co/QCWjEQ85LI

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) March 14, 2025

• The more I think about the 10-minute penalty called on Connor Bedard on Thursday night, the more furious I get — that none of the Blackhawks’ coaches lost their **** at the officials in his defense. After the game, interim head coach Anders Sorensen was asked how bad the words were and he simply replied “I’ve heard worse.” You’re in a one-goal game and your most dynamic offensive player was just effectively kicked out of the game and you just sit back with your hands in your pockets and watch him skate across the ice to the penalty box? And you’ve “heard worse” things come out of a players’ mouth at an official? C’mon man….

Hey how about some Blackhawks prospect highlights?​

• In the OHL last night, Jack Pridham scored 26th goal of the season for the Kitchener Rangers.

• Nick Lardis was kept off the board somehow (he did have one assist). But Marek Vanacker scored twice in a 5-1 win over Sudbury. He’s now up to 23 goals in 42 games this season.

Friday night for #Blackhawks prospect Marek Vanacker for @BulldogsOHL

pic.twitter.com/JdcqPl1NvD

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 15, 2025

Second on Friday night for #Blackhawks prospect Marek Vanacker for @BulldogsOHL

pic.twitter.com/RdyEiXu6OS

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 15, 2025

• In the college ranks, Providence lost 3-1 last night. Their Hockey East tournament is over, and they’ll now have to wait to see if they get an invite to the NCAA tournament. If their season is over, that would also end the collegiate career of defenseman Taige Harding — who might sign with the Blackhawks before next season. John Mustard will likely return to school for a sophomore season.

• Minnesota-Duluth lost at Arizona State in Game One of their best-of-three NCHC series. Adam Gajan got the start for the Bulldogs and stopped 19 of 23 shots in the game. Dominic James scored this goal.

POP, SHOT, SCORE!! James knots it up!! pic.twitter.com/rZQCXFt1Lm

— UMD Men's Hockey (@UMDMensHockey) March 15, 2025

MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter

• It sounds like Ben Brown has a real shot of making the Cubs rotation for Opening Day.

• Why is Drew Dalman the perfect addition to the Bears’ offensive line?

• You won’t see the Bulls’ championship banners at the United Center again this season. They were damaged earlier this week.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...pect-highlights-and-other-blackhawks-bullets/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks 2, Canucks 6 — Three Stars, Key Takeaways

This was another night where Arvid Söderblom wasn’t nearly as bad as his stat line would lead you to believe. Was he good? Not his best. But the skaters in front of him were putrid.

The first period was coasting along, doing everything it could to put us to sleep — and only took 26 minutes in real time (an amazingly fast period). The two teams skated back and forth for 17 minutes until the Canucks scored twice in 35 seconds to take a two-goal lead to the room despite only putting four shots on net in 20 minutes.

The Canucks extended the lead to three a little more than eight minutes into the second period and I wouldn’t be mad if most Blackhawks fans went ahead and called it a night. The Blackhawks got on the board before the end of the period but were down 3-1 despite out-shooting the Canucks 13-10 thru 20 minutes.

Elias Pettersson pushed the lead back to three at four minutes into the third period. But the Blackhawks kept working and got the lead back to two eventually… after which they just quit. Just stopped. A couple failed clearing attempts and a defensive lapse turned into a fifth goal for the Canucks and Vancouver scored again eight seconds later to make the lead four.

Star 1: Artyom Levshunov​

Levshunov was the best Blackhawks defenseman in the first period and it wasn’t close. He looked really good in 7:51 in the first. Unfortunately, he gave Tyler Myers too much space on Vancouver’s second goal, but that’s a moment he’ll learn from as a 19-year-old. He was on the ice for a seven shot attempts at even strength in the first.

At the end of the second period, Levshunov led all Blackhawks in ice time (14:44 — 61 seconds more than anyone else on the roster) and was one of only three Chicago skaters with two shots on net. He was also credited with a team-leading three blocked shots and was on the ice for a Blackhawks-high 18 team shot attempts for at even strength (according to Natural Stat Trick).

Levshunov picked up his first career NHL point with the primary assist on the Blackhawks’ second goal of the night. He finished the night leading all Blackhawks in ice time (22:25) and tied for the team lead with four blocked shots. A big step forward night for Levshunov.

Star 2: Ryan Donato​

Since Jan. 1, Donato now has 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 29 games — including assists on the Blackhawks first two goals tonight. Here’s the first goal of the night from Alex Vlasic:

#Blackhawks are on the board

Alex Vlasic
Ryan Donato, Teuvo Teravainen

pic.twitter.com/8ILONsiCLt

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 16, 2025

Star 3: Wyatt Kaiser​

Kaiser has been really good in this run in the NHL. He’s been skating so much more confidently, and his entire game is better when he’s doing that well. He scored the Blackhawks’ second goal tonight and was effective the entire night.

Kaiser is such a different player when he's skating like this. pic.twitter.com/imtIXlY98y

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) March 16, 2025

Key Takeaways​

• Frank Nazar won 8 of 11 faceoffs.

• Lukas Reichel was on the ice for 3:16 in the first period. He was the only Blackhawks skater to not have a Chicago shot attempt during his time on ice in the first. Vancouver had a 5-0 Corsi advantage with Reichel on the ice in the first. Reichel skated two shifts (1:47) in the second period.

• I’m still not sold on Louis Crevier as an NHL defender. He was back in the lineup in place of Ethan Del Mastro tonight and the Canucks absolutely feasted on the Hawks while he was on the ice in the first period.

• At the mid-second period TV timeout the Blackhawks moved Connor Bedard to a line with Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson. Go ahead and get your pitchforks and torches… again…

• Bedard got hit with another 10-minute misconduct penalty tonight, this one coming late after Filip Hronek took a couple cheap shots at him after the whistle. He spiked his bucket on his way off the ice in frustration. And that’s understandable. He’s fighting it right now.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...khawks-2-canucks-6-three-stars-key-takeaways/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Updating Blackhawks College Prospects Playoffs, NCAA Tournament Odds

We’ve reached the point in the college hockey season where there are teams sitting at home, nervously waiting for conference tournaments to come to a close and the field for the Road to the Frozen Four to be announced.

The Blackhawks still have some of their prospects playing in their respective conference tournaments. I’ll get to those details in a moment. But the first piece of information that’s significant is how the Blackhawks’ prospects’ teams rank in the PairWise. If they want a shot at the Frozen Four, the team probably needs to be in the top 12 for a shot (likely higher because of automatic bids).

Here is where the NCAA teams with Blackhawks prospects rank in the PairWise on Sunday (March 16) morning:

4. Minnesota
6. Boston University
8. Providence
9. Denver
17. North Dakota
42. Minnesota-Duluth

Here are updates on the conference tournaments:

Big Ten​

• Minnesota was eliminated by Notre Dame in the first round (an upset). However, the Gophers will certainly be in the field for the NCAA tournament. So Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel won’t be able to sign a professional contract until after their season ends.

Hockey East​

• The Hockey East semifinals are on Thursday, and the championship game is on Friday. The games will be played at TD Garden in Boston.

• Ryan Greene and Boston University will play their semifinal game against UConn in the Hockey East tournament at 3 PM CT on Thursday afternoon. BU looks like a lock to make the NCAA tournament.

• Providence was eliminated this weekend. I would think they have a fairly solid shot of being in the NCAA tournament. Freshman forward John Mustard is expected to return for a sophomore season. I’m interested to see if senior defenseman Taige Harding signs with the Blackhawks. I’ve heard really good things about his game (and he’s enormous).

NCHC​

• The NCHC’s Frozen Faceoff will take place March 21-22 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn.

• Minnesota-Duluth was eliminated from the NCHC tournament on Saturday night, which ends their season. Expectations are that the Blackhawks will sign center Dominic James at some point in the near future. Goaltender Adam Gajan will return to the Bulldogs for a sophomore season.

• North Dakota has already advanced to the Frozen Faceoff semifinals with a two-game sweep of Omaha. Which means Sacha Boisvert is still playing. North Dakota likely need to win the NCHC to get into the NCAA tournament.

• The University of Denver plays Colorado College in a win-or-go-home game on Sunday night. The winner advances to the Frozen Faceoff semifinals. Aidan Thompson has been hot for Denver, the defending NCAA champions. They’re on the bubble with their No. 9 ranking in the PairWise.

NCAA Tournament​

How the conference tournaments play out and the final rankings will impact which Blackhawks prospects get a chance to play for a shot at the 2025 Frozen Four. The 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Championship will be held at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

• The NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship bracket will be announced on Sunday, March 23.
• The Regional Semifinals will be played at Penn State, North Dakota, Bowling Green and New Hampshire.

2025 Road to the Frozen Four Schedule

• March 27-30 – Regional Semifinals, Finals (four teams, single elimination)
• April 10 – NCAA Frozen Four Semifinals
• April 12 – NCAA Championship Game

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...lege-prospects-playoffs-ncaa-tournament-odds/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Good Levshunov, Growing Leadership, Where’s Bertuzzi? Prospect Highlights, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

You might remember ten days ago that I wrote a piece about the Blackhawks’ young core leadership beginning to establish itself. There’s a vibe with the young Blackhawks right now. They’re starting to come together and, together, build something off the ice as well as on it.

Where we’re at now — mid-March, 2025 — is precisely what the Blackhawks’ front office was hoping would happen eventually when they walked away from two franchise icons a couple years ago. They wanted the young players who are going to become the core of the next generation to have the space to comfortably come up to the NHL and establish not only themselves in the NHL, but the leadership in the room.

The Blackhawks' next generation is starting to create their own culture together.

"Guys have other guys their age that can get in their ear, and everyone feeds off that. It creates an environment where everyone is able to speak up."

Story: https://t.co/kGwCJ6W0dh

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 15, 2025​

• Do we need to file a missing person report with the NHL? Remember when Tyler Bertuzzi… existed? He scored his 17th goal of the season against Carolina on Jan. 20. In 20 games since, he has seven assists and zero goals — and has been relegated to fourth line minutes. What’s worse, he has only put 25 shots on net in those 20 games.

• Hey, how about some competition for an NHL roster spot? There were some questions when the Blackhawks acquired Spencer Knight how/where Drew Commesso fell into the short-term future plans of the organization. Which makes sense; he’s still in Rockford while Arvid Söderblom is turning heads in the NHL. Commesso has responded to the younger depth chart with probably the best hockey of his professional career. His last 4 games: 4-0-0, 2 shutouts and a .967 save percentage.

• Artyom Levshunov had a really good game last night. He picked up his first career NHL point, he showed a lot of poise with the puck, used his size and reach really well and competed hard. Not many of his teammates came along for the ride, unfortunately.

This sequence was pretty impressive, too: pic.twitter.com/ncecJL6zr3

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 16, 2025

• Levshunov impressed the Canucks’ writers last night as well.

Blackhawks obviously have a ton of distance to travel before they're competitive night-to-night, but legitimately very impressed with Artyom Levshunov.

Reads the game exceptionally, massive and a good enough skater (with enough puck control) to get wherever he wants to go.

— Thomas Drance (@ThomasDrance) March 16, 2025

• Connor Bedard now has two goals in 16 games since the start of February. He picked up a second 10-minute misconduct penalty in as many games, one of three penalties called on him last night. But we can’t fire the coach this time… right?

• It appeared last night that Lukas Reichel had played himself back into the doghouse.

Hey how about some Blackhawks prospect highlights?​

• Dominic James scored the fifth goal of the night for Minnesota-Duluth as the Bulldogs tried to keep their season alive at Arizona State. Unfortunately, UMD lost in overtime. James won 17 of 27 faceoffs in what will likely be his final collegiate game. I expect him to sign his first professional contract in the coming days.

Huge goal for #Blackhawks prospect Dominic James for @UMDMensHockey on Saturday night

pic.twitter.com/7SBMpoHlYW

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 16, 2025

• Sacha Boisvert had two assists as North Dakota beat Omaha 3-2 to advance in the NCHC.

• Boston University needed overtime to advance past UMass. Ryan Greene had an assist on the first goal of the night for the Terriers.

With his assist earlier tonight, Ryan Greene became the latest Terrier to join the 100-point club!

Congrats, Greener! pic.twitter.com/0ofCtBv41T

— BU Men's Hockey (@TerrierHockey) March 15, 2025

• Aidan Thompson scored the second goal of the night for Denver and added an assist on the Pioneers’ fourth goal in a high-scoring affair against Colorado College.

Saturday night from #Blackhawks prospect Aidan Thompson for @DU_Hockey

pic.twitter.com/t9x5CJIMhW

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 16, 2025

• Jack Pridham had the primary assist on the game-winning goal for Kitchener.

• In the OHL last night, Martin Misiak stayed hot. He scored his 22nd goal of the season and the sixth in his last eight games.

Saturday night from #Blackhawks prospect Martin Misiak for @ErieOtters

pic.twitter.com/637SwlCkik

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 16, 2025

MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter

• Bet365 Is Now Live in Illinois! Here’s the best new customer promo you can get right now: Bet $5 Get $150 in Bonus Bets + $50 More if 1+ Point is Scored on Thursday.

• The Cubs won an exhibition game in Japan!

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...pect-highlights-and-other-blackhawks-bullets/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Wirtz Talks, Time to Spend, Donato Offer, DU Advances, CHL Concerns, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Scott Powers at The Athletic got our Monday morning started with a length Q&A with Blackhawks chairman Danny Wirtz. Please read it, because there’s a lot to unpack. Powers starts with a lengthy discussion about the disappointing debacle that has been the launch of CHSN. They still hope to get a deal done with Comcast/Xfinity, but… yeah. Wirtz says their internal metrics say the brand is still in relatively good shape despite the losing and lack of viewers (though he couldn’t quantify how much of the viewing audience they’ve lost this year). So there’s that. He’s also still on board with the vision of the front office and sees light at the end of the tunnel — even if he won’t put a timeline on when that tunnel needs to open up to postseason sunlight.

Here’s part of what Wirtz told Powers about the trade with Florida:

This is one thing about Kyle, is he’s very surgical. He’s very set on delivering what he needs to deliver. And in this case, where the optionality was very narrow, he had a very narrow window of time and optionality to work with, I think he executed an incredible trade that was both great for the Chicago Blackhawks, of course, but also I feel really good that it put Seth in a position to fulfill the things that was important to him. And I do think that we are in a great position right now. Spencer Knight is an exciting young goaltender and the draft pick that came in that deal, so I’m very proud of Kyle for making that decision.

Q&A with Blackhawks chairman Danny Wirtz on CHSN, Comcast carriage, the rebuild, future expectations, the Seth Jones' trade and more https://t.co/O2E0doR8Pc

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) March 17, 2025

• Speaking of which… “Hey, how’s Seth Jones doing in Florida?”

The Florida Panthers have been outscored 6-1 with Seth Jones on the ice in 5v5 in his first seven games. He has a 41.61 expected goals percentage.

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) March 17, 2025

• Aidan Thompson had two assists to help Denver demolish Colorado College 9-2 last night. The defending champion Pioneers advance to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. Thompson could face Sacha Boisvert and North Dakota in the conference championship game later this week if both teams win their respective semifinal games. We’ve got the updated conference playoff info for you here.

• Aku Räty, acquired from Utah in the “Shea Weber trade,” scored his first goal for the IceHogs last night.

Aku Räty’s 1st goal as an IceHog with the assist from Korchinski https://t.co/82ysexqdTF pic.twitter.com/KUaefFusFP

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) March 16, 2025

• Good stuff here from Frank Seravalli on the pre-deadline and immediate future of Ryan Donato. He reports here that the Blackhawks had a second-round pick on the table. And he also reports the Blackhawks put a three-year deal on the table that’s “south of $4 million per year.” Seravalli makes a good point: if the Blackhawks have to spend to get to the floor anyway, why not spend it on guys they know fit the room/culture? The big money question is whether Donato wants more term than three years.

• The comments from Seravalli play into the conversation in Ben Pope’s column from Sunday about the Blackhawks trying to emerge from the label of “loser” quickly this summer with agents and players. They’ve got money to spend, but the top of this summer’s free agent class isn’t as deep as it could have been if Mikko Rantanen was available. This is a good read.

The Blackhawks will go fishing for top free agents this summer, and they’ll be able to offer plenty of money.

But they’ll battle against one big thing — their reputation as losers — when trying to convince Mitch Marner, etc to sign.

New column: https://t.co/A2lQDPVFQw

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 16, 2025

• I’ll insert this quote from Wirtz from back in the Q&A with Powers that I opened with this morning here because it relates to Pope’s column and a lot of what we continue to talk about here (read: spending money soon). Here’s part of what the Blackhawks chairman said when asked if he wants Davidson to be aggressive with his cap space this summer:

The mandate is not to be aggressive for the sake of being aggressive. I think it’s, as he always has been with his hockey ops team, is to evaluate ways to improve our team. And so, I don’t want to give him any kind of handcuffs as to what that could look like. If there’s options and solutions to help continue to build what we’re building here. by all means, I’m open to those things.

• Also keep in mind the Blackhawks have a lot of internal contracts to consider already for next summer that can begin getting done on July 1. I looked ahead to the summer of 2026 — which could start getting done this summer — earlier this morning.

#Blackhawks Staring Down Important List of Extension Candidates This Summer https://t.co/cMwMUBIu2n

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 17, 2025

• In the OHL last night, Windsor stunned London with an 8-5 final. Windsor scored two short-handed goals in 17 seconds inside the final minute of regulation to pull away. AJ Spellacy returned from suspension and had two assists in the win.

• Interesting thoughts here on the NHL working with the CHL to figure out the future. We are still in uncharted waters right now with regards to how the NHL and NHLPA treat players who move from the CHL to the NCAA and how their rights work for signing timelines.

Looks like the NHL is going to try and mediate some form of organization between all the junior leagues.https://t.co/urt9ikjweg

— Steve McLean (@SteveMcLean888) March 16, 2025

• Over the weekend, Notre Dame was eliminated from the Big Ten tournament. Which meant the end of the line for their head coach, Jeff Jackson. He had a remarkable run in South Bend with a long list of players having enjoyed successful NHL careers. The Blackhawks had a long relationship with the Fightin’ Irish during Jackson’s tenure, the latest and last of which is Landon Slaggert. I’ve had the privilege of covering some Notre Dame hockey and Frozen Fours over the years and I never heard anything bad about Jackson from his current or former players, other coaches or scouts. He had a helluva run. Congrats on retirement!

MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter

• Bet365 Is Now Live in Illinois! Here’s the best new customer promo you can get right now: Bet $5 Get $150 in Bonus Bets + $50 More if 1+ Point is Scored on Thursday.

• The Chicago Cubs begin their 2025 regular season tomorrow!

• One year later, how do you feel about the Justin Fields trade?

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...es-chl-concerns-and-other-blackhawks-bullets/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks Staring Down Important List of Extension Candidates This Summer

We’ve been witnessing the Blackhawks’ rebuild evolving in real time over the past few weeks with younger players making an impact on the NHL roster. Since the trade deadline, what started the season as one of the older rosters in the league is now skating half of the lineup at 23 or younger.

As the Blackhawks look ahead to the coming summer, they’ll want to go shopping for a big ticket complement to Connor Bedard. They’ll also have some internal decisions to make — re-sign Ryan Donato, extend Wyatt Kaiser and/or Louis Crevier, potentially buy out TJ Brodie and Laurent Brossoit — as well.

However, this coming July 1 is a critical date for the Blackhawks’ future for more reasons than chasing this summer’s free agent class. We’ve talked frequently in this space about how well the Blackhawks front office has lined up contracts to expire at the “right” time, giving the organ-I-zation the financial flexibility to retain all of the young players they have coming up thru the system when it’s time for new paper.

Well… beginning July 1, 2025, the Blackhawks can start signing players whose contracts expire following the 2025-26 season to extensions. And the Blackhawks have a long list of players who are going to be eligible for their next contracts on July 1, 2026.

This first wave of contract extensions are the first critical deals of Kyle Davidson’s tenure as the general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks.

David Banks-Imagn Images

Here’s who the Blackhawks need to work on keeping internally — players whose contracts expire after the 2025-26 season — and can lock up as soon as the start of the new league year this summer.

• Connor Bedard
• Frank Nazar
• Spencer Knight
• Colton Dach
• Lukas Reichel
• Kevin Korchinski
• Ethan Del Mastro
• Nolan Allan
• Dmitri Kuzmin
• Drew Commesso

That’s some kinda list, isn’t it? And that’s just the players who haven’t yet turned 24. The Blackhawks also have the contracts of Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson, Ilya Mikheyev, Joe Veleno and Connor Murphy to consider.

If that feels like a daunting task to undertake in the coming 16 months or so, it should. There are some very important pieces for the rebuild on that list.

But here’s the good news: with all of the deals expiring in the next two summers — and $7M of Seth Jones’ contract off the books — the Blackhawks have roughly $84M in estimated cap space to work with in the summer of 2026. That’s right: including the retained money on Jones, the Blackhawks have less than $20M committed to NHL roster players beyond next season.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...ant-list-of-extension-candidates-this-summer/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks vs Kraken — Lineups, Broadcast Info, Game Thread

Tonight starts a busy stretch of what’s left on the schedule for the Blackhawks with seven games in 12 days – six of which are at the United Center. The Kraken are in town with more lottery balls on the line than playoff odds.

Broadcast Info​

Puck Drop: 7:30 PM CT
TV / Streaming: Chicago Sports Network (if/where available)
Radio: WGN 720 AM

Expected Lineups​

Chicago Blackhawks

Ryan Donato — Frank Nazar — Connor Bedard
Teuvo Teräväinen — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Landon Slaggert — Nick Foligno — Colton Dach
Pat Maroon — Lukas Reichel — Tyler Bertuzzi

Alex Vlasic — Artyom Levshunov
Ethan Del Mastro — Connor Murphy
Wyatt Kaiser — Alec Martinez

Spencer Knight

Seattle Kraken

Jaden Schwartz — Matty Beniers — Kaapo Kakko
Eeli Tolvanen — Chandler Stephenson — Jordan Eberle
Jani Nyman — Jared McCann — Andre Burakovsky
Tye Kartye — Shane Wright — Michael Eyssimont

Vince Dunn — Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak — Brandon Montour
Josh Mahura — Ryker Evans

Joey Daccord

Injury Report​

Chicago Blackhawks​

• Laurent Brossoit (knee) is on IR.

Seattle Kraken

• none

What to Watch For​

• Levshunov’s first home game.

• The Kraken are only 4-5-1 in their last 10 and six games under .500 on the road this season. The Blackhawks are coming home from a disappointing road trip. Maybe the Hawks can take advantage of the home crowd’s energy and get a win.

• I like the Donato-Nazar-Bedard line. Let’s see them have a big night tonight.

Get Caught Up​

Sorensen gave a more positive appraisal of Levshunov today than he did Saturday, talking about how his defensive reads and gap control have improved since the start of the AHL season.

He's also liked how Levshunov "doesn't overhandle" the puck on breakouts — the passes leave his…

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 17, 2025

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...-kraken-lineups-broadcast-info-game-thread-3/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks 2, Kraken 6 — Three Stars, Key Takeaways

The Blackhawks found the caffeine and got off the bus on time tonight. After a predictable fight between Pat Maroon and Blackhawks legend John Hayden right off the opening faceoff, the Hawks were absolutely buzzing. The kids were flying up and down the ice and creating chances. The Blackhawks had a 25-15 shot attempt advantage and 2-1 lead at the end of 20 minutes.

Then the second period started. I was in the building and I wanted to change the channel. Horrendous is giving them too much credit. That was clogged toilet bad. Seattle scored four goals on their first eight shots on goal in the period. And the Blackhawks coaches clutched their timeout the entire time like it was going to save them from losing by 12 in the third period.

The only good thing about the third period was that it came and went fairly quickly. Seattle scored a sixth goal. The end.

Star 1: Connor Bedard​

Bedard was playing fast, confident hockey in the first period. He scored the first goal of the night for the Blackhawks — his first in four games — and was firing pucks every chance he got. He put three on net (four attempted) in the first period. His line was still skating fast in the final two periods but… the wheels were off for the entire roster.

#Blackhawks power play goal!

Connor Bedard
Artyom Levshunov

pic.twitter.com/cXiPtgiGzb

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 19, 2025

Star 2: Tyler Bertuzzi​

Bertuzzi had seven points — all assists — in his previous 20 games. He picked up the second assist on Bedard’s power play goal and then nicely redirected an Alex Vlasic shot into the net to break his goal skid at those 20 games. I wouldn’t say he had a strong night overall, but he had two points. Yay team!

#Blackhawks take a 2-0 lead

Tyler Bertuzzi
Alex Vlasic, Lukas Reichel

pic.twitter.com/Vxo2T73Lyy

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 19, 2025

Star 3: Landon Slaggert​

Slaggert was credited with two shots on goal and one takeaway in 8:41 thru two periods. So why is he the third star? Slaggert and Colton Dach were the only skaters on the roster who weren’t on the wrong side of the plus-minus at the end of 40 minutes and Slaggert was the better of the two.

Key Takeaways​

• The defensive pair of Connor Murphy and Ethan Del Mastro had a strong first period. Murphy finished the first tied with Bedard for the team lead with three shots on goal while Del Mastro had two. They also had two hits each; the rest of the Blackhawks roster had three combined. Here’s their first period (at 5-on-5 from Natural Stat Trick):

• Here’s the fight from the opening of the game:

Pat Maroon and John Hayden drop the gloves off the opening faceoff. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/myVtsl9TQR

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 19, 2025

• Nick Foligno won 10 of 11 faceoffs thru two periods.

• At the end of two periods, with the wheels completely off, the only Blackhawks skaters with more than one hit: Murphy (5), Del Mastro (3), Maroon (2). Zero pushback whatsoever.

• Jason Dickinson appeared in his 500th game tonight. It was a nice touch by the coaches to put him in the starting lineup on the occasion.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...hawks-2-kraken-6-three-stars-key-takeaways-2/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks Skaters Rank Well in New Under-23 Top 100 List

I am always looking for how prospect analysts and scouts outside of the Chicago bubble view the current Blackhawks’ youth movement because, well, the current NHL product makes me want to listen to Fleetwood Mac before, during and after games.

What makes this endeavor more intriguing with each new list is how the views of analysts vary. We’ve discussed the differences between how Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman at The Athletic view the Blackhawks’ pipeline a fair amount here over the past couple years. And other lists and rankings that pop up give us other perspectives to consider.

On Wednesday morning, the fine folks at Elite Prospects released their top 100 rankings of skaters under the age of 23 affiliated with NHL clubs. And the Blackhawks are very well represented.

Their criteria is “we looked at upside and the role we project the players to occupy … closely followed by the probability of achieving said upside or role.” Here’s who and where they ranked Blackhawks prospects/players on the list and some of what they had to say about each (with my thoughts).



Note: The Blackhawks placed six players on the list — three forwards and three defensemen. For what it’s worth, Nick Lardis — who is having a record-breaking season in the OHL — only ranked among their honorable mentions.

No. 1. Connor Bedard​

“Forced to carry the Blackhawks’ offence almost singlehandedly as a teenager, he’s shown flashes of elite skill as a distributor, manipulative puck carrier, and rush creator. Some nights, it all comes together – masterfully controlling the game with elite vision, a world-class shot, and surprising robustness – and he looks like the league’s next big superstar. Despite not having the support to leverage his skill every night, he’s worked on tightening up the details of the game. We’re confident that, on any other NHL team, there would be no doubt about Bedard’s status among the league’s elite.”

My Take: Oh look! Bedard ranked ahead of Macklin Celebrini (still). The biggest takeaway from their comments about Bedard is both accurate and a painful reality: “on any other NHL team, there would be no doubt about Bedard’s status among the league’s elite.”

32. Artyom Levshunov​

“One of the most toolsy prospects on this list, Artyom Levshunov has everything needed to become a minute-munching, two-way, top-pairing defenceman. He can evade the forecheck, activate, carry the puck, and create impressive passing plays. And in his prime, his strength and stature could turn him into a fierce defender. But the Chicago Blackhawks will have to be patient with his development.”

My Take: another group of analysts that view Levshunov as a future beast in the league. There is still a learning curve we’re all going to watch in real time, but the ceiling is so incredibly exciting here. We’ve seen glimpses of his ability to flip the ice in his brief start in the NHL.

54. Frank Nazar​

“It’s hard to overstate just how important Frank Nazar is to the Blackhawks’ future. On a team starved for skill and speed, Nazar brings a unique skill set. In his best NHL games, he’ll weave through traffic with a combination of crossovers, handling skill, and fearlessness. He takes the middle at every opportunity, and never backs away from trying a play.”

My Take: despite what others might think about Nazar, the toolkit is there for him to be a significant impact player for this team. The biggest question the Blackhawks need to answer is whether they view both Bedard and Nazar as long-term centers. Obviously part of that answer is, if not, who are the first and second-line centers?

68. Oliver Moore​

“The highest-graded skater in this top-100, Oliver Moore will have an elite tool when he steps into the NHL. He’s a burner, easily flying past even high-end skaters in the NCAA. A never-ending motor amplifies that speed, which he uses to lockdown opponents, create turnovers on the forecheck, and erase odd-number rushes. There’s also a lot of skill here, whether that’s look-off slip passes or explosive in-stride wristers.”

My Take: there was a lot of conversation on the Twitters yesterday about Moore, which I jumped into with the note that he had points in 8 of his last 10 games during the regular season and won better than 56 percent of his faceoffs over that stretch. A note this morning about Moore’s in-conference production puts more perspective on his performance. I’m not worried about Moore’s development.

72. Sam Rinzel​

“He’s a high-activity defenceman elsewhere, jumping into the rush regularly and flashes those playmaking chops at times. Puck management is still an issue, but his overall impact is so high that he could be a middle-pair defenceman regardless. Plus, he looks very close to being NHL-ready.”

My Take: based on the season he had at Minnesota, I was honestly a little surprised to see Rinzel this low on the list. The fact that they say he looks close to being ready for the show is very encouraging; I still think he could use and will likely get some time in Rockford at some point, but his trajectory has been great since the Blackhawks drafted him.

83. Kevin Korchinski​

“Sometimes, stepping back is the best thing one can do to find the best path forward. That’s exactly what’s happening with Kevin Korchinski this season. After a difficult first NHL season, he’s now working on his defensive play in the AHL and learning to integrate it with his offensive skills. Better capable of cutting lanes, rotating, and sticking to his coverage, he shuts down a few more plays. And his confidence against the forecheck seems to be renewed.”

My Take: it feels more and more like folks are sleeping on Korchinski as an impact prospect in the system because the organization is taking its time with his development in Rockford this season. With that said, I appreciate the thoughts here about him having the time and space to work on his game as a 20-year-old in the AHL this season. I’m still high on Korchinski being a key piece for the Blackhawks.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...aters-rank-well-in-new-under-23-top-100-list/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Rock Bottom? A Wasted Moment, an Under-25 Team, Olympics News, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if last night was the last game Anders Sorensen is the interim head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks.

After the game, Jason Dickinson (who played his 500th career NHL game last night) and Alex Vlasic spoke with the media. Both are considered leaders on this team. And both of them looked like they needed a couple weeks of therapy. After the Blackhawks took a 2-0 lead in the first period and were dominating the game, Seattle scored six unanswered goals. The Blackhawks had zero pushback against a team that isn’t that far ahead of them in the standings. Vlasic admitted morale is as low as it’s been at any point this year — which isn’t good for a coach’s job security, especially one with the interim tag still attached.

Dickinson was once again passionate with his frustration in the losing. He pointed his finger at himself, saying he’s healthy enough to play and he needs to do more to contribute. Dickinson also gave fairly detailed analysis of the Blackhawks’ problems in the game. Go look at where most of the Kraken’s goals came from (the slot) and the fact that nobody was near them. The Blackhawks had more sorting issues than a blind laundromat last night.

You know what’s the most frustrating part of this entire night as someone who cheers for and/or covers this team? The start they had was all of the hope and promise for the future you want to sell to fans in the seats. THIS should have been the lasting image from last night:

FUTUREEEEEEEEEEEE pic.twitter.com/ChvrRble5D

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) March 19, 2025

And yet here we are, once again picking up the pieces in the morning. We don’t have won wonder what’s wrong. But we do have to wonder how they haven’t fixed it yet.

• Final thought on last night: call your damn timeout at 3-2 and get the kids together and maybe slow Seattle’s momentum. For the love of everything at some point a coach here has to recognize that a young team can occasionally use a reset mid-game when things start to spiral, not after the wheels are off and they’re half-way up the river without a paddle. If the larger point of the rest of this season is development, call the timeout and coach ’em up a little maybe? Get the train back near the tracks?

• Let’s change gears — quickly. The young Blackhawks are developing really good camaraderie in the room as the next generation continues to matriculate up to the NHL. This comment from Frank Nazar after the morning skate on Tuesday about getting tossed in Vancouver (and Colton Dach‘s role) is fabulous.

Frank Nazar got his first career misconduct in Bedard’s late scuffle in Vancouver.

“I was about to go for a change. Dacher told me, 'No, get in there!’ so I turned back. There were 3 guys to our 2, so I was just trying to get in there and help.”
pic.twitter.com/LhEiaMKWbe

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 18, 2025

• Harman Dayal at The Athletic put together a pretty strong group of the NHL’s ten biggest disappointments of the 2024-25 season. One Blackhawks player made the list: Philipp Kurashev. Here’s part of Dayal’s harsh (but earned) critique:

Kurashev has slumped to just 10 points in 43 games, and the Hawks have been outscored by an egregious 31-10 score during his five-on-five shifts. He’s been healthy scratched several times and hasn’t been able to consistently crack the lineup in the second half.

It’s becoming abundantly clear that Kurashev was just a Bedard merchant.

• On a more positive note, Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman at The Athletic put together an NHL All-Under-25 Team. Two Blackhawks made the list: Connor Bedard (on the wing, for what it’s worth) and the starting netminder is newly added Spencer Knight. Reminder: the Blackhawks got Knight and a first-round pick for Seth Jones.

• I will note they do mention Vlasic as being a possibility on the blue line, but this group — like the Blackhawks’ organizational depth chart — is pretty stacked on the left side.

The NHL All-Under-25 Team. @coreypronman and I started with 40+ players and tried to narrow it down to a proper 23-man roster.

Here’s where we landed, the debates we had, and the snubs. Our inaugural team: https://t.co/3AdVpU1KTm pic.twitter.com/kfSHAtR1X1

— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) March 18, 2025

• We reeeeeeeally need to get over this obsession with bringing Patrick Kane back to Chicago. If you’re reading a think piece about how he’ll somehow unlock Bedard’s offense (by the way, Bedard’s playing RW right now so sort that one out…) maybe check a weather app or go for a walk instead. The organization has moved on. The roster is turning in the right direction. It’s getting younger and, more importantly, faster. There isn’t a time machine that would insert a 2014-16 Kaner into this lineup. Please, do yourself a favor and accept the breakup is final.

• Fun update for those out there who are already warming up to the 2026 Winter Olympics. Sounds like we’ll get some initial names on rosters in June. My guess would be this could take place around the NHL Awards ceremony/broadcast? Maybe?

Italy NHL Olympic update:
The plan as of now regarding Olympic rosters is for each country to name 6 players in June and the rest of their rosters end of December.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 18, 2025

• Blackhawks prospect and Minnesota sophomore Sam Rinzel was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday morning. That makes two straight Blackhawks prospects to earn the award; Artyom Levshunov won it last year as a freshman.

.@RinzelSam is our first DPOY winner since Brock Faber won back-to-back in 2022 and 2023!#PrideOnIce | #B1GToday pic.twitter.com/1b3nEz51QL

— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) March 18, 2025

• Hey, why not send two lottery teams overseas for a big international NHL event, right?

• Well that sucks for Dallas.

MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter

• Bet365 Is Now Live in Illinois! Here’s the best new customer promo you can get right now: Bet $5 Get $150 in Bonus Bets + $50 More if 1+ Point is Scored on Thursday.

• Man, the Cubs missed Nico Hoerner.

• The Bears re-signed Hinsdale Central legend and hopefully-not-a-goal line-option Doug Kramer, Jr.

• The Bulls are now… the 9 seed… in the Eastern Conference.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...m-olympics-news-and-other-blackhawks-bullets/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks Prospect Sacha Boisvert Named NCHC Rookie of the Year

On Thursday night, the NCHC had their end-of-season awards ceremony. Blackhawks prospect and North Dakota center Sacha Boisvert was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year.

Boisvert, the 18th overall pick by the Blackhawks in the 2024 NHL Draft, scored a team-leading 16 goals — five of which were game-winners (no other skater on the roster had more than two). He was also nominated for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

Sacha Boisvert is your NCHC Rookie of the Year! #UNDproud | #LGH | @NHLBlackhawks pic.twitter.com/m0S6FY7SbM

— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) March 20, 2025​

Lighting it up as a freshman and leading NCHC rookies with 30 points this year

Congrats to @UNDmhockey forward @BoisvertSacha on winning 2024-25 #NCHChockey Rookie of the Year! #UNDproud // @NHLBlackhawks pic.twitter.com/6NuGyr2o22

— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) March 20, 2025​

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...sacha-boisvert-named-nchc-rookie-of-the-year/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks 1, Kings 3 — Three Stars, Key Takeaways

The Blackhawks were, officially, out-shot 19-7 and outscored 2-0 in the first period. They also contributed one of the least organized power plays I can remember. Here are some fun numbers from the first period at 5-on-5 (from Natural Stat Trick):

• Shot Attempts: 33-12 Kings
• Scoring Changes: 19-5 Kings
• High Danger Chances: 10-1 Kings

So, yeah… that was an awesome way to start the game.

The good news: the Kings weren’t scoring when they had chances. And the two-goal lead was cut in half on the power play in the middle of the second period. Chicago played a significantly better second period than the first; they were only out-shot 8-5 and scored the only goal.

The only goal in the third period came into an empty net from about 180 feet with 18.1 seconds left in regulation to give the Kings their two-goal lead for good.

Star 1: Connor Bedard​

Bedard ripped in a power play goal in the middle of the second period, his second straight game putting one in the net on the advantage.

#Blackhawks power play goal

Connor Bedard
Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen

pic.twitter.com/NAEWi6khtU

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 21, 2025

Star 2: Spencer Knight​

After allowing a couple goals he would likely want back on Tuesday night — in a game in which he got almost no help from the skaters in front of him — Knight came back with a strong performance tonight. go back to the top and read those first period numbers again. This game could have easily been an early blow out but Knight kept the Blackhawks in it long enough that the late third period action was interesting.

Star 3: Frank Nazar​

Nazar won four of five faceoffs in the first period. At the end of the second, he had won seven of eight draws, was credited with one hit, three shot attempts (one on goal) and was tied for the team lead with two blocked shots. The Blackhawks were rolling out any winger who was fresh with Bedard and Nazar late in the third period to try to get a scoring chance.

Key Takeaways​

• The Blackhawks power play is sooooo painfully predictable, and that was shown on the first and third advantages tonight. Artyom Levshunov got into the neutral zone and then tried to figure out where to drop the puck back to a forward, and the Kings were all over him. The third power play was killed by Levshunov turning the puck over and then slashing Adrian Kempe. If they can’t get it into the zone, they can’t go to work. At some point, maybe just let the defenseman go with it? Just to see what happens one time?

• Joe Veleno did a really nice job on the PK in the second period and got a good short-handed scoring chance. He hit the post with a shot just after the penalty ended as well.

• Your Blackhawks shots on goal leaders thru two periods (tied with two): Veleno, Jason Dickinson and Alex Vlasic. Because of course.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blackhawks/2025/03/20/blackhawks-1-kings-3-three-stars-key-takeaways/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks Eliminated, Updated NHL Draft Lottery Odds

With their loss to the LA Kings on Thursday night, the Blackhawks can officially book tee times starting somewhere around April 17. It isn’t like the playoffs weren’t out of reach by November, but making it officially official is always a little salt in the wound.

However, there’s another race to keep an eye on for Blackhawks fans in the closing weeks of the regular season: the sprint to the bottom. Suck for Schaefer? Mediocre for Misa/Martone? Horrible for Hagens? What are we going with this year?

With Thursday night’s games in the books, here’s the bottom of the NHL standings:

As you can see, the Blackhawks are four points “back” of the Sharks for dead last in the league. The Blackhawks have built a nice nine-point gap between them and Nashville for the third spot in the lottery. Even with the Preds having one game in-hand, that feels like a pretty safe spread at this point in the season (especially considering the Blackhawks are riding a five-game losing streak).

So what does that mean for the updated 2025 NHL Draft Lottery odds for the Blackhawks?

Here are the current (thru games on Thursday, March 20) NHL draft lottery odds from the good folks at Tankathon:

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...ks-eliminated-updated-nhl-draft-lottery-odds/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Boisvert Scores Twice, Dach’s Elbow, Martinez’s Humor, Prospect Highlights, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

The Blackhawks have 13 games left in their regular season, with the next step to tee times coming in the middle of the afternoon today in St. Louis. Having lost six straight games, the last five of which in regulation, the Blackhawks are absolutely limping to the finish line. It ain’t pretty, kids. But the hope that comes from a steaming pile like this comes in May with the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery, and then late-June when the Blackhawks make their selections at the 2025 NHL Draft. So let’s get these 13 games over with as healthy as humanly possible and get excited about a summer that will absolutely change the trajectory of the organization.

• Colton Dach was absent from practice on Saturday with what the team is calling a hyperextended left elbow injury.

Chicago interim head coach Anders Sorensen said Colton Dach is day to day with a left elbow injury. He seemed optimistic that it wasn’t worse; turns out it was just a hyperextension. #Blackhawks

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 21, 2025

• This is a fun read from Ben Pope at the Chicago Sun-Times about the older brother role Alec Martinez has assumed with Alex Vlasic this season. Martinez has a sneaky funny sense of humor; if you’ve been to a game you might have seen some it in the in-game content.

Alex Vlasic's comedic friendship with Alec Martinez has been a source of levity in a gloomy Blackhawks season.

"For me, that [humor] kind of comes naturally. A lot of the guys on our team are like that, as well. It makes it way more fun."

Story: https://t.co/T5IfKRP30R

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 21, 2025

• Mark Lazerus at The Athletic decided to focus on the positives from this Blackhawks season. From Ryan Donato‘s career year to Frank Nazar emerging as a legit top-six threat in his first pro season, there really are some great things happening underneath the ugly record. Nice, uplifting read here from Mark.

I'm tired of writing about how bleak things are. You're tired of reading it.

So Debbie Downer over here went Petey Positive. Here are the 10 most important developments — real reasons for real hope — from the 2024-25 Blackhawks season:https://t.co/hcTJTzrLDW

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) March 21, 2025

• Not great news for the Oilers this late in the regular season.

Just to clarify, Knoblauch said "maybe a week" for McDavid and "up to a week" for Draisaitl. https://t.co/Qh9xHGdEcR

— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) March 21, 2025​

Hey how about some Blackhawks prospect highlights?​

Throughout the season on Saturdays and Sundays in our bullets I have sectioned off prospect highlights from the previous night. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks are down one college prospect playing this weekend. The OHL season is winding to a close as well, so the prospect highlights are going to be a little less frequent. Here we go from a very productive Friday night.

• North Dakota was eliminated from the NCHC tournament on Friday, losing 4-2 to conference No. 1 seed Western Michigan. NCHC Rookie of the Year and Blackhawks prospect Sacha Boisvert scored both goals for North Dakota, giving him 18 for his freshman campaign. It’s unlikely that North Dakota will make the NCAA tournament, so this probably puts a wrap on a fabulous first collegiate season for Boisvert. Here are his two goals:

The league's best rookie scored again. #UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/oLOucnWuD5

— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) March 22, 2025

GOAL: Sacha Boisvert doesn't want to go home quietly! His second of the game cut the @UNDmhockey deficit to 3-2.

However, another empty-netter sealed it for Western Michigan a short time later.

: @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/LvxDX8f5oV

— Eric Moon (@ericmoon22) March 22, 2025

• Western Michigan will face Denver in the NCHC championship game tonight — largely thanks to a superb performance from Blackhawks prospect Aidan Thompson. Thompson had an assist on the second goal for Denver and then scored the game-winning goal in a 4-2 win for the Pioneers.

Aidan Thompson buries today's @Safeway Goal of the Game to put the Pioneers back in front.

: @CBSSportsNet #GoPios pic.twitter.com/ZxPD3ocFUw

— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 21, 2025

• In the OHL, Jack Pridham had another great night and was named the No. 1 star in Kitchener’s 3-2 win. He scored the game-winning goal and had an assist on each of the other two goals for a three-point night.

SWICKY RETURNS THE FAVOUR #RTown | #BattleBuilt | #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/JVUoQscYFA

— Kitchener Rangers (@OHLRangers) March 22, 2025

• AJ Spellacy had an assist for Windsor in a 6-2 loss at London.

• Brantford beat Kingston 4-0 last night. Nick Lardis did not score a goal, but he did contribute two assists. Marek Vanacker scored this pretty goal on the power play for his

#BFD | #Blackhawks | #OHL https://t.co/DtYL2J0Zdx pic.twitter.com/bx51qQlkJj

— Brantford Bulldogs (@BulldogsOHL) March 21, 2025

MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter

• Are the Cubs going to regret trading Cam Smith?

• Some new mock drafts from NFL insiders have the same name going to the Bears in the first round.

• Coby White continues to be a bright spot for the Bulls.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...pect-highlights-and-other-blackhawks-bullets/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks 1, Blues 4 — Three Stars, Key Takeaways

This game felt like another check mark on the schedule for the Blackhawks until the Big Rig skated over to chat with Darren Pang on the pregame show and speak with him about this being his final season in the NHL. Interim head coach Anders Sorensen put Pat Maroon out on the ice to start the game for the Blackhawks — as he should. In his last appearance in his hometown, this game clearly meant more to Maroon.

Jake Neighbours hit Alec Martinez dangerously into the boards 15 minutes into the first period. Jason Dickinson stepped in and dropped the gloves with Neighbours as Martinez stayed down the ice in rough shape. Dickinson got hit with instigator and misconduct penalties on top of the five for fighting so St. Louis got a power play and the Blackhawks were down their best center for 17 minutes.

Tyler Bertuzzi went to the box late in the second period after the Blackhawks allowed a couple quick goals and… that actually gave the Blackhawks some life. The Hawks got a short-handed goal to get on the board and then almost got a second one before the end of the period.

Without Martinez and Dickinson for the final two periods, the Blackhawks gave up a couple more in the third period and just didn’t have an answer for Joel Hofer in net for St. Louis when they did get good looks.

Star 1: Ilya Mikheyev​

Mikheyev, who has been really good all year in all situations, flew up the ice and made a beautiful play to score the Blackhawks’ first goal of the afternoon while killing a penalty. He had a team-leading four shots on goal thru two periods.

#Blackhawks on the board with a short-handed goal!

Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Foligno

pic.twitter.com/teI1ippa5q

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 22, 2025

Star 2: Alex Vlasic​

Vlasic played a really good, physical, strong game around the net.

Star 3: Pat Maroon​

After sharing that this would be his final game in St. Louis before the game, the Big Rig put it all out there. He didn’t hit the score sheet, but he tried to get some momentum for the Blackhawks with this scrap in the third period.

Good fight here for Pat Maroon #Blackhawks

pic.twitter.com/tDAbUHuJz9

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 22, 2025

Key Takeaways​

• Here’s the hit on Martinez that sent him to the room. I hope he’s okay long-term but this is a scary look.

Tough look at the hit that sent #Blackhawks defenseman Alec Martinez to the room

pic.twitter.com/H1cIXEmxNa

— Tab Bamford (@The1Tab) March 22, 2025

• Dickinson did not return to the game after his fight following the Martinez injury.

• Frank Nazar won 4 of 6 at the dot and finished the game winning 9 of a team-high 14.

• Thru two periods, Joe Veleno had three shots on goal and won 5 of 8 faceoffs. Veleno won 6 of 12 at the dot and tied for the team lead with four shots on net in the game. He’s looking like a solid depth add thus far.

• Even though the Blackhawks were down a forward for most of the first two periods with Dickinson leaving because of the fight and injury, Lukas Reichel was still limited to just 5:49 on the ice thru 40 minutes. That was the lowest on the team with the two injury exceptions.

• Good work by the Blues to have a tribute video ready for the Big Rig on Saturday afternoon. Clearly an emotional day for Maroon today.

Pat Maroon takes a twirl in his final game in St. Louis. Great gesture by the Blues organization to air a video tribute on such short notice. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/lXKtgGpeUB

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 22, 2025

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blackhawks/2025/03/22/blackhawks-1-blues-4-three-stars-key-takeaways/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Young Defensemen Stepping Up, Injury Concerns, NCAA Selection Day, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Hey, how about back-to-back days with 2 PM starts for the Blackhawks? That’s fun. The Flyers lost in overtime in Dallas yesterday. The Blackhawks lost a game and two key veterans in St. Louis. And they had some emotions running thru the room as Pat Maroon shared with the team and then the world on the pregame that this will be his final NHL season.

Pat Maroon was named the No. 1 star of the game in his final game in St. Louis. What a moment. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/EmxwnroK55

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 22, 2025

• With a quick turnaround before the game this afternoon, the Blackhawks might be in a tough with the roster. Alec Martinez was in a bad way after this hit and needed help off the ice. Jason Dickinson dropped the gloves after the hit and did not return to the game, either. We’ll have to wait and see if either is available today. Reminder: Colton Dach is already missing with the elbow injury. The Blackhawks have Philipp Kurashev at forward and defensemen TJ Brodie and Louis Crevier to choose from in the press box right now if they need to dress a couple healthy bodies against the Flyers.

Tough look at the hit that sent #Blackhawks defenseman Alec Martinez to the room

pic.twitter.com/H1cIXEmxNa

— Tab Bamford (@The1Tab) March 22, 2025

• The folks at Elite Prospects put out their organizational rankings of players and prospects who haven’t yet celebrated their 23rd birthday. The San Jose Sharks came in at No. 1 on the list, followed by the Blackhawks at No. 2. Here’s part of what they wrote about the Hawks:

The Blackhawks have also selected many of our favourite prospects over the years. That gave them a slight boost in ranking. More than most, we believe in Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, and Sam Rinzel’s potential. These players could significantly outperform their market perception, becoming part of the structure of a contending team.

• If you’ve been here over the past couple seasons you already know that I’m very high on Ethan Del Mastro‘s game. Since the Seth Jones trade, he’s really been able to take advantage of his elevated situation on the blue line for the Blackhawks. Nice read here from Ben Pope on how Del Mastro’s game has matured this season.

Ethan Del Mastro's in-season growth has been a bright spot for the Blackhawks.

Connor Murphy: "His ability with the puck, his vision and his skating ability, it’s definitely better than my younger self."

New story: https://t.co/PZQYfv5xyB

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) March 22, 2025

• Another defenseman who has really been good since Jones left town has been Wyatt Kaiser — especially in recent games. Good comments here from Kaiser in a strong piece from Scott Powers.

Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt Kaiser is finally playing the type of game he has always imagined he could play in the NHL.

So, what's changed? He explains here https://t.co/fpuAGVLs83

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) March 22, 2025

• Aidan Thompson and the Denver Pioneers coughed up a three-goal lead in the third period of the NCHC championship game against top-seed Western Michigan.

• I know the puck drops against the Flyers at the United Center at 2, but that’s a busy time slot for Blackhawks fans… who are paying attention to hockey in the middle of the afternoon today. I’ll be keeping an eye the NCAA selection show announcing the 2025 men’s ice hockey championship bracket and schedule at the same time as the start of the Hawks game (the show is on ESPNU). It looks like there shouldn’t be many surprises, however. Moore and Rinzel (Minnesota), Thompson (Denver), Ryan Greene (BU) and John Mustard and Taige Harding (Providence) are expected to get a ticket to the dance.

Western defeats UND.

That means the NCAA Tournament field is set.

1. BC
2. Michigan State
3. Maine
4. Minnesota
5. Western Michigan
6. UConn
7. BU
8. Providence
9. Denver
10. Ohio State
11. UMass
12. Penn State
13. Quinnipiac
14. Minnesota State
15. ECAC winner
16. AHA winner

— Mike McMahon (@MikeMcMahonCHN) March 22, 2025

• Drew Commesso stopped 26 of 27 and improved to 6-1-1 since returning from injury for Rockford. How about this coast-to-coast, short-handed goal from Samuel Savoie for the IceHogs last night? It wound up being the game-winning goal!

SAVVY WANTS TO HEAR YA!! https://t.co/TVaefHgMq2 pic.twitter.com/rtaZXimbFo

— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) March 23, 2025

• He won’t be skating in the NCAA tournament, but Sacha Boisvert had a magnificent season for North Dakota. He added one more honor to his resume on Saturday night: Boisvert was named to the NCHC All-Tournament Team. Here’s some perspective on how impressive his scoring was this season:

Players 18 or younger to score 18 goals in a season for @UNDmhockey (since 2000)

Sacha Boisvert (24-25) – 18
Jonathan Toews (06-07) – 18
Jonathan Toews (05-06) – 22
Zach Parise (02-03) – 26
Brock Boeser (15-16) – 27

That's it. That's the entire list. #Blackhawks

— Tab Bamford (@The1Tab) March 22, 2025

MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter

• The Cubs announced their starters for their first two games back on this side of the pond.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...a-selection-day-and-other-blackhawks-bullets/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Blackhawks 7, Flyers 4 — Three Stars, Key Takeaways

The Flyers got on the board first, scoring four minutes into the first period. But then things got a little whacky. The Blackhawks got a power play and, though they weren’t able to score while on the advantage, did tie the game at one 17 seconds after the power play ended. Chicago then scored a second goal 37 seconds later to take a lead — that lasted 12 seconds before Philly tied the game right off the following faceoff. Things settled down for almost four minutes before the Flyers took a 3-2 lead. The Hawks were able to tie the game before the end of the period because neither team wanted to play defense.

The second period was wild. The Blackhawks scored the first two goals of the period, the second of which came during a 5-on-3 power play. Philly was able to scratch out a third awkward goal to make the score 5-4 but the Blackhawks got a second power play goal in the period to take a 6-4 lead to the room for the second intermission.

When the Blackhawks scored their seventh goal of the afternoon just a couple minutes into the third it certainly looked and felt like the Flyers were done for the day. Yes, there were 18 minutes left in the game but the Hawks’ three-goal lead never really felt like it was in danger.

Star 1: Ryan Donato​

Donato scored twice on the power play to get him to 25 goals on the season. Teuvo Teräväinen had the primary assist on both goals. Donato was credited with five of the Blackhawks’ 25 goals thru the first two periods as well; he and Teräväinen (four) were the only Hawks skaters credited with more than two.

#Blackhawks take a 5-3 lead

Ryan Donato PPG
Teuvo Teravainen, Connor Bedard

pic.twitter.com/pMzL0rFsRU

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 23, 2025

Another PPG for the #Blackhawks

Ryan Donato
Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi

pic.twitter.com/b4CEe1LUR0

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 23, 2025

Star 2: Connor Bedard​

Bedard was the only Blackhawks skater credited with more than one shot on net in the first period (he had two of Chicago’s nine total). He reached the 20-goal mark for the second straight season and has goals in three of his last four games. Bedard and Eddie Olczyk are the only teenagers in Blackhawks history to record multiple 20-goal seasons. Bedard picked up an assist on Donato’s power play goal in the second period for a multi-point game.

#Blackhawks tie the game at 3

Connor Bedard
Ryan Donato

pic.twitter.com/r45N7SSj1I

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 23, 2025

Star 3: Joe Veleno​

Veleno scored his first goal as a member of the Blackhawks and had a strong overall first period; he was credited with three of the Blackhawks’ six total hits as a team in the opening 20 minutes. Veleno picked up an assist on Tyler Bertuzzi‘s goal in the second period for his first multi-point game with the Blackhawks.

That’s TWO for the #Blackhawks

Joe Veleno
Tyler Bertuzzi, Philipp Kurashev

pic.twitter.com/pgfe1EIGNl

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 23, 2025

Key Takeaways​

• Pat Maroon had a two-point afternoon in his first game since announcing he’ll retire at the end of the season in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon. Here’s the Big Rig’s goal in the first period:

#Blackhawks are on the board!

Pat Maroon
Nick Foligno, Ilya Mikheyev

pic.twitter.com/LB34uMg6WS

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 23, 2025

• Somehow the first period ended tied 3-3 and Connor Murphy was plus-two.

• The poor kid who was sitting in with Gene Honda doing some of the calls in the United Center had a rough first period. As they were trying to announce the scorers of the Blackhawks’ first two goals, another goal was scored. And Ilya Mikheyev got a breakaway that he couldn’t convert as the young person was yelling about Bedard’s goal.

• Here’s Bertuzzi’s go-ahead goal in the second period. He had an assist on Veleno’s goal and then on Donato’s second power play goal, giving him a three-point afternoon.

#Blackhawks take a 4-3 lead

Tyler Bertuzzi
Philipp Kurashev, Joe Veleno

pic.twitter.com/OLiT93sM05

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 23, 2025

• Jason Dickinson‘s injury opened the door for Philipp Kurashev to actually get back in the lineup for the first time since March 7. He had assists on the goals by Veleno and Bertuzzi for a two-point game.

• Here’s Lukas Reichel banking a shot in off a defender’s skate for his seventh of the season and the Blackhawks seventh of the game:

That’s seven (7) for the #Blackhawks

Lukas Reichel
Pat Maroon, Alex Vlasic

pic.twitter.com/EdKZs7WeZn

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 23, 2025

xx

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...ckhawks-7-flyers-4-three-stars-key-takeaways/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

Emotional Maroon, Boisvert’s Coach? Agent News, Postseason(s) Hockey, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

Pat Maroon had an emotional weekend. After sharing with his teammates — and, apparently, only his wife and father in his own family! — that he plans on this being his final NHL season before the game in St. Louis, the Blues were accommodating and made Saturday a wonderful celebration of the career of a journeyman who has won almost everywhere he’s been and overcome a lot of obstacles and perceptions to carve out a terrific career for himself.

"One thing I’m going to miss is the camaraderie with the guys, the banter in the room and the grind with the guys, the ups and downs, the highs and lows and the process of doing all that stuff with everyone."

–Pat Maroon on retiring after the season pic.twitter.com/fm80rC19HV

— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) March 24, 2025

On Sunday night, Maroon scored the first goal for the Blackhawks and looked almost upset while celebrating. After the game he admitted that it struck him that you never know what goal is going to be your last in the league and he was mindful of the significance of putting one on the board in Chicago one more time. After the game, he shared from the heart with his teammates before handing the belt to newcomer Joe Veleno. This is, indeed, wholesome content.

• The more he’s here with the Blackhawks and gets increasingly comfortable with the guys in the room and on the ice, I’m liking what I’ve seen from Veleno. He’s been able to pitch in on the penalty kill and has created a few chances in the last two games. Interim head coach Anders Sorensen said after the game he, too, likes what Veleno is doing and can see him getting more settled by the day. Getting him out of Detroit might end up being another really smart trade for the Blackhawks.

• Sorensen did not have updates for us on the statuses of Colton Dach (elbow), Jason Dickinson or Alec Martinez before or after Sunday’s game. It appears to be a hand/wrist issue for Dickinson, who dropped the gloves after Martinez was hurt with a dangerous hit from behind. Hopefully we have a better idea when the Hawks are back on the practice ice on Tuesday before hosting the Devils on Wednesday night.

• Ben Pope at the Chicago Sun-Times noted that the Blackhawks have actually been a pretty healthy team this season.

“Last season, the Hawks accumulated 362 man-games lost, per NHL Injury Viz, which was the second-most in the NHL — behind only the Golden Knights. … This season, the Hawks entered Sunday having accumulated 178 man-games lost, the 13th-most in the league. But looking at skaters specifically — since goalie Laurent Brossoit missing the entire season with knee problems accounts for a big chunk of that number — the Hawks have actually been a healthier-than-average team.”

• Philipp Kurashev got into the lineup because of the injuries last night and took advantage, putting two assists on the board. He’s only appeared in six games since the 4 Nations Face-Off break — only two in March thus far — but has four points (two goals, two assists) in those six games.

• Some pretty significant news in the college ranks on Sunday evening: North Dakota has fired head coach Brad Berry. Berry was named the NCHC’s Herb Brooks Coach of the Year four times and the national coach of the year in 2020 and led North Dakota to the 2016 NCAA championship (they probably would have won another in 2020 if not for the pandemic; the was one of the best regular seasons in program history). Longtime assistant Dane Jackson will reportedly serve as the program’s interim head coach.

• This move opens up some questions for me about whether or not the Blackhawks will have longer internal conversations about Sacha Boisvert turning pro after his freshman year. The Blackhawks have been willing to allow college prospects to mature on campus as long as they feel necessary under the GMKD regime, and it’s working out pretty well so far. But the Blackhawks have also been pretty selective with the programs where their prospects play — you’ll notice it’s Minnesota, Boston University, Michigan, Minnesota-Duluth, Notre Dame, Providence, Denver and North Dakota. All blue blood programs with coaches who are strong, known commodities (though Notre Dame is moving into a new era of their own now). Jackson has been an assistant at North Dakota for two decades, so that might be good enough for the Blackhawks. But I’m at least intrigued here.

Breaking news: Brad Berry is out as UND men's hockey coach after a decade at the helm, an NCAA national championship and five Penrose Cups. Story: https://t.co/H056YVkwUm

— Brad Elliott Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) March 23, 2025

• I heard back in February that Kevin Magnuson (yes, son of Blackhawks legend Keith) was going to go out on his own and now it appears to be out there. Kurt Overhardt is joining Wasserman, so Maggie and Cam Stewart are going out on their own. This is noteworthy because Magnuson represents Frank Nazar and Aidan Thompson.

The word in the agent community has been that while Kurt Overhardt & some KO Sports agents & staff are joining Wasserman, KO agents Kevin Magnuson & Cam Stewart are not joining & are planning to go out on their ownhttps://t.co/otpxXfy4bD https://t.co/LNN1RXgZfB

— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) March 24, 2025

• We’ve got a full playoff schedule for the Blackhawks’ college prospects as they jump on the Road to the Frozen Four.

• We also have a full playoff schedule for the Blackhawks’ OHL prospects.

#Blackhawks Prospects OHL Playoff Schedules Are Set https://t.co/aAFkx6p9Mr

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) March 24, 2025

• Nick Lardis did not play in Brantford’s season finale on Sunday. He finished his historic regular season with 71 goals and 46 assists in 65 games for the Bulldogs.

• Martin Misiak had two more assists to close his regular season for Erie.

MORE FROM BLEACHER NATION: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter

• Shoutout to Maryland for giving us the first buzzer-beater of the NCAA tournament last night.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/blac...tseasons-hockey-and-other-blackhawks-bullets/

 

[Chicago Blackhawks]

META: Making a Decision for Our Community on Sports Articles with Political Implications

Hey, Bleacher Nation! As you may know by now, I (Reid Rooney) like to post an update on the state of the site a couple of times a year. And this one is especially important, because I’d like to involve you in our decision-making process.

But before you react or comment, please…please read the whole article. I will reply to 100% of the respectful comments made within the first 24 hours (it might take me a few days) and consider all the opinions on what comes next.

Let’s start with some context for what we’re going to be discussing. For those who missed it, we covered two stories in the last week that I will be referencing.

1. Jeff Passan’s report on Jackie Robinson’s military record being taken down
2. Potential immigration issues for minor leaguers or in and out of Canada for big leaguers

For the first story, I (not Michael or Brett) made the decision to disable the comment section. It was the first time in BN history. Afterward, we received plenty of feedback from readers who did not appreciate that decision. For the second article, I decided to leave the comments on to see how it’d go. Now, we have to make a decision as a community about which path is actually better for the site. The decision will remain in my hands, as it must, but I am genuinely hoping to have a dialogue about the best path forward.

Context on me:

If you don’t know who I am, my name is Reid Rooney and I am the CEO of the group that bought Bleacher Nation a few years ago. I grew up in Chicago. I played baseball in college. I love this city and still live here. I am so proud of Bleacher Nation and I rarely make any major decisions without getting feedback from the reader. Likewise, 95% of the business decisions are left up to Michael and the team. I don’t want BN to change except to continue to grow. Over the past few years, a majority of sports media outlets (especially in Chicago) have cut back dramatically (including more cuts last week). But during that time, we have expanded. And we’ll continue to do so, as we responsibly run the business side of BN.

So why do I bring that up? Because it’s important to acknowledge that this is a business — one that provides a living and supports families. And it is my No. 1 responsibility to ensure it keeps doing that.

****

Relatedly, as this conversation is going to reference political beliefs, I’ll try to be more transparent about my family life and background.

• My wife is a female Canadian scientist who played soccer in college in the USA. She then went to grad school in the USA and earned a green card from a company that hired her. We got married and we went through the immigration process, which allowed her to become a dual citizen.
• One of my brothers-in-law is an immigrant (US citizen), who has served 4+ tours for the US Marines. My other brother-in-law is a Chicago police officer and has been for 15+ years.

Needless to say, the people in my life have very different backgrounds and experiences that have opened my eyes to being more understanding (than I used to be) to different political beliefs and experiences. And all of which is to say that what I am about to share (and ask for help on) is not a political opinion or commentary with an agenda. This is EXCLUSIVELY about what is best for Bleacher Nation and our community, and I want you to be involved in it with me.

Last piece of context before I get into it: A year ago, I started therapy for the first time in my life (I highly recommend it to anyone on the fence, as it has helped me tremendously and I only wish I started sooner). I bring that up because, during that journey, I’ve learned about the importance of having safe communities in which to participate — something I didn’t have enough of when I started. I sought some out and it has made a world of difference in my life.

Personally, I think loneliness and a general lack of community is a massive issue in today’s world. And to that end, I am SO proud to think of Bleacher Nation as one of those places and groups that has been positive in people’s lives.

Articles being referenced:

With all of this said, here is the situation I want you to weigh in on.

Here is the article I turned comments off for:

• Department of Defense Deletes, Then Restores, Story About Jackie Robinson’s Service in the Military

Here is the article we kept them on for:

• Possible New Travel Ban in the United States Could Impact MLB and MiLB Players

Business facts:

For the travel ban article (comments on), we received…

1. 700+ comments
2. 60% more traffic (than the Jackie Robinson article)
3. 75% more revenue made (because of visits and ad impressions when people came back to the comments section)

I lay that out so at least one thing is crystal clear: this is not a monetary decision. Indeed, we make less money by disabling the comment section. And that’s fine, becuase that’s not the point of the discussion we’re having.

Possible Options

So the way I see it, we have three choices moving forward:

1. Cover potentially political sports stories, but turn comments off
2. Cover potentially political sports stories, but leave comments on
3. Don’t cover potentially political stories at all

My thoughts:

To start, I don’t think Option #3 should even be considered. If Jeff Passan is reporting on a story about Jackie Robinson, I think it is imperative to deliver that news to the folks who want to read about it. Likewise, the travel ban was reported on because, whether you believe it or not, if it becomes an issue for MLB, we believe it is important to be aware of and commented on. That’s why Brett talked about it back in 2017 and why we’re doing it now. If an issue is going to directly impact the sports, teams, and players we follow, it has a place on this site.

Personally, I’m in favor of Option #1. While disabling the comments results in fewer views and less revenue, it keeps the BN community safe place for those who don’t want to engage in political discussions. That said, it is imperative to state:

1. You are allowed to have pretty much any political views you like in this country and I (nor the rest of BN team) are entitled to be the judge of your views and opinions
2. BN is a privately owned business. You are not entitled to make the choice for us or have complete free speech on our property, but you absolutely are entitled to create your own judgments or loyalty decisions based off our actions
3. People are allowed to disagree or have conflicting opinions. You see that on pretty much every single comment section we have
4. We are entitled to make our own guidelines or restrictions and edit them at any point in time

I will be honest, it is going to be very difficult for someone to convince me that the 710 comments made on the travel ban article is a better decision for our brand and site. Scroll through some of those comments if you haven’t and you want more of an opinion on this topic. It is a nasty experience. The problem is not that people are passionate, but the experience that our readers might have. It is not a safe place for our staff, our readers, and majority of our commentors. Some people thrive off of these interactions which also is completely okay, but I feel uncomfortable for those who don’t want to engage in them. It is also okay that we don’t allow those interactions on our site if we choose that path.

I don’t believe that the argument “just don’t look at the comments then” works either because it is easy to get sucked in. We have all fallen victim to this at some point in our life where we saw something or reacted too quickly to an email or slack message or text message that we didn’t want to engage in.

Likewise, we can’t overly-moderate every comment section. That’s not the best use of Michael’s time and it will get subjective/unfair very quickly.

Takeaways:

So, here are my thoughts:

1. I believe we should cover stories like this still
2. I prioritize safe space and community over people’s ability to comment their political beliefs (on either end of the political spectrum)
3. I want to hear from you. Respectfully comment your thoughts or suggestions below and I will engage with you this week before making a decision

To summarize, right now we are going to turn off comments on potential stories that are viewed to be “political or have the ability to turn political”. I am open to changing this policy and I am asking for your suggestions and thoughts.

Very few businesses would ever ask this of the customers and readers but you are all part of this community. I want to be sensitive on this topic while protecting our brand and community. I hope you can at least appreciate the directness and openness we are taking at Bleacher Nation. I also want to be very clear one last time… this decision is not due to either side of the political spectrum. This is not a Michael or Brett decision. This is ultimately my decision, and I want to do what is right for the team, the readers, and the business.

Next steps:

Please take a deep breath. Maybe 5 minutes. Maybe 30 minutes. Then, if you are so inclined, give me your thoughts and suggestions respectfully. I will reply to all the comments that talk about how we should handle this moving forward without attacking our team, people of different political beliefs, or myself. I am asking for your help and contribution.

Thanks everyone. Looking forward to the discussion.

**** If you did not read the whole thing because it is so long please try to do so before commenting. There is a lot in here and if the comment is shows the article was not read I will not reply.

Source: https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs...-sports-articles-with-political-implications/