Insider names 8 Chicago Blackhawks who are all crucially battling for a roster spot
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As a new head coach in Jeff Blashill takes over the Chicago Blackhawks, a new wave of player evaluation is underway amongst 8 players to find out who makes the final roster cut.
In a recent column by Scott Powers of The Athletic, 8 players are currently being evaluated by head coach Jeff Blashill, as roster battles reach full force ahead of October 7 puck drop for the regular season.
An intriguing name to say the least, brother of former Blackhawk Kirby Dach, Colton is much bigger and physical. A prescence that the Blackhawks need amongst a group of small forwards (Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar).
«I do think he is a player who can potentially end up being a really good NHL player in different spots in the lineup,» Blashill said. «It wouldn't surprise me at all if he ended up into a top-six spot, a guy who goes out and helps a couple of other really good players because he's got enough skill to play with good players. Where I think his identity is and where he can separate himself more than anything else is by being a big power forward, by being physical on the forecheck, being hard at the net front, adding some team toughness.»
Deemed as one of the most reliable defensive prospects in the Blackhawks system, he may not have a high ceiling at the NHL level such as Artyom Levshunov or Sam Rinzel, but he's an anchor on the back end.
«He's a bit of a gamer in a sense,» Blashill said of Del Mastro. «I think he has a way of making plays and doing that without being high-risk. I think Rinzel, he's a fairly complete package. We think they're a group that can play well together and again, trying out some different pairs. We'll try this out at the beginning of preseason and we'll go from there.»
Unless a big preseason performance can suddenly change the mind of the Blackhawks' coaching staff, it appears that Greene is amongst those looking on from the outside.
With such a rich prospect group of forwards, Greene will have a hard time finding an NHL role, in my opinion, within the Blackhawks organization.
«We definitely want to score short-handed goals,» Blashill said. «That's a huge part of the penalty kill. (Oliver) Moore, Greene, Frankie (Nazar), Mikky (Ilya Mikheyev) - those guys all have a lot of speed to create opportunities to go down and score shorties, and we definitely want to do that.»
Matt Grzelcyk
signed to a PTO by the Blackhawks, the veteran defenseman is coming off of a career-high 40-point season and is expected to take the roster spot of a young defender who isn't quite NHL ready yet.
«He's a good player in the league,» Blashill said. «Honestly, surprised he's still available, in a sense that he had a good year last year with Pittsburgh. He can kind of do a lot of different jobs. Last year, he was on the power play. He hadn't spent a ton of time on a first unit before that.
«Ultimately, he's got to be him. He's got to be a really good steady kind of figure out there for us. And it probably depends on how some of the younger guys play. If the younger guys play really good, it'll make it hard. If the younger guys falter and then open the door for him and he plays great hockey, then he's in a good position.»
«Ultimately, he's got to be him. He's got to be a really good steady kind of figure out there for us. And it probably depends on how some of the younger guys play. If the younger guys play really good, it'll make it hard. If the younger guys falter and then open the door for him and he plays great hockey, then he's in a good position.»
Grzelcyk is expected to soak up a roster spot over Kevin Korchinski, who doesn't seem to have a secure roster spot with the team.
"Rockford's still a great option (if he doesn't make the Blackhawks). He's still very young. We've known the name and he's been on the scene. He started early. But there's still a growth for all young players to undergo to make sure they stick and they're impact players in the NHL."
Other players who are currently battling for a spot include Nick Lardis, who's coming off of a 71-goal-season in the OHL, Oliver Moore, and Lukas Reichel, who's yet to find consistency despite several opportunities.
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