The Chicago Blackhawks returned home from a four-game road trip that didn’t go their way, as they went 1-3.
But their game against the Winnipeg Jets on March 31 brought a newsy 24 hours, including Anton Frondell’s first game at the United Center and significant injury updates, as the Blackhawks are without Matt Grzelyck, Artyom Levshunov, Oliver Moore, and Andrew Mangiapane.
Here is the latest as they embark on another (and final) three-game road trip.
Injury Updates
Head coach Jeff Blashill announced on March 31 that Grzelyck, who sustained an injury on March 22, and Levshunov, who is dealing with a hand fracture, will miss the remainder of the season.
Meanwhile, regarding the forward injuries, Andrew Mangiapane, who has been dealing with an upper-body injury since March 19, will travel with the team on their three-game road trip. Blashill said he won’t play against the Edmonton Oilers on April 2, but noted, “we’re hoping to have him at some point on the trip, though.”
With Oliver Moore, who has been out since March 8, his return status is up in the air. Blashill said, “If he gets in, it would be just at the very end. So, we’re not sure. We’re still kind of waiting for final say on that, but it’s somewhat likely that he won’t be available the rest of the year. If he was available, it would be at the end.”
The Blackhawks are missing all four players, but development in the final games will remain the focal point as players take on increased roles. Kevin Korchinski was recalled from Rockford. So, he and Ethan Del Mastro have been getting extended looks, and prospects Sacha Boisvert and Anton Frondell have been able to slot in to help on offense.
Frondell’s Impressive Debut
Frondell has had a great start to his NHL career. It’s a very small sample size, but in five games, he has five points, including his first NHL goal at home against the Jets. Blashill started him at wing, but he is now playing center, and Blashill is keen on keeping him at center and not moving him back.
“Not based on what I’ve seen. Listen, if we can get to a point, you know, just organizationally, you have Connor (Bedard), Frondell, Frankie (Nazar) up the middle, you’re in an unbelievable spot. And if you get to a point where you have a guy in Anton who looks like a player who could, you know, similar what you had here with Jonathan Toews- go out play against the other team’s best, but also which then frees up Connor and Frankie to not have to do that. And then also produce points. That’s a great asset to have as an organization. So, will we play with different things as we go? Maybe. But right now, I’m going to leave him at center and let him continue to get those reps in the middle there, and go from there.”
Speaking of Frondell, he said about his first NHL goal postgame, “An amazing feeling. A dream come true, and happy to do it in my first home game.”
Blackhawks “Fight” Practice
The talking point of the week was that some Blackhawks players practiced fighting, and one of their pro scouts, Wade Brookbank was there to assist them.
I asked Del Mastro about the practice. It only included a few players, and he mentioned they enjoyed it.
“I think it was just something that, you know, we want to work on for a while. I mean, it wasn’t as much as maybe, like, looked like fight club. It was more so just kind of being able to be comfortable in maybe those situations. You know, we have a lot of young guys that haven’t obviously played a ton of pro hockey. So, I think it’s nice to be able to have someone to come out and talk to us about certain ways to defend yourselves, and become more comfortable in that situation. Because, you know, hockey is a violent sport. It happens a lot more than you think… a lot of the D were out there, and we want to be able to add that to our game and be comfortable with it. So, I think that was huge to kind of be able to just, you know, grapple a little bit, and be more comfortable in that setting.”
Related: 5 Things to Watch as the Blackhawks’ Season Winds Down
In the game against the Jets, they were outhit 27-20, but 20 was more than they had in their last four games, during which their high was 17 hits against the New York Islanders on March 24.
It doesn’t mean the Blackhawks are going to turn into some wrecking ball team, but it’s something they are taking to heart and are eager to improve on.
Boisvert Returns to Lineup
Sacha Boisvert was made a healthy scratch against the Jets after making his NHL debut on March 26. It got Sam Lafferty back in the lineup, but Blashill also noted the benefit of Boisvert watching as a good learning experience. He did that this season with players like Levshunov and Del Mastro, too.
But Boisvert will return to the lineup.
Blashill had this to say about Boisvert on April 1, “First of all, Sasha, I thought he got better in the three games that he played. He’ll play again in Edmonton. So, you know, we’ll get him back in a couple games in a row, hopefully. And I thought he got more comfortable, as was to be expected. Brought some physicality, but also, like, he’s got good play with the puck. He probably hasn’t had the opportunity to get a shot off as much… You can tell he’s got a really good shot, too. Obviously, got in a fight, which shows his toughness. So, yeah, you know, I think he’s done a good job.”
Gajan Signs With Blackhawks
The Blackhawks announced they signed goaltender Adam Gajan to a two-year entry-level deal. He was a 2023 second-round pick and is coming from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he went 19-13-1 in 33 games, with a 2.25 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.
Scott Powers of The Athletic reported Gajan “is expected to sign an ATO or PTO and join the IceHogs this season.”
The 21-year-old joins a crowded goalie group mainly including Drew Commesso, Arvid Söderblom, and Spencer Knight. But having a lot of goalies with potential is a good problem to have. So, we’ll see how Gajan develops.
Stay tuned for more News & Rumors throughout the rest of the season!
