The Blackhawks are officially back on the ice today! After months of front office activity with nothing but speculation about Chicago’s new-look roster, we should finally be able to get a sense for what this team could do in the upcoming season. It’s only training camp, but it’s safe to say hockey is finally back.
With the current state of the Blackhawks, this training camp is as intriguing as any in a long time. The roster looks completely different, Connor Bedard has a chance to put up ridiculous numbers, and there are still a handful of roster dilemmas that still need to be sorted out. It’s the first season in a few years where there aren’t enough roster spots to go around, with plenty of talent now at the NHL level.
Biggest Questions
Will Frank Nazar make the team? – For the first time since Bedard was drafted last summer, perhaps not all eyes will be on the 19-year-old superstar. That’s because the biggest question to be answered in training camp and the preseason is whether Frank Nazar will stay on the NHL roster. After an impressive debut at the end of the Blackhawks’ 2023-24 campaign, it seemed he would be back this fall, but that was before five forwards were added this summer. The Blackhawks will make everyone earn their roster spot over the next few weeks – can Nazar beat out some veterans to play on opening night?
Is Lukas Reichel back? – Perhaps the biggest story of last season was the struggles of Lukas Reichel. After coming into the campaign with high expectations, he struggled mightily as a scorer, netting just 16 points in 65 games. As a result, he’ll be one of the biggest focuses of training camp. The Blackhawks have too much invested in Reichel to keep him off the opening night roster, but a good training camp could be just what he needs to cool off his seat a bit.
Full Schedule
The Blackhawks will be practicing beginning today through October 7 six days a week (with Sundays off). Most practices are at 10 a.m. at Fifth Third Arena, and attendees have to secure free tickets beforehand. Tickets for most practices are already sold out, so the excitement around this team is palpable.
Chicago is scheduled for six games throughout the preseason, beginning with Detroit next Wednesday.
Wednesday, Sept. 25 — vs. Detroit — 7 PM CT
Friday, Sept. 27 — at Detroit — 6 PM CT
Saturday, Sept. 28 — at St. Louis — 6 PM CT
Tuesday, Oct. 1 — at Minnesota — 7 PM CT
Friday, Oct. 4 — vs. Minnesota — 7:30 PM CT
Saturday, Oct. 5 — vs. St. Louis — 7 PM CT
Roster Changes
How about a refresher on Chicago’s new-look roster? When they take the ice today, the Blackhawks will be a completely different group than what we saw last year. Below are the eight new faces in Chicago and the numbers they’ll be wearing.
15 — Craig Smith
25 — Alec Martinez
39 — Laurent Brossoit
59 — Tyler Bertuzzi
77 — Pat Maroon
78 — TJ Brodie
86 — Teuvo Teräväinen
95 — Ilya Mikheyev
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