The Chicago Blackhawks are set to face the Columbus Blue Jackets. This is Columbus' first game following their big trade.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are going to take on the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Sunday afternoon. This will be a solid matchup for a variety of reasons.
Connor Bedard is going to be linked to Adam Fantilli for his entire career. Fantilli went 3rd overall in Bedard’s draft but many expected him to go second. Bedard has a higher ceiling but Fantilli is projected to be a star as well.
Before Saturday was even over, however, some big news came out. The Blue Jackets traded one of the top prospects, defenseman David Jiricek, to the Minnesota Wild. The Wild also got a 5th-round pick in 2025.
Going back to Minnesota is Daemon Hunt (defenseman), a conditional 1st-round pick in 2025, a third and fourth in 2026, and a second in 2027. It's a great haul for the Blue Jackets as Jiricek didn’t want to play in their organization anymore.
The condition on that first-round pick is that if it lands in the top five, the Wild will keep it and transfer their 2026 first instead.
Jiricek, the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, has been playing for the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL this season. Now, Jiricek will report to the Iowa Wild and continue his development. For all that Minnesota paid to get him, they want to finish his minor-league development correctly.
What will Jiricek’s role be on the Wild once he’s called up? At first, he’ll be a depth defenseman looking to grow his game, but his potential is to be a top guy on the team.
Brock Faber is already playing for the Wild and he’s a star. They also have Zeev Buium playing at the University of Denver and he's one of the best defensemen in college hockey.
These three could form one of the best young defense cores in the league. In the case of Buium, he’d make the perfect partner with the newly acquired Wild defenseman Jiricek.
We will now see how Columbus plays in their first game following the big trade. Jiricek wasn’t with the team before, but everybody knew this move was coming.
The Hawks and Blue Jackets have a lot in common. Both organizations have a ton of young talent but haven’t taken that step toward the playoffs in a while.
It will be interesting to see what happens when they collide on Sunday while one of them is a big story in the league.
Projected Blackhawks Lineup:
Hall - Bedard - Kurashev
Bertuzzi - Donato - Teravainen
Mikheyev - Dickinson - Foligno
Maroon - Reichel - Smith
Vlasic - Murphy
Kaiser - Martinez
Crevier - Brodie
Mrazek
Projected Blue Jackets Lineup:
Dmitri Voronkov - Sean Monahan - Kirill Marchenko
Cole Sillinger - Adam Fantilli - Kent Johnson
Zach Aston-Reese - Justin Danforth - Mathieu Olivier
James van Riemsdyk - Sean Kuraly - Kevin Labanc
Zach Werenski - Dante Fabbro
Ivan Provorov - Damon Severson
Jake Christiansen - Jordan Harris
Elvis Merzlikins
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