The Chicago Blackhawks are taking on the Detroit Red Wings in preseason game number one. After lots of practice, they will finally be able to go against another team.
Some of the younger players at camp have already had the chance to play against other teams in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase, but now the rest of the group will have the opportunity over the next couple of weeks, starting on Tuesday night in Detroit.
There were two groups of players at practice in the morning. The first was the game group, which looked like this:
Goalies:
Arvid Soderblom
Drew Commesso
Defensemen:
Sam Rinzel
Kevin Korchinski
Cavan Fitzgerald
Ethan Del Mastro
Wyatt Kaiser
Louis Crevier
Artyom Levshunov
Forwards:
Oliver Moore
Ryan Greene
Joey Anderson
Sam Lafferty
Dominic Toninato
Colton Dach
Lukas Reichel
Aidan Thompson
Jack Pridham
Marek Vanacker
Frank Nazar
Connor Bedard
This is a very young group, but it is filled with players who are expected to impact the opening night roster, including Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov, Ethan Del Mastro, and Sam Rinzel, among others.
Older players like Jason Dickinson, Nick Foligno, and Tyler Bertuzzi were out with the non-game practice group. Teuvo Teravainen joined the group of unavailable players as he didn’t practice with either group.
On the power play, the Blackhawks will work with these units:
Unit 1
Dach
Bedard - Reichel - Nazar
Rinzel
Unit 2
Toninato
Moore - Greene - Anderson
Levshunov
At even strength, they will start with these lines and defense pairs:
Dach-Bedard-Reichel
Moore-Nazar-Thompson
Anderson-Greene-Lafferty
Vanacker-Toninato-Pridham
Kaiser-Levshunov
Del Mastro-Rinzel
Korchinski-Crevier
Cumby-Fitzgerald
Arvid Soderblom is expected to start in goal and play the entire game. This is his chance to establish himself as the true backup on the team this season. Drew Commesso is the backup, and Spencer Knight skated with the non-game group.
So far, practice has had emphasis on effort, being well-conditioned, and being hard to play against. You can see the difference in the way the team, specifically the young players, have responded to Jeff Blashill compared to recent head coaches. This preseason game will be their first test against another team, trying to truly beat them.
Those looking for the game in the Chicago area can find it on CHSN. Out-of-market viewings can be found on ESPN+. The puck will drop at Little Caesars Arena at 6:00 PM CT.
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