The Chicago Blackhawks held practice on Tuesday which was a non-game day. They are getting ready to host the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night for an 8:30 PM puck drop on national television.
Interim head coach Anders Sorensen has been known to change his lines and defense pairs from game to game. He did that once again during this practice and there are some intriguing combinations.
Donato - Bedard - Mikheyev
Teravainen - Nazar - Bertuzzi
Slaggert - Moore - Reichel
Foligno - Veleno - Maroon
Vlasic - Rinzel
Kaiser - Levshunov
Korchinski - Murphy
Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and Oliver Moore down the middle is a good look for the Blackhawks. When Moore first signed, it was fair to wonder if we’d see this as a top-nine center trio at any point.
Bedard’s position in the long term is still in question but he is a natural center. If they want to maximize his potential in the NHL, they might want to keep him right there.
Ryan Donato is currently sitting on 29 goals. One more will give him 30 for the first time in his career. Playing with Bedard and Ilya Mikheyev will give him a chance to reach that plateau.
Frank Nazar and Oliver Moore could end up on the wing in the long term, but Chicago wants to get a look at them at center and rightfully so. For Moore, this will be his first time playing center in the NHL after playing there for Minnesota all year.
Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi will create a well-balanced line with Nazar. As for Moore, he will skate with Reichel and Slaggert. This young line should have everything it needs to play fast and with an edge.
Joe Veleno will round out the center position with two veterans in Nick Foligno and Pat Maroon on his wings. This fourth line could generate chances offensively while also checking against the high-end skill that Colorado presents.
On defense, it didn’t take Sam Rinzel long to get a promotion. He will start on the top pair with Alex Vlasic. This could be a look at a pair that the Blackhawks have at the top for a long time.
Artyom Levshunov will skate with Wyatt Kaiser. Both of them have been great lately and bring something different to the table. Expect them to see some interesting matchups as Colorado has a lot more than their one elite line.
Connor Murphy is the elder statesman on this blue line right now. We’ll see if he can help get Kevin Korchinski, who is auditioning for a spot next season. There are a lot of good defensemen competing for jobs within the organization.
Arvid Soderblom started on Sunday against the Utah Hockey Club so you can expect to see Spencer Knight go against the Avalanche. He is looking to end the season on a high note after some up and down moments to begin his tenure in Chicago.
Wins and losses aren’t important right now. This team has a ton of young talent and they’d like to develop it. The Avalanche present an incredibly tough challenge that will be great for these kids to see.
