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The Chicago Blackhawks have several young players who they will be hoping hit new levels during the 2025-26 season. Among the most notable is young center Frank Nazar.

Nazar just had a solid rookie season with the Blackhawks during the 2024-25 campaign, as he recorded 12 goals, 14 assists, and 26 points in 53 games. The 2022 first-round pick demonstrated plenty of promise during his rookie season with numbers like these, and it is exactly why the Blackhawks signed him to a big seven-year, $46.13 million contract extension this off-season, which kicks in during the 2026-27 season.

Now, after signing his big contract extension this summer, Nazar is having a great start with the Blackhawks in 2025-26. In three games so far, the 5-foot-10 forward has recorded one goal, four assists, five points, and a plus-2 rating. This includes him recording two assists and a plus-1 rating in the Blackhawks’ most recent contest against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 11.

Nazar is showing clear signs that he is ready to have a big breakout season offensively for the Blackhawks, and it is hard not to feel excited about his future with the Central Division club. It will be very interesting to see how he builds on his hot start to the year from here.

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The Chicago Blackhawks made it home for their home opener on Saturday night. They took on the Montreal Canadiens in what was the first game of their centennial celebration.

The Blackhawks fell to the Canadiens by giving up a goal with 15 seconds left in regulation. This goal broke a 2-2 tie and ended Chicagoâ€s chance at its first win of the season.

The goal was a Juraj Slafkovsky redirection of a point shot that beat Spencer Knight. The young Blackhawks got a little bit frantic in the final minute of the game, and it bit them.

Chicago’s two goals were positive in the fact that two young core pieces scored them. Their first was the first in the career of defenseman Sam Rinzel. Frank Nazar won a faceoff back to Teuvo Teravainen, who tapped it to Rinzel with an open lane to the net. He didn’t miss.

Blackhawks: Sam Rinzel Has His First Career NHL Goal
Not long after Cole Caufield had a Montreal Canadiens goal stand after being reviewed for a high stick, the Blackhawks tied the game thanks to a goal scored by Sam Rinzel.

Chicago’s second goal was a Frank Nazar shot on the power play that deflected in the net off of Connor Bedard. These two are forming decent chemistry with the man-advantage. Down the middle, based on the way the early stages of the season are going for these two players, the Blackhawks are forming a great two-headed monster.

One of the main storylines from the game was the penalty trouble that the Blackhawks found themselves in. The Blackhawks accumulated a total of 39 penalty minutes. Montreal had 10 power plays. They converted on two of them, which played a role in the outcome of the game.

After the match against the Bruins earlier in the week, the Blackhawks talked about standing up for each other, but they got a little ahead of themselves in this game.

Due to being on the penalty kill for almost one full period worth of time, they were never able to get in a true offensive rhythm. Some penalty killers didn’t get enough ice at 5-on-5, and some non-killers weren’t able to stay on the ice with offensive momentum for long enough to make an impact.

After the game was over, head coach Jeff Blashill talked about some of these issues and how they affected the team as a whole.

“That’s a really, really hard game to get any rhythm going. Blashill said. “Certain guys are playing so many minutes. Anybody who killed was playing so many minutes, and then you’re trying to get some of the guys that don’t kill you back in their rhythm in minutes.”

It makes sense when you think about it from a deployment standpoint. It’s hard to do anything with consistency when you’re marching to the penalty box like that. It has been over a decade since the Blackhawks last gave their opponent double-digit power plays. That must be cleaned up going forward.

To their credit, the penalty kill units did well based on the situation. They don’t love giving up two power-play goals, but when you kill off eight others, it is a win. The fact is that they gave the rest of the team a chance to win.

Chicago is still working on putting teams away late in hockey games. Giving up a heartbreaker with 15 seconds left adds to the list of games that this young core has lost in the final minutes.

“You have to have the mindset of not just being okay with being in the game,” Captain Nick Foligno said. “You’ve got to find a way to step on their throats for lack of a better word and find a way to get that done like [Montreal] did tonight, right? So that mentality has to now shift from ‘hey, we’re becoming a good team’ to ‘no, we are a good team’. We have to believe that and put it into our practice.”

As a guy who has been a captain for multiple NHL franchises and a general leader for others, Foligno knows the ups and downs of an NHL clubhouse. This Blackhawks team is getting better, and it shows when you watch. The results aren’t showing up in the standings just yet.

Chicago’s next chance will come on Monday night when they will host the Utah Mammoth at the United Center.

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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The Chicago Blackhawks are now 0-1-1 through two games to open their season. It began with two road Eastern Conference matches. Chicago lost to the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Tuesday night and dropped an overtime game 4-3 to the Boston Bruins on Thursday.

Now, they will return home to the United Center, where the celebration of Chicagoâ€s centennial season will begin. They will host the Montreal Canadiens for an Original Six matchup.

Ahead of this upcoming two-game home-stand, we learned a few things about the Blackhawks that we couldnâ€t confirm before the games started to count.

Frank Nazar might already be a star.

So far, Frank Nazar has been Chicago’s best player. He drives his own line, makes his teammates better around him, and has numbers to show for it through two games. That includes one goal and two assists.

In overtime of game two against the Boston Bruins, he had a great chance in overtime, but was stoned by Joonas Korpisalo. That was one of many plays he was a part of that would be considered scoring chances for Chicago.

Nazar isn’t the type of star who only contributes offensively, either. He plays well in his own end, kills penalties, and uses his skating to impact the game in all three zones. Nobody on the team is faster at top speed or with their bursts.

Although he isn’t even 82 games into his NHL career, Nazar is already showing the signs of being a star. He was given a big contract extension over the summer, which drew criticism due to its length, monetary value, and his lack of experience, but now it appears to be a bargain.

There is a long way to go for Nazar to truly realize that dream of being a star player, but he’s on the right track. He had a strong finish to last season, was one of Team USA’s best forwards at the World Championships, controlled play throughout camp/preseason, and now is off to this great start through two games that count. Expect him to be a difference-maker from now on.

Connor Bedardâ€s summer speed/skating workouts are already paying off.

Connor Bedard skipped the World Championships with Team Canada to spend the early stages of his summer working on skating. He didn’t waver from that at any point leading up to training camp, either. It shows.

Through the first two games, Bedard has one goal and one assist, which is nice, but his style of play is what’s really eye-popping right now. Only Frank Nazar has had higher overall speeds and speed bursts through the first two games, which is good company to be in for Bedard.

He didn’t score in overtime against the Bruins on a breakaway, but he had the speed and tenacity to have a chance all alone, which is important to see.

Bedard has all of the tools to be a high-end offensive player. His shot, passing, and offensive IQ are as good as it gets for young players. Adding this element of speed and high-end skating could be what gets him to that next level of superstardom. Through two games, it looks like he’s headed down that road.

Artyom Levshunov has a long way to go.

As good as it’s been for Nazar and Bedard, it’s mostly been the opposite for Artyom Levshunov. He collected an assist thanks to a good play to help set up an Andre Burakovsky goal, but the rest of his play has been subpar through the first two games.

This does not mean that Levshunov is going to have a bad year, but it does mean that he has a long way to go before being a top-tier defenseman in the NHL.

Since the beginning of camp, Jeff Blashill has had him stapled next to Wyatt Kaiser, who has been great in his role as a top-four defender on the team. The same can’t be said for his partner.

Levshunov has had more valleys than peaks so far as the second man on the pair. Bad positioning, questionable decision-making, and too many penalties taken are what lead to these struggles. For a young defenseman in his teens, these are common problems.

Does Levshunov need time in the AHL? An argument can be made, but then who comes up? Nolan Allan, Ethan Del Mastro, and Kevin Korchinski haven’t been much better, so they might as well let the guy with the highest ceiling continue to work out his issues.

By the end of this season, the hope for Levshunov is that he will have shown a lot of improvement. He had good moments last season after some seasoning, so there is already evidence that he can play well at this level. If he just works on his penalty trouble and positioning, he will be a serviceable defender at worst.

If the offensive IQ continues to take leaps, like on the Burakovsky goal against the Boston Bruins, then there will be chatter about him being a legit top-pair guy.

What will come of these storylines once the Blackhawks return home? Frank Nazar and Connor Bedard are going to continue on their upward trajectory. They will be this team’s two-headed monster down the middle for the entire year, and possibly long beyond that.

As for Levshunov, he will work to change the narrative as quickly as possible. With home ice for two games, Blashill will have the opportunity to get Levshunov more favorable matchups to get his confidence back.

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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The
St. Louis Blues closed out the preseason in impressive fashion with a
4-0
win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center in Chicago on
Saturday.

The
Blues (2-3-1) used a half and half lineup, inserting a number of
younger players they still wanted to get a look at along with a
couple veterans fighting for spots.

One
of those is Milan Lucic, in camp on a professional tryout who scored
his first goal; Robert Thomas and
Otto Stenberg each had a goal and an assist, Logan
Mailloux had two assists, and
Aleksanteri Kaskimaki also scored
for
the Blues, who
scored three times in
the second period,
and Joel Hofer made eight
saves through
two periods before Colten Ellis cleaned up the third with nine
stops.

The
Blues will now work during the week starting
on Sunday before
opening the season Thursday at home against the Minnesota Wild.

Here
are tonightâ€s observations:

*
Itâ€s going to come down to Lucic/Texier for the final roster spot –
With Mathieu Joseph out of the lineup Saturday, one has to assume the
Blues have seen enough from him to feel heâ€s earned his roster
spot.

As
for Lucic, this was the most noticeable heâ€s been since heâ€s
arrived in St. Louis. His goal is a perfect example of how he has to
play, work to keep a puck in the offensive zone, keep it it alive,
find the open man, then move to the net and park his big, strong
6-foot-3, 235-pound body, getting a piece of Maillouxâ€s shot off
the left circle at 13:13 of the second period to give the Blues a 2-0
lead:

Lucic
finished the game with a game-high eight
hits in
14:35.
He has to be making an impact with his body in order to have success.
He did so in this game.

“Establishing the front of the net winning battles,” Lucic said. “I felt like I could have done a better job of winning battles coming into this game. Our whole team, it was probably our best effort as far as winning battles, keeping pucks alive, playing in the O-zone. So not only myself, a lot of guys got rewarded for that tonight.”

Texier
had one really skilled play with roughly two minutes left when behind
the net, he was deceitful in coming back against the grain with a
pass to Pius Suter that was stopped in front, but this was his chance
to really make some high-end plays against a AHL-type lineup and just
didnâ€t do so playing on a line with Suter and Jordan Kyrou.

This
is going to be a tough call for the Blues, who do have the luxury of
extending Lucicâ€s PTO every 10 days if they feel like he needs more
time to showcase himself and keep from putting Texier on waivers.

I
just donâ€t have a sense where they will go with this at the moment.
Itâ€s literally a 50/50 call.

“That’s a better question for management, but as far as for me, it’s a tough bump in the road getting a groin injury there,” Lucis said. “I know a lot of people are judgmental about my skating, but in order for me to be effective, I definitely need my legs and my speed to play the way that I do. To be able to battle through the last three games with a groin injury, I felt like I got better from Tuesday to Thursday to Saturday. Happy with what I was able to do this week.”

*
Stenberg, Kaskimaki will be full-time players starting next season –
Otto Stenberg and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, playing with Dalibor Dvorsky
on Saturday, will almost certainly be full-time NHL players next
season.

Weâ€ve
talked about Dvorsky enough, and I still think he starts the season
in Springfield of the American Hockey League, as will Stenberg and
Kaskimaki, but I feel like the latter two have had such impressive
camps. Theyâ€re good, solid, responsible players who read the game
well. And it was on display on Kaskimakiâ€s goal to open the scoring
at 4:04 of the second period to make it 1-0:

Tyler
Tucker reads a chance to move the puck in transition to Stenberg, who
moved it up the lefthand side before reading a play to slide the puck
in stride to Kaskimaki, whose deft redirection didnâ€t appear to be
much but perhaps caught Arvid Soderblom off guard just enough for the
puck to squirt through the Blackhawks goalie:

Theyâ€re
both hard workers, and I think the coaching staff has most certainly
taken notice of their work and smart abilities, whether with or
without pucks.

Blues
coach Jim Montgomery spoke of Stenbergâ€s camp on Saturday morning.

Neither
of them will make the roster out of training camp, but they have each
put his stake in the ground, and firmly implanted it in the ground.
It wonâ€t be too long. Kaskimaki-Dvorsky-Stenberg
will be a solid line in Springfield this year.

*
Hunter Skinner
will be a good insurance policy – Skinner, acquired in the Vladimir
Tarasenko trade Feb. 9, 2023 with the New York Rangers, was quietly
having himself a strong camp and nipping at the heels of Matthew
Kessel for the seventh defenseman on this squad.

He
didnâ€t do anything to squash his resume in this game either. He had
an assist in the game when he funneled a puck towards the goal that
Thomas tipped in for a 3-0 lead at 18:10 of the second period and was
a plus-2 in 16:53:

But
I liked Skinnerâ€s physical nature in this game, and he made a solid
defensive play with roughly eight minutes left in the second when he
hustled back and broke up a play that started off as a 2-on-1 for
Chicago.

Skinner
had five shot attempts and three hits but it sure seemed like more
than that. He will be one of the first call-ups should the Blues need
a defenseman.

As
for Kessel, this was his best preseason game, playing a team-high
21:08 with six hits. He was engaged and playing like a player that
knew someone was looking for his job. But I thought Kessel did a nice
job of breaking up a number of Chicago rushes and moving pucks
quickly back out of the zone.

I
think he cinched his place on this roster.

* Thomas, Snuggerud are going to make magic â€“ If there was any doubt that two of the Blues’ top forwards are already in sync, just watch not only tonight’s game but the ones they’ve played previously. Forget about Snuggerud’s ability to shoot, this kid can make plays; we already know Thomas can. But if they can make plays for each other and complement each other, watch out. That’s all I’m going to say. And for Pavel Buchnevich, who will start on that line, you better take advantage of the elite playmaking provided by two skilled players.

“It helps when you’re playing with such good players,” Snuggerud said. “I feel like it’s something I’ve been trying to improve a lot because it’s needed in the game of hockey. Being able to work on things like that makes the game more fun.”

*
Quick hitters – Mailloux, who finished the preseason with four
points, will be in the starting lineup on Thursday, undoubtedly. He
played 20:52 and was on the penalty kill again, something the Blues
want to work with him on and again used his long body and stick to
disrupt plays. I think he makes a good option, if needed, as a
quarterback power play with his alert play to Thomas that resulted in
Stenbergâ€s goal at 4:24 of the third period that made it 4-0:

Theo
Lindstein, who had an assist on the Thomas goal, had his best game of
the preseason playing 17:55 with three shots on goal. He will benefit
greatly from a full season in Springfield. This is a project that the
Blues will be patient with, and I thought Leo Loof asserted himself
much better in this game than his last one last Tuesday. He played
18:42 and also had six hits.

Thatâ€ll
do it for the preseason. The opening night 23-man roster deadline is 4 p.m. (CT) on Monday. It all starts for real on Thursday.

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CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks made their return to the United Center on Tuesday for the fourth preseason game. Their first three all came on the road, and now they will close out the exhibition season with some home cooking.

The Detroit Red Wings were the first team to visit, and they dressed a lineup that included some of their regular-season players in addition to some roster hopefuls.

The Blackhawks dressed a group that will mostly make up their group on opening night against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise. There are a few positional battles to sort out, which were a part of Tuesday’s evaluation, but most of their lines from this game will be how things look next week.

It wasn’t necessarily due to terrible overall play, but some bad mistakes led to the Blackhawks being down 3-0 after two periods. Whether it was them pressing too hard offensively or not being strong on the puck after failing to score on a power play, they weren’t good enough.

Early in the third period, however, the Blackhawks finally got on the board. Colton Dach drove the net all on his own and put one away.

That would be all they were able to muster up, as the 3-1 score stood up as the final. Shots on goal favored the Blackhawks, 28-19.

Part of the issue for Chicago in this one was the power play. The Blackhawks went 0/6, despite having double-digit chances with the man advantage. Even one goal in that situation could have turned the tide of the whole game. They got their looks, and now it’s just about executing.

Spencer Knight, who played the whole game, gave up three goals on 19 Detroit shots. It wasn’t his best performance, but all three goals had more problems with skaters in front of him making errors that are hard to recover from.

Although goalies making tough saves can be the difference in winning and losing, none of these three goals against can be viewed as his fault alone.

Dach’s goal showed that he will bring some offense in addition to the physicality that he has brought in other preseason games so far. Other Blackhawks players had their chances, but they weren’t able to bury on Cam Talbot, who had a great game in his own right.

There are two more preseason games to go for Chicago. The Minnesota Wild will be at the United Center on Friday night, followed by the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Both of those games, in addition to the film that came from this one, will provide clarity on the roster that will eventually exist come Tuesday.

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The Chicago Blackhawks are at the halfway point of training camp. One week from today, they will be in Sunrise to take on the Florida Panthers in their first game of the season. Florida will raise their second straight Stanley Cup banner while the Blackhawks continue to try and build to become a team like that again.

Halfway through preseason, there are a lot of things to be figured out. Who is going to fill out the lineup at forward and defense? Who will earn what role? There are three more games, all at home, and a handful of practices to go before things will be truly set.

The truth is also that the decisions made for opening night can be changed for every game after. A lot of young players are going to be in and out of the lineup throughout the season.

When the Hawks do reach opening night, however, you can expect the lineup to look something like this:

Andre Burakovsky – Connor Bedard – Ryan Donato

Teuvo Teravainen – Frank Nazar – Tyler Bertuzzi

Colton Dach – Jason Dickinson – Ilya Mikheyev

Nick Foligno – Lukas Reichel – Landon Slaggert

Extra – Sam Lafferty, Oliver Moore

This would mean that the Blackhawks start Ryan Greene in the AHL and that Landon Slaggert is healthy enough to go on opening night. Oliver Moore could draw in, but it is hard to place where he’d fit in with these lines over guys who clearly earned spots.

Colton Dach brings something to this group that they don’t have much of, which is grit, tenacity, and toughness. He is not afraid to get in someone’s face if he feels it necessary.

Sam Lafferty, in his third tenure on the team, will probably make the team, but he won’t be in the lineup regularly. He’ll for sure play, but keeping younger players out in his favor every night would not be wise for the development plan.

Although he has been in trade rumors, Lukas Reichel should be in (at minimum) a bottom-six role as long as he’s in the organization. He has looked good in recent preseason games, and he has a huge final week of camp ahead of him to cement that role.

If this ended up being the top six, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to anyone. Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, although young, deserve the opportunity to work as a two-headed monster down the middle. There are some good wings on each of their lines to help them.

Alex Vlasic – Sam Rinzel

Wyatt Kaiser – Artyom Levhunov

Nolan Allan – Connor Murphy

Extra: Louis Crevier

There are five defensemen on the Chicago Blackhawks who are locks to make the team if healthy. Some of them came in feeling like they needed to prove themselves, but there is no doubt that Alex Vlasic, Sam Rinzel, Wyatt Kaiser, Artyom Levshunov, and Connor Murphy are the five most NHL-ready players in the organization on the blue line.

Matt Grzelcyk is in camp on a PTO. There is no need for him to make the team over any of the younger players that the Blackhawks have competing for spots. They have Connor Murphy there to be the veteran on the unit, and they don’t need a second.

Jeff Blashill said that Grzelcyk will only make the team if he feels that there isn’t a younger player who deserves the spot. Well, there are about three guys who have a case.

Based on the way he’s played through the first half of camp, Nolan Allan deserves that job. Right behind him is Kevin Korchinski, followed by Ethan Del Mastro. Allan’s physical presence in their most recent game against the Minnesota Wild serves as a reminder of what he can do when he’s out there.

Kevin Korchinski will get his chances this season. He is mostly relied on to be a puck-mover, but the rest of his game is still coming together. As for Del Mastro, it’s been a tough go for him in the games he’s played, mostly in a larger role, which may see him get some more seasoning in the AHL to start. If any of these three on the outside looking in have a strong end to the preseason, however, we may be singing a new tune come next week.

Spencer Knight

Arvid Soderblom

Spencer Knight is going to be the team’s number one goalie. This is the first time in his young career that he will enter a season as a true top guy for a team. The prize in the Seth Jones trade for Chicago was Knight, and he’s ready to show why. So far in the preseason and camp, he’s been brilliant.

As for the backup spot, Arvid Soderblom came into camp with the edge because he was good in his role last year, but Drew Commesso is coming up fast. Although both played very well up to this point, the Blackhawks ultimately decided to get Commesso down to the Rockford IceHogs to continue in his development. Soderblom will serve as Knight’s primary backup.

Can anything change here?

Anything can change with these projected lineups before opening night next Tuesday. Ryan Greene could force the Blackhawks to take him over Oliver Moore or Lukas Reichel. One of the three defenseman left off could force Nolan Allan to begin his season in Rockford. There could be an unforeseen injury that changes everything.

There are still three preseason games (all at home) to go against the Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, and St. Louis Blues. That stretch begins on Tuesday against the Wings, which will feature a combination of players fighting for the final spots and roster locks.

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The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Minnesota Wild in preseason game three, 4-1, at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.

Frank Nazar scored the first two goals of the game to give the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead. In the end, he deposited one in the empty net as well, giving him the preseason hat trick.

The one non-Frank Nazar goal scored by the Blackhawks came off the stick of Ryan Donato. He took advantage of a beautiful cross-ice feed by Connor Bedard, who looks as special as ever so far this exhibition season.

Frank Nazar picked a good game to have a hat trick, despite it being the preseason. Wild GM Bill Guerin is also the General Manager of Team USA, who is in the process of selecting the Olympic team. There will be plenty of chances for Guerin to watch Nazar, but this was a great opportunity for the player in that regard.

Alex Vlasic left the game with an injury and did not return. It is unclear what happened, but Jeff Blashill and the coaching staff are sure to have an answer soon enough. That would be a tough loss for Chicago if he misses any time, but it could also just be precautionary.

Drew Commesso played the whole game for the Blackhawks in net, and he was magnificent. He made 28 saves on 29 shots. The Wild had plenty of veterans and players desperate to make the roster in their lineup, so it can be chalked up as an impressive performance for Commesso as he faced strong competition.

With Spencer Knight locked in as the starter, there are two great options for backup goaltending in Drew Commesso and Arvid Soderblom. They prove it night in and night out.

The road portion of the preseason is over for Chicago. Now, they have three left, and they are all at the United Center. That starts on Tuesday with preseason number game four against the Detroit Red Wings.

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The Chicago Blackhawks have many young players looking to make the NHL roster out of training camp. Oliver Moore is undoubtedly one of them, and the 20-year-old forward certainly has the potential to.

After signing his entry-level contract with the Blackhawks back in March, Moore played in his first nine NHL games and showed promise. During them, he recorded four assists and six hits. Overall, the 2023 first-round pick did not look out of place and produced decent offense. Now, he will be looking to earn a full-time role with the Blackhawks from here.

Moore certainly made a real case for himself for a spot on Chicago’s roster with his preseason performance agianst the St. Louis Blues on Sep. 27. The young forward stepped up in a huge way for the Blackhawks, as he scored the club’s game-winner at the 16:57 mark of the third period.

Moore showed off his excellent skill with this goal, too. After getting control of the puck in the neutral zone, Moore used his speed before beating Blues goaltender Will Cranley top shelf with a nice wrister.

While it was a nice goal, Moore’s teammates on the ice did not notice at first, as they were in a scrum with the Blues players.

With Moore looking to make the NHL roster, scoring a goal like this certainly came at a good time for him. He will now look to build off it from here.

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ST.
LOUIS — The St. Louis Blues remain winless in the preseason after
falling in their home opener, 4-2 against the Chicago Blackhawks at
Enterprise Center on Saturday.

The
Blues (0-2-1) were cruising along, leading 2-0 after two periods
before the Blackhawks (1-1-0), playing mostly a younger lineup with
few NHL-experienced players, rallied to score four times in the third
period, including three on backup goalie Will Cranley.

The
Blues agreed to terms with defenseman Cam Fowler, who played 25:25 on
Saturday and had an assist, to a three-year contract extension that
will keep him in St. Louis through the 2028-29 season, but a number
of veterans played their first game on Saturday.

Dalibor Dvorsky and Brayden Schenn scored the goals for St. Louis, whose new home uniforms are kick-a**.

Here
are some observations of players†performances (at least through
two periods):

*
Dalibor Dvorsky – I thought the 2023 first-round pick (No. 10
overall) may have been the best all-around Blues player of the night.

Not
only did Dvorsky score a wicked, nasty goal using Blackhawks
defenseman Louis Crevier as a screen and catching perhaps a surprised
Spencer Knight off guard, but Dvorsky was also responsible
defensively and off the puck. Itâ€s something that he knows he has
to work on to become a more complete player.

“Every
single player is great on this level,†Dvorsky said. “Iâ€ve just
got to be ready all the time. I just have to learn to play the system
pretty good. Iâ€m just trying to do my best every single game.â€

Associate
coach Steve Ott liked what he saw.

“Talking
about those first two periods, I thought his game was a lot
stronger,†Ott said. “Heâ€s continuing to grow through camp.
Heâ€s an exciting player. He had a lot of good puck possession, some
strong plays and his growth continues to excel as this campâ€s gone
on.â€

As
far as his goal?

“First,
‘Peki†(Juraj Pekarcik) gave me a great pass,†Dvorsky said,
“which it was a hard pass. Happy it went through and then I had a
one-on-one there with the ‘D†and I just tried to shoot it
between his legs, so the goalie canâ€t see the puck and Iâ€m happy
it went in.â€

*
Jordan Binnington – Letâ€s just cut to the chase how: No. 50 is
ready for the season to begin.

He
stopped all 16 shots he faced through two periods, some of them in
tight.

Itâ€s
the second straight solid start for Binnington, who has allowed just
one goal on 31 shots in four periods spanning two games of action.

We
donâ€t need to get into any sort of lengthy soliloquy here; heâ€s
ready.

*
Juraj Pekarcik – It was the 2023 third-round pickâ€s first
preseason game after missing a week of camp with a shoulder ailment.

Pekarcik
played on a line with Dvorsky and 2025 first-round pick Justin
Carbonneau and finished with 13:10 of ice time with three hits and
two giveaways, one in which he will be shown the video of a dangerous
no-look backhand flip that was turned over in the defensive zone.

He
did have a nifty move to the net using a toe-drag and turnaround pass
into the slot that was just off the mark and needed a stick on it.
Not a bad performance for a skater likely bound for Springfield of
the American Hockey League.

*
Logan Mailloux – I didnâ€t have Mailloux on my bingo card for a
fight, but the 22-year-old dropped the gloves with Colton Dach after
delivering a clean check to Sam Lafferty in the defensive zone.

Another
player that we know can perform offensively, Mailloux continues to
hone in on his defensive game and had some nice breakups killing
plays. He used his size and stick to his advantage once again,
playing 18:59 with five shot attempts and three hits.

*
Will Cranley – It was not a good night for Binningtonâ€s backup on
Saturday.

He
came into the third period holding a 2-0 lead, a lead that lasted
halfway through the final stanza before the brakes came off.

Cranley
allowed three goals on nine shots, including the first and second
goals 27 seconds apart, the second which tied the game 2-2 that
Cranley misplayed a puck behind the net.

Itâ€s
safe to say he will be among the cuts on Sunday.

*
Justin Carbonneau – The 2025 first-round pick wasnâ€t as
noticeable as he was in the first three preseason games when he
scored a goal and assisted on another.

He
played 13:38 in the game and had a shot on goal and two shot attempts
but also committed two penalties, one a holding minor 200 feet from
his net and jumped onto the ice prematurely that resulted in a too
many men on the ice.

Carbonneau
was saying goodbye to what will one day be his future Blues teammates
one day and will head to the QMJHL on Sunday. This was a great
experience for the 18-year-old but itâ€s evident another year in
junior may be best for his long-term growth.

* Adam Jiricek â€“ I didn’t think the 2024 first-round pick had as strong of a game as he did against the Columbus Blue Jackets last week.

Jiricek, who played 17:13, had just one shot attempt in the game after he was focused on funneling and shooting pucks from the blue line in his preseason debut, had a few turnovers in the D-zone that could have resulted in dangerous situations.

It just didn’t seem like a clean game for him.

*
Hear what Blues players and Ott had to say postgame, including Fowler on his three-year contract extension:

(UPDATED): St. Louis Blues, Cam Fowler Agree To Terms On Three-Year Extension

ST.
LOUIS – Cam
Fowler is staying put.

Toropchenko, Blues Feel There’s More Offense To Big Russian’s game
MARYLAND
HEIGHTS, Mo. — Alexey Toropchenko
returned to St. Louis this summer feeling like a new man.

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The Chicago Blackhawks took on the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. It was a road match against a Blues squad playing mostly an NHL lineup. The Blackhawks were icing a young group, largely filled with players trying to snag a last-minute roster spot.

Connor Murphy and Jason Dickinson were the veterans in the lineup, and they played like it. After being down 0-2 in the third period, the Hawks came back and won 4-2.

Dominic Toninato scored to get Chicago on the board at 10:58 of the third. Less than a minute later, at 11:25, Toninato set up Gavin Hayes for the tying goal.

With 3:03 remaining in regulation, Oliver Moore scored to give the Blackhawks the lead. His shot, which has needed some improvement, seems to have gotten better. It made a difference in this one after he used his speed to create a chance off an odd play. This is a big moment for him in his effort to make the NHL team.

Jason Dickinson deposited one into the empty net to secure the 4-2 final. This comeback was a great confidence boost for the players looking to secure roster spots out of camp.

Spencer Knight took the crease for the Blackhawks and played for the whole game. He made 31 saves on 33 shots for another sparkling performance. It appears as if Knight is getting close to being ready for things to count.

There is a quick turnaround now. Chicago will now head to play the Minnesota Wild in St. Paul on Sunday. The lineup is sure to include some of the players who went on Saturday, in addition to more NHL roster locks.

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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