MILWAUKEE — Lukas Reichel ought to have shined vibrant within the Blackhawks’ last preseason sport.
With the Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues holding again most of their NHL gamers, not risking a lot earlier than the common season opens, Reichel was one of many extra skilled gamers to take the ice at Fiserv Discussion board in Milwaukee.
On high of that, Reichel was slotted alongside Connor Bedard and Philipp Kurashev on a line. Reichel would have the prospect to play with expert gamers, play on the highest energy play and get loads of ice time. He was set as much as succeed.
However then, he didn’t.
Reichel was higher than what he confirmed in his earlier preseason video games and had his moments. He was extra aggressive in forechecking and backchecking. He had the puck just a few instances in harmful positions. However Reichel nonetheless left the Blackhawks wanting extra, in search of him to be extra assertive, extra egocentric, extra just like the participant they envision him to be.
“I believed tonight clearly the identical as everyone else, skated properly, took cost of a few rushes,” Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson mentioned after his workforce’s 6-2 win. “There was one rush the place he had an actual good play and had a shot on web that simply missed within the second interval. There was one not lengthy after that the place I feel he needed to vary it up and in his head he had his thoughts up that he was going to move it, however I believed the choice was to shoot it and he tried to pressure one thing via and it simply didn’t get via. … I feel we obtained to get them comfy with it’s not being egocentric, like I mentioned, it’s being a workforce man. You’re making the proper play. I’d prefer to see him take that yet another step.”
A part of the issue is the bar for Reichel to clear has been altered. Coming into final season, he was believed to be on the cusp of turning into a reputable top-six ahead, an early staple within the Blackhawks’ rebuild. As a substitute, he ended up again within the AHL. The Blackhawks had been hopeful one other lengthy offseason would assist him regain his confidence, develop extra bodily and choose up the place he left off on the finish of the 2022-23 season.
That hasn’t occurred. If something, his preseason has forged much more doubt upon him. When Richardson put out his possible season-opening lineup in Friday’s preseason sport, Reichel was on the skin wanting in as a scratch. In fact, that lineup obtained beat by the Minnesota Wild, 6-1, and it’s laborious to say the Blackhawks would have been any worse with Reichel enjoying. Nonetheless, it was an indication of what the Blackhawks considered Reichel’s coaching camp.
Blackhawks normal supervisor Kyle Davidson clearly hasn’t written Reichel off. He wouldn’t have given Reichel a two-year extension with a $1.2 million cap hit if he didn’t Reichel nonetheless had an opportunity to turning his sport round. However how a lot persistence does Davidson have with Reichel? What lengths will the Blackhawks go to this season to attempt to reignite Reichel once more?
Except for Bedard, the 22-year-old Reichel is the one ahead below 23 who might be on the Blackhawks’ NHL roster. Whereas quite a lot of the Blackhakws’ roster is made up of gamers who’re anticipated to be gone inside just a few years, Reichel is among the few who may very well be a part of the longer term if he can get again on monitor. However can he and what’s going to it take? Sitting him gained’t repair it. Taking part in him on the fourth line gained’t repair it. However however, there’s a restrict to how a lot he could be given due to how he regarded two seasons in the past. It’ll actually be a dialog for Davidson and Richardson to have over the following few days.
Richardson described Reichel’s camp as up and down on Saturday. Richardson was favorable about Reichel’s efficiency Saturday, however was it sufficient to earn him a spot come Tuesday’s season opener? Richardson appeared to nonetheless be weighing that.
“I like a few of his bursts tonight,” Richardson mentioned. “I just like the one rush. The second rush I’d actually like him to shoot that. I feel together with his shot, if he will get two pictures out of these two rushes, he has extra possibilities to attain or get a rebound help or extra O-zone time as an alternative of turning round and chasing again. Which I did like his dedication on his backcheck right this moment, his hardness on stick battles. So tonight was his greatest displaying. We’d not be pleased with and completely satisfied together with his complete camp, however I feel tonight was his greatest displaying. I feel that’s what we requested of him, so we obtained to be pleased with that, and we’ll see the place that leads us on Monday and Tuesday.”
proper on the right track 🎯 pic.twitter.com/YH1OnJlczH
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 6, 2024
Preventing by Bedard not inspired
Richardson would favor Bedard not be in the course of any extra fights just like the one late in Saturday’s sport the place he ended up scrapping with the Blues’ Zach Bolduc as each skated up the ice. Each gamers had been known as for roughing.
“I feel Connor wants to remain out of that stuff if he may,” Richardson mentioned. “However I just like the thought technique of it and his mentality that he’s not going to take something from anyone on the market and he’s right here to remain and he desires to personal his floor on the market. However on the similar level, in these kind of issues, guys fall down and get rolled over on, somebody pops a shoulder or hurts a hand or twists an ankle. We are able to’t afford that, particularly with a man like that. You understand simply instructing him to handle these feelings and staying out of that. I feel he’s clearly extra necessary on the ice than off the ice. That’s most likely by no means tradeoff for us.”
Bedard, in fact, downplayed it. He did like to listen to Kevin Korchinski was on the market defending him and preventing as properly.
“It’s hockey, it’s a bodily sport, and it’s good to see for myself and for our entire workforce, clearly I used to be stepping into it after which our entire workforce jumps in there,” Bedard mentioned. “That’s the brotherhood you want and it’s cool to see Korch kinda chucking em. Effectively, I didn’t see it, however guys had been telling me so I’ll watch it. … He was telling me he was fairly happy with it, in order that’s good.”
was anybody in search of a Frank Nazar objective? pic.twitter.com/kBfS5DaPxy
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 6, 2024
Again to the IceHogs?
Frank Nazar and Korchinski are most likely headed again to the Rockford IceHogs once more, however Richardson appreciated what he noticed from them.
On Korchinski, Richardson mentioned, “I appreciated him. I appreciated his gaps, and he actually surfed throughout and he’s not going to be probably the most bodily man. (Nolan) Allan’s extra of a bodily man, Philly’s (Isaak Phillips) extra of a bodily man. He’s extra getting there, fast stabbing on the puck. I believed he had some actually good turnovers for us off the opposite guys’ sticks proper at our blue line, particularly early within the sport, the primary two intervals. After which I noticed he had an incredible escape within the second interval the place he stole the puck behind our web.
“And I believed he was going to show up, so did the entire forecheck, and he went again to his forehand, went across the web, took 5 steps, made first move, they usually had been out of the zone. And that’s what an incredible offensive defenseman does. They get away from hassle, they take open ice they usually make first move.”
On Nazar, Richardson mentioned, “Yeah, he simply slipped a bit of bit as soon as – slipped, that means physique place on the goal-against within the second interval. He knew it. We talked about it earlier than that four-on-four, you’ve obtained to place brakes on there within the D-zone, and simply gave the man a bit of an excessive amount of room. The man didn’t rating, however the rebound scored. Apart from that, I cherished his acceleration on the breakaway, (was glorious. That’s NHL pace. Simply honing in on just a few little areas defensively, and utilizing that pace inside his sport, and on a defensive function too, not simply on an offensive function. And he does do this, however I feel simply on a constant foundation each shift.
“Like I mentioned, the primary two intervals I believed had been significantly better. I feel within the third interval, all of us took the foot off the pedal a bit of bit, and we talked about we didn’t wish to do this, in order that’s nonetheless one thing with our workforce and our group that we wish to work on.
“However Frank had sport, lovely objective, and robust in quite a lot of areas, particularly early within the sport, that basically helped propel our workforce. However simply engaged on his full sport each shift.”
(Picture: Bruce Bennett / Getty Pictures)
