The Chicago Blackhawks have actually gone 1-0-2 in their last three contests. They’ve looked respectably competitive of late, even if they do seem to have trouble finishing games. But their overall record is still 15-28-4 (34 points), which is currently 31st in the league. It’s been a tough 2024-25 so far for the Blackhawks, who were supposed to be better this season.
Again, they’ve been trending up lately. But that doesn’t change the fact that this is yet another lost campaign. The Blackhawks are doing a lot more losing than winning, and they’re going to finish somewhere in the basement once again. It’s frustrating.
Rebuilds are hard, man.
But all is not lost! If we can just keep the big picture in mind, we are watching the future evolve right before our very eyes. In that sense, it’s actually a GREAT time to be a Blackhawks fan. We have a front row seat to watch the youngsters find their way. They’re currently setting the foundation for bigger things yet to come. Because if you look at things through the right lens, positive strides are being made that will reap benefits in the future. It’s just going to take some patience.
With that in mind, let’s check in on the youngsters. You might be pleasantly surprised with their accomplishments.
Reichel Rallies
Since being a healthy scratch on Jan. 10 against the Detroit Red Wings, Lukas Reichel has been deployed on the third line instead of the fourth line. Most recently, he’s centering Colton Dach and Nick Foligno.
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Reichel is working hard to stay in the lineup and to prove his promotion is deserved. He’s been noticeably more aggressive on the ice, jumping into board battles and winning many of them. He also hasn’t forgotten one of his most valuable assets: speed.
The 22-year-old registered the primary assist on Louis Crevier’s second goal of the season on Jan. 13. On Jan. 18 versus the Vegas Golden Knights, Reichel notched his fourth goal of the season, utilizing that aforementioned speed and aggressiveness.
Lukas Reichel would like a word😮💨 pic.twitter.com/4EFvufBSMm
— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) January 19, 2025
Reichel has quietly improved in the faceoff circle as well; something the Blackhawks desperately need from their centers. In the last four contests, he’s gone 18-of-27 at the dot, for a 67% success rate. Not too shabby!
Dach Doing “Dach” Things
Dach was called up to the big club from the Rockford IceHogs and played his first game on Jan. 3 versus the Montreal Canadiens. He made an impressive first showing, where he recorded five shots on goal and five hits in just 11:03 minutes of ice time.
As mentioned above, Dach has been playing on the third line, which most recently includes Reichel and Foligno. The idea is to play the youngsters together (Reichel and Dach), but also give them a solid veteran presence to work with. That certainly worked well in the Reichel goal shown above, where Dach got the play started with a pass from behind the net, and then Foligno chipped it over to Reichel, who did the rest. Dach has been credited with three assists so far in his nine contests with the Blackhawks.
The 22-year-old knows he needs to bring a physical, heavy presence if he wants to continue at the NHL level. In nine games played, he’s recorded 31 hits while averaging 11:39 minutes of ice time. That’s a solid average of 3.5 hits per game, especially with limited playing time.
Nazar Nearing a Breakout
In 18 games with the Blackhawks after a phenomenal start with the IceHogs, Frank Nazar has registered a goal and four assists. That might not seem like much production. But it’s a misleading stat considering Nazar has been creating a ton of chances. They just aren’t going in quite yet. Here’s a prime example.
Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar nearly connect for a goal but Nazar is robbed with a terrific save. Man. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Tif79bPTwy
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 19, 2025
Nazar was moved to the top line alongside Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi on Jan. 16 versus the Nashville Predators. Like the third line of Dach-Reichel-Foligno, this appears to be another example of deploying two youngsters with a veteran presence. It’s proven to be a good combination. As like-minded players, Nazar and Bedard are starting to build some chemistry.
Add Bertuzzi and his net front presence, and I don’t see this line being separated anytime soon. As Sorensen alluded to, we should be excited to watch them moving forward.
Bedard is Heating Up
Let’s face it; Bedard is the measuring stick when it comes to the success of the Blackhawks. As the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick, and the new face of the franchise, if Bedard is doing well then the Blackhawks are headed in the right direction.
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The 19-year-old has benefitted from interim head coach Ander’s Sorensen‘s more aggressive system. He recently came off a nine-game point streak which included four goals and eight assists for 12 points. After one pointless game, Bedard got right back to work, recording his 100th career point on Jan. 13, with a sweet power play goal against the Calgary Flames.
Connor Bedard 100th NHL point 🥳 pic.twitter.com/fKieUmDmqy
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 14, 2025
Bedard reached 100 points in 112 games, requiring the fewest games by a teenager since Sidney Crosby (80 GP in 2005-06). This goal also started a new 3-game point streak that included two goals and an assist.
His 28 assists and 41 points leads the team, and his 13 goals is third on the team. It’s safe to say Bedard is doing just fine. And now he has a few more of his fellow youngsters around to build with. It should only boost his production moving forward.
Allan Taking Advantage of Opportunities
Now that we’ve covered the young forwards and what they’re bringing to the table, let’s move on to defense. It was a bit of a surprise when defenseman Nolan Allan made the Blackhawks’ opening night roster. But it was no fluke; Allan has been with the big club all season, putting together a solid and reliable effort night in and night out. Through 38 games played, the 21-year-old boasts a goal and seven assists. This ranks him second place in points among rookie defensemen.
Rookie making moves 👀 pic.twitter.com/PqxoDt6lGF
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 13, 2025
The irony here is that Allan is known more as a stay-at-home defenseman than an offensive contributor. He recently tallied two primary assists in two games (Jan. 10 and Jan. 11), where Coach Sorensen said, “I don’t know if that’s going to be his bread and butter, but it’s nice to see.”
Allan seems to have an affinity for taking advantage of his offensive opportunities when he sees them.
Crevier’s Contributions
Possibly no one has benefitted more from Coach Sorensen taking over than D-man Crevier. Sorensen knows Crevier’s body of work from coaching the IceHogs, and he appears to appreciate what he brings to the table.
Due to injuries to veteran defensemen (Seth Jones and Alec Martinez), the 6-foot-8 blueliner was called up in mid-November. Through 18 games to date, Crevier has lined up mostly on a defensive pairing with Alex Vlasic. The two played together with the IceHogs, and with Vlasic also being of larger stature (6-foot-6), the two can cover a lot of ice together.
Crevier boasts two goals, one assist, 37 hits and 29 blocked shots while averaging 18:31 minutes of ice time. He’s also a minus-1, which on this Blackhawks’ team is commendable. Sorensen likes what he’s seeing.
He plays really well here in the NHL. His position is really good, his range, killing plays defensively, has been really good, and he’s getting more predictable with pucks too.
That’s high praise from your head coach. Considering Crevier was selected in the 2020 NHL Draft in the 7th round (188th overall), his current success is great to see.
Kaiser Making Strides
Blueliner Wyatt Kaiser started the season with the Blackhawks, but he only managed one assist in 28 games. He was sent down to the IceHogs for a reset on Dec. 20, but that didn’t last long. He was recalled on Dec. 29, although he’s been healthy scratched for a few games since. The Blackhawks have this kind of luxury right now; having a plethora of quality defensive prospects available.
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Kaiser recorded an assist in his first game back (Jan. 3 versus the Canadiens) and his first NHL goal the very next contest (Jan. 5 versus the New York Rangers).
Wyatt Kaiser’s first NHL goal 👏 pic.twitter.com/S9W6Qc1GmF
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 5, 2025
That was a pretty nice dish by Nazar too! Unlike Allan and Crevier, Kaiser is considered more of an offensive defenseman, so it’s good to see him put some points on the board recently. His game should continue to evolve as the second half of the season progresses.
Korchinski’s NHL Stint
In the wake of Martinez’s neck injury, Kevin Korchinski was recalled to the Blackhawks on Dec 8. Due to Canadian Hockey League rules, Korchinski wasn’t eligible to play in the AHL last season. The Blackhawks made the decision to play him in the NHL versus sending him back down to his junior club. Korchinski displayed some good raw talent, but when eligible for the AHL this season, the organization felt that would be a better place for the 20-year-old’s continued development.
Korchinski showed great improvement in his first game back with Chicago against the Rangers (Dec. 9). He didn’t hesitate to challenge superstar Artemi Panarin, successfully challenging and using his stick to break up a play. Korchinski also registered an impressive four shots on goal, showing he’s still confident about the offensive aspect of his game.
Things leveled off a bit for Korchinski after that, and the Blackhawks sent him back down again in late December. But in nine games up with the big club, Korchinski showed a glimpse of what is yet to come.
Soderblom’s Redemption Campaign
Finally, let’s touch on the Blackhawks’ young goaltender, Arvid Soderblom. What a redemption season he’s putting together right now! Soderblom struggled in the 2023-24 campaign, posting a .879 save percentage and a 3.92 goals against average. He started in 29 games, and sadly only won five of them. It was obvious that the then 24-year-old was struggling with his confidence and his overall game.
So much so, the Blackhawks went out in the offseason and signed veteran netminder Laurent Brossoit to be a 1A, 1B tandem with Petr Mrazek. It was expected that Soderblom would play in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs for the majority of the 2024-25 campaign. But Brossoit ended up needing meniscus surgery to his right knee, and complications warranted a second procedure in late November. The Blackhawks didn’t have much choice but to rely on Soderblom as the backup to Mrazek, once again.
Except this season Soderblom has posted an impressive .907 SV% and a 2.92 GAA, while winning six games and taking the Blackhawks to the shootout twice (both losses in the end). These are currently better than Mrazek’s numbers (.896 SV% and 3.26 GAA in 28 games).
Soderblom appears to have his confidence back, and he’s helping to keep the Blackhawks in games. It begs the question; could the Swedish netminder be a part of the Blackhawk’s future?
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I didn’t include 25-year-old Philipp Kurashev in the above list of forwards because he’s been the victim of numerous healthy scratches this season. In the big picture, he doesn’t appear to be part of the future for the Blackhawks. But he filled in for an injured Pat Maroon on Jan. 20 versus the Carolina Hurricanes and had a great game, tallying a goal and an assist for a two-point night. Could this be his stepping stone to get back into the conversation?
I also haven’t even mentioned the young players that are currently doing quite well in Rockford, such as forwards Landon Slaggert and Sam Savoie, as well as defensemen Ethan Del Mastro and Artyom Levshunov; not to mention goaltender Drew Commesso. Plus, there are a plethora of Blackhawks’ prospects thriving right now with their junior clubs. Our Jim Bay gives us regular updates on the prospects.
As you can see, the future looks pretty bright! There are a number of young Blackhawks that are making strides in the right direction, despite all the losing. Yes, this is another lost season for the Blackhawks in the standings. But the future of this franchise is the kids. Right now they’re enduring some growing pains, but they’re learning and growing and gaining invaluable experience along the way.
With all this in mind, it’s really not such a bad time to be a Blackhawks fan!
