Blackhawks’ reconstruction reaches the promising point while 6 first rounders take the ice together

CHICAGO – The exact date in which Chicago Blackhawks’ reconstruction began is questionable.

For some fans, he dates back to whatever Stan Bowman he was doing in recent years as general manager. The 2017-18 season is the starting point for others. It could be when Kyle Davidson was appointed full -time general manager in March 2022 or when he exchanged Brandon Hagel shortly after.

However, much of what Davidson has done in those early years, from Hagel’s trade to Alex Debrincat’s trade and so on, could be labeled as a demolition more than anything else. In addition to Connor Murphy and some perspectives that have turned into Nhler, there is not much imprint from Bowman’s GM mandate.

Davidson’s actual reconstruction began on July 7, 2022 at the draft NHL when he selected Kevin Korchinski with choice n. 7, Frank Nazar with choice n. 13 and Sam Rinzel with choice n. 25. It was with those three players that Davidson’s plan started to transform from ideas to realities. They represented the hope of what could have been.

In the last three seasons, Davidson’s reconstruction plan has materialized more and more from ideas to the draft choices to the prospects to the NHL players. Sunday, 997 days from Davidson’s first selections of draft, the Blackhawks put an NHL team on the ice that was closer to resembling Davidson’s vision for the future. With Rinzel and Oliver Moore, a choice of the first round of 2023, making their debut in the NHL and joining Korchinski, Nazar, Connor Bedard and Arthyom Light, the Blackhawks had six of the eight choices of the first round of Davidson’s era in their training against the Utah Hockey Club.

“The biggest image of it, right?” The coach at Interim Blackhawks Anders Sörensen said before the match. “You said six guys that we chose in the first round that they had the opportunity to play tonight. Obviously, this is the basis of what we have in the future in which we believe here. So to see them and have a taste for them, to have a taste of what is to play teams or teams related to the playoffs or teams related to the struggle for the playoff place, it is a good learning lesson and obviously a good evaluation tool for the organization.”

For fans, the organization and even the players who have been around long enough to listen to a lot on the reconstruction, there was a meaning in seeing the collection of young players and the best ice choices. It was no longer just something that could be created NHL 25.

“It’s quite crazy,” said Blackhawks defender Alex Vlasic, who quickly became a 23 -year -old veteran in a team full of young people. “I think (Saturday in practice) that I was struck by at least a bit of seeing the training, the body of and how young we are. It is crazy. It is exciting to have all those guys here. They were talked about for so long and were enrolled. Finally it has come to what everyone thought that the reconstruction would seem.”

Patience was necessary to get to Sunday. And as the loss of 5-2 on Sunday and most of this season has shown, more patience will be needed if the Blackhawks will fully perform Davidson’s plan and become a contender of the Stanley Cup again.

With two nineteen-year-old, three twenty-year-olds, a 21-year-old, three 22 years old and a 23-year-old four other players at 23 or more young people who were either the backup goalkeeper, injured or a healthy scratched Sunday-president who understand the formation of the Blackhawks during the last weeks of the season, is not so much on the final results of each game at this moment. With so many young players now signed and under the direct supervision of Blackhawks, development is more important than ever for the organization. Those who have hired Davidson like his next NHL and full -time AHL coaches may have more influence on where the Blackhawk go in the coming years of anything else.

It will be on those coaches to encourage and bring out what those young Blackhawk players do better, filter their bad habits and teach them how to play in the NHL. Almost all those players on Sunday showed why the Blackhawk enlisted them in the first round and because Davidson believes they can bring the organization back to success.

There was the combination of Rinzel’s size, speed and offensive instinct. He had a handful of the possibility of scoring his first goal NHL.

“A good example today is if you look at Rinzel, for example,” said Sörensen. “His attack mentality from the blue line or simply advancing the records with his feet, are attributes that at this level are really positive. To see that for a first game, it has been rather impressive to look at. So he continues to build him, but those attributes, both who have arrived today, certainly have them.”

The Blackhawks enrolled Moore because they believed that its speed would be a difference of difference at any level. There were already signs of that Sunday while crossing the neutral area and created clean offensive voices.

“I think I still be comfortable with my skating out,” Moore said after playing 15:03 at his debut. “I think that while I continue to get more games, the game will continue to slow down and things will continue to build on themselves.”

Sörensen mentioned how impressed by Moore to make the play under pressure.

It was Moore’s cross pass in the defensive area of ​​Nick Foligno who unleashed Joe Veleno’s goal in the second period of Sunday.

The opportunity for poison escape was something to whom Sörensen referred when he discussed Nazar, who got a lot of skates but missed the finish line and has seven goals in the season.

“I think it’s positive, yes, getting pattulats,” said Sörensen. “I think he is just learning at this level. The goalkeepers are good. You have seen Joey’s escape, right, a couple of moves or anything else. I think it will soon be better.”

Nazar drew on his speed on a particularly impressive disc shortly after being denied in an escape. He did not even convert the following comedy, but see the potential.

Livshunov could be the most encouraging of Blackhawks prospects to make their debut this season. The Blackhawks were not exactly sure of how it performed once exposed to the NHL and has far exceeded their expectations. It is still rough in some way and has some things to learn, but has just played in his tenth consecutive NHL game and has recorded more than 20 minutes for the seventh time. He recorded primary assistance on the poison lens.

Sunday was the second game of Korchinski with the Blackhawks after a long time with the Rockford Icehogs. It still seems to get used to NHL level. In the end he could take the longer to develop among the choices of the first round, but the Blackhawk think that he is improving.

“There have been some good things and there are some things we have to improve,” Sörensen said. “I think that overall it had a happy new year of development and then coming here now, it is not an easy environment. Obviously we are not doing as a team that we would like, then you enter as a young player, it is difficult. As I said, some really good things and some things to improve on.”

Finally, there is Bedard. On Sunday he had primary assistance on Ryan Donato’s goal to give him 58 points in 74 games this season. It has 20 goals and 38 assists. Although this would be a lot of production for most nineteen -year -olds, expectations are higher for Bedard. It would be the first to say that he was not happy with his season.

Sunday’s game had its part of positive and negative aspects for Bedard. Often he is putting himself in advantageous places on ice, but does not seem to make the perfect decision on the opportunity to shoot or pass and where to put the disc. The defective power of the Blackhawks is an area he needs to take the property and bend to his game. His comedy seems to raise when his trust is conceded. It has been shocked a lot this season. As Nathan Mackinnon saidHe would have killed for the production of Bedard at the age of 19, so for the Blackhawks, there is still a lot to appreciate and be confident of Bedard.

There are certainly promising signs among the young Blackhawks players and have more arrival. Ryan Greene, a choice of the second round of 2022, could be another player who makes his debut in the NHL in a few weeks after playing for Boston University in The Frozen Four. There are even more draft choices in the system and more to make this year’s draft.

Davidson May can help the progress of the NHL team for the next season by adding more proven talents in offseason. It has the space of the hood and the capital of the shooting to do it. But if the reconstruction has to turn the corner and get to fulfill, it will probably be because of the players who were on Sunday’s ice.

(Photo by Oliver Moore: Matt Marton / Image Images)