It’s a late-night battle tonight at the Mullet when the Hawks look to build off their big win last Friday and take on the Arizona Coyotes. This one should be a fun matchup for a few reasons. The first was the battle of highly talked-about rookies. Obviously, the Hawks bring Connor Bedard, who seems to be gaining a bit more confidence out there, and the Coyotes have what GM Doug Armstrong called the best prospect in the world, Logan Cooley. Cooley is a very exciting player out there. We got our first glimpse at the wow factor he possessed in the preseason when he scored a beautiful goal in Australia. He is still searching for his first career goal but currently has five assists in the year. This is the first battle we are going to see between potential Calder candidates, and you know they are going to want to one-up each other. The other reason this could be a fun game to watch is that it's between two similar teams. Teams that are in the rebuild process really aren’t expected to do much this season, and after the schedule, the Hawks just came out of nowhere. It's nice to have a game that’s not against one of the top dogs. I think the Hawks will be able to be more relaxed out there and take more chances, which could create some great opportunities.
Projected Lines Forward Group:
Blackhawks lines same as yesterday:
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) October 30, 2023
Foligno-Bedard-Kurashev
Dickinson-Reichel-Raddysh
T. Johnson-Donato-Perry
Athanasiou-Entwistle-R. Johnson
So Athanasiou will draw back into this one and take the spot of Katchouk. Another thing we know for sure will happen is that Alex Vlasic will be out of the lineup; in fact, he is in concussion protocol and has returned to Chicago. In response to this, the Hawks have recalled defenseman Isaak Phillips from Rockford. While this is a bummer that Vlasic will be missing time, as I believe he has been the best defender for the Hawks this season, we knew going into this season that some of the other younger defensemen would get some playing time, and I really like what Phillips has shown so far in the cup of coffee he has had with the big team. Arvid Soderblom will get the net back tonight as he looks to bounce back after his first poor performance of the season against Vegas on the 21st. I don’t think he really needs a confidence booster, but this could be a good game to get back on track. Quick Hit Kevin Korchinski While he has not had the conversation yet, Coach Richardson told reporters Monday that it is safe to assume he will be with the club past the 10-game threshold. This means the first year of his entry-level deal will go into effect, making him an RFA after the 2025–2026 season. I have liked what I have seen out of him so far, and I think the best thing for his development is to stick around with the Hawks. In 8 games, he has 2 points and is averaging just under 20 minutes of ice time per game. He is also tied for fifth on the team with 14 blocked shots. The 19-year-old has shown that he has what it takes to play NHL hockey, and now it's just making sure he continues to develop the right way and staying in the NHL is the right call. That’s going to be all for me; it’s a late puck drop if you're in Chicago with a 9 p.m. start time. I hope you all have a great night, and as always, let's go Hawks!
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