Last season, the Chicago Blackhawks finished dead last in the NHL with 202 goals. This was more or less what was expected when this team was put together last year. Once the team moved on from franchise legend Patrick Kane, the question turned into: will this team score again this year? Given a chance to play more minutes, players like Raddysh, Reichel, Anthanasiou, and even Katchouk really stepped up to the challenge to help this team stay somewhat competitive to finish out the year. The lack of offense (and defense, but that’s another blog) was all for the greater good, as the Hawks were able to land the white whale Connor Bedard and give hope for the future of this franchise, getting back to greatness once more.
The future is bright when you look two or three years down the road, but what does the future hold for the 2023–2024 Blackhawks forward group? As of writing, here is what the lines looked like during the scrimmages on Monday and Tuesday:
~Taylor Hall Connor Bedard Ryan Donato
~Philipp Kurashev Lukas Reichel Andreas Athanasiou
~Tyler Johnson Cole Guttman Taylor Raddysh
~Nick Foligno Jason Dickinson Corey Perry
Extras
Boris Katchouk
Colin Blackwell
Man, looking at this line-up, it is crazy how times have changed. There are no remaining members of the Cup Era team, no Patrick Kane, no Jonathan Toews, and Corey Perry is wearing an Indian head sweater. I still don’t think I will ever have a chance to get used to that sight. Call me crazy, call me biased, or call me optimistic, but I do not hate this line-up. Before you jump down my throat in the comments, let me clarify: this line-up is not going to win a lot of hockey games, and this line-up will see the Hawks with some good draft lottery odds next April. What I like about this line-up is that it has a good mix of young guys ready to show they are NHL players. It has NHL-established “young guns” ready to take advantage of extra playing time to show they belong in the plans for the future; it has a player out to prove that he can still get the job done and hungry for one more big pay day; and it has vets who are on the back nine of their careers who know what it takes to last in this league, what it takes to be a leader, and what it takes to win.
Last season, with a roster that was thrown together as KD was in tear it down and start from scratch mode, this team bought into Coach Richardson's game plan and made every team earn the points they got against the Hawks. Its hard not to get a little excited to see what a team that is put together with a purpose will do with the same system if they can buy into it as much as last year's squad did. As I mentioned earlier, this team isn’t going to magically jump into playoff contention, but they sure as hell will score a lot more goals and give us some exciting moments this season.
Looking at this line-up, there are a few players I am excited to watch in this forward group:
Connor Bedard
Let's start with the most obvious one, Connor Bedard. The hype for this kid is real and listening to the rest of this team speak with media members at camp, it is well-deserved hype. In the prospect game and the few days of camp, we already have highlight reel goals and plays. His on-ice awareness is out of this world, and his ability to read what the defenders are doing and be able to create chances like nothing is nothing. You have to remind yourself that he is only 18 years old. Now I will say take it with a grain of salt because he is doing this against the St. Louis Blues prospects and the 3rd-to-last place Blackhawks players. Even taking that into consideration, I think it is a safe bet that you can let yourself believe the hype. October 10th can’t get here fast enough to get the Bedard Era officially underway.
Lukas Reichel
Reichel has been the next big prospect for this team since being drafted 17th overall in 2020, and the team has taken a slow build-up approach with him. Last season, when many felt he was ready to make the jump to the NHL, the team sent him down to Rockford and asked him to work on his two-way game. After an amazing 55 games with the Ice Hogs that saw him put up 51 points (20–31), the team brought him up to give him his next taste of the NHL. He did not disappoint, really excelling after the trade deadline when he said his role increased. He finished the year with 23 games played and 15 points (7-8). Going into the off-season, the team told him to focus more on his off-ice training, and he did just that by coming into camp bulking up and putting on 18 pounds. Reichel has shown he is a team player and willing to do whatever is asked of him, and because of this, he is setting himself up to be in an amazing position. Right now, he is penciled in as the 2C, which is going to give him a lot of opportunities to shine, especially when the 1C is Bedard. Does he stick in this role all year? It's too early to say, but don’t be shocked if we see him get minutes on the other wing of the Hall/Bedard line this year.
Taylor Hall
To say Hall has had an interesting career for a former 1st overall pick would be putting it lightly. While he is a very good player, I don’t think he really lived up to expectations of what a first-round overall pick has. Looking at his career, he really only has had three insane years (2013: 50 points in 45 games, 2013–2014: 80 points in 75 games, and 2017–2018: 93 points in 76 games and the Hart Trophy). Other than that, he has put up a very solid career for a top-six forward. Hall will be turning 32 this November, and with one more year left on his current deal after this season, he will be fighting to prove that he deserves to stay in this league in a high role. I am excited to see what playing with Bedard will do for his number this season and what type of mentor he will be to 98. In the long run, I hope he absolutely kills it and we can get a nice return on him at the 2025 trade deadline, or possibly have the chemistry be so perfect that he decides to stay here to wrap up his career.
As I talked about already, this team isn’t going to make a run, but the way KD is building this offense and the choices he is making make it hard not to get excited for the direction this team is going with this forward group, and I cannot wait to see how it all gels together over the next 82 games. Even the role guys like Guttman, Dickenson, and Katchouk are guys to keep an eye out for, as I am sure they will be getting plenty of chances to show what they can do and why they deserve a bigger role on this team. We are so close to puck drop, and the first preseason game for the Hawks is tomorrow. Time to get excited, Hawks fans.
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»