Second City Hockey
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Blackhawks vs. Blues: Preseason Game Discussion
Head down to the comments to talk about Saturday’s preseason game against the Blues! Game Preview
Getting on with My Life: Blackhawks vs. Blues Preseason Preview
Just a week after it started, the Blackhawks preseason schedule comes to an end on Saturday night at the United Center with the St. Louis Blues in town for this final skate ahead of the regular season. It hasn’t been a stellar preseason for Chicago, with the main highlight being Bowen Byram’s hat trick against the Wild on Monday night. A few other individuals have stood out at times — Kevin Korchinski and Nick Lardis seem to be the most frequent mentions there — but the collective perform...
The Chicago Blackhawks offense: An exercise in … optimism?
Pundits across NHL coverage generally have the Chicago Blackhawks projected for the bottom of the standings for the 2026-27 season. As we recently analyzed, if there’s one area that will anchor the Hawks to a lottery race, it’s the defense . However, there is room for optimism: and that comes from the other end of the rink, where the Blackhawks’ offense has the potential to elevate Chicago above expectations. The pieces are there — they just all need to click together. Bedard and Naz...
Friday Morning Bag Skate 9-25-26
This is your thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS RECAPS: Blues 1, Blackhawks 0 ( SCH ) ( Sun-Times ) Blackhawks sign Oliver Moore to contract extension ( SCH ) ( Sun-Times ) ( Athletic ) Musings on Madison, Episode 216 — We’re talkin’ about practice (games), man ( SCH ) Why Nick Lardis could be on the cusp of a breakout season ( Athletic ) After an eventful debut, Nick Lardis eyes a potential breakout season ( Tribune ) Blackhawks rookie R...
Far Away: Blues 1, Blackhawks 0
Despite a heroic effort by Arvid Soderblom in net, the Chicago Blackhawks fell 1-0 to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night in their final road game of the preseason. After two scoreless periods, the Blues finally broke the ice 3:39 into the third with a slap shot from Calle Rosen. At 4-on-4, Pavel Buchnevich intercepted a backwards dropout pass on the breakout from Oliver Moore and got the puck to Connor McMichael, who tapped it to a streaking Rosen, who then hammered the puck past Soder...
Blackhawks at Blues: Preseason Game Discussion
Head down to the comments to talk about Thursday’s preseason game against the Blues! Game Preview
Money Maker: Blackhawks at Blues Preseason Preview
The Chicago Blackhawks are in St. Louis Thursday night to take on the Blues for their second-to-last preseason game. The Blackhawks enter this one having just beaten the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in overtime on Monday, although it wasn’t exactly the cleanest victory. Chicago took a 3-1 lead within the first minutes of the third period before a pretty lackluster final frame allowed Minnesota to score twice and force overtime despite the Wild icing a roster made up mostly of AHL players and prospe...
Blackhawks sign Oliver Moore to contract extension
It looks like the Blackhawks have locked up yet another young player. According to reports by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on Thursday morning, the Blackhawks have extending Oliver Moore’s time in Chicago with a five-year deal carrying a $4.25 million annual salary cap hit. Blackhawks are extending Oliver Moore at 5 x $4.25M Going to be long-time member of the NHL's All-Interview team, too — Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 24, 2026 The Blackhawks confirmed the ...
Musings on Madison, Episode 216 — We’re talkin’ about practice (games), man
The real games are almost here.
Thursday Morning Bag Skate 9-24-26
This is your thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS How the Blackhawks used analytics to shape their goalies’ offseason training ( Sun-Times ) What I’ve learned from Blackhawks camp so far: 10 observations ( Athletic ) Examining the Blackhawks’ defense: Lessons from futility ( SCH ) Bowen Byram’s innate confidence will allow him to play his style, handle pressure with Blackhawks ( Sun-Times ) Jordan Greenway’s defensive acumen makes him sneaky-sma...
Wednesday Morning Bag Skate 9-23-26
This is your thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS Examining the Blackhawks’ defense: Lessons from futility ( SCH ) Bowen Byram’s innate confidence will allow him to play his style, handle pressure with Blackhawks ( Sun-Times ) Jordan Greenway’s defensive acumen makes him sneaky-smart addition for Blackhawks ( Sun-Times ) RECAPS: Blackhawks 4, Wild 3 ( SCH ) ( Athletic ) Why a Blackhawks top-pairing role could reignite Alex Vlasic’s all-around ga...
Examining the Blackhawks’ defense: Lessons from futility
Diagnosing the Chicago Blackhawks’ defense from last season is easy: they were bad. The Hawks finished 31st in 5-on-5 expected goals against and 30th in actual 5-on-5 goals against (only slightly improved thanks to Spencer Knight). The blue line was young, and Jeff Blashill’s man-on-man defense probably didn’t help (as we’ll see, it didn’t). Do we really have to look under the hood to check out the ugly details? No. But doing so briefly keeps us aware and helps us paint a picture as to which t...
Tuesday Morning Bag Skate 9-22-26
This is your thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS RECAPS: Blackhawks 4, Wild 3 ( SCH ) Why a Blackhawks top-pairing role could reignite Alex Vlasic’s all-around game ( Athletic ) Korchinski hopes to “prove I belong” in back-against-wall season ( Sun-Times ) Blackhawks’ power play has new look with Kane on left, Kantserov as bumper ( Sun-Times ) Moore, Lardis could bolster Blackhawks’ depth with second-year leaps ( Sun-Times ) Can Spencer Kn...
Future Me Hates Me: Blackhawks 4, Wild 3
The Blackhawks first home preseason game ended with an overtime winner, as Bowen Byram’s hat trick propelled Chicago to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday night at the United Center. It was an inauspicious start, with Minnesota scoring 15 seconds in on this Bobby Brink redirect of a point shot: Wild goal: Bobby Brink tips in the first shot of the game to open the scoring. pic.twitter.com/KW4w00uJs9 — BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) September 22, 2026 Chicago tied the game ...
Blackhawks vs. Wild: Preseason Game Discussion
Head down to the comments to talk about Monday’s preseason game against the Wild! Game Preview
Straight Line Was a Lie: Blackhawks vs. Wild Preseason Preview
The first Blackhawks game of the regular season is now just eight days away, and preparation for that continues on Monday as Chicago hosts the Minnesota Wild for a preseason game. Over the weekend, a trio of prospects were returned to their junior teams , most notably 2026 second-round pick Ryan Roobroeck, so the training camp roster now stands at 47 players. Of those 47, the ones expected to still be on the NHL roster next week make up the lineup for this evening, as is often the case wi...
Monday Morning Bag Skate 9-21-26
This is your thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS Moore, Lardis could bolster Blackhawks’ depth with second-year leaps ( Sun-Times ) Can Spencer Knight repeat excellen in hockey’s most variable position? ( Sun-Times ) No pedestal, just punchlines: How Patrick Kane firts in with the young Blackhawks core ( Athletic ) Bertuzzi is A-OK with Blackhawks leadership role. “He’s a really great veteran,” GM says ( Tribune ) Teravainen finds himself in un...
Blackhawks at Wild: Preseason preview and game thread
Training camp ahead of the 2026-27 hockey season is already in full swing and Saturday evening brings the first preseason game on the calendar, as the Blackhawks are on the road against the Minnesota Wild this evening. As is traditionally the case for the preseason, a road game means the Blackhawks are sending most of their AHL-destined players for this evening skate. Below are the players who were on the ice for practice in Chicago on Saturday morning, which means they are likely NO...
Friday Morning Bag Skate 9-18-26
This is your thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS News, notes and clips from the first official day of Blackhawks practice ( SCH ) ( Sun-Times I ) ( Sun-Times II ) ( Tribune ) ( Athletic ) Blackhawk projections: A step forward is possible, but more pain is likely ( Athletic ) Blackhawks’ key questions at training camp: Who fills Bedard’s role? Odd men out? ( Athletic ) Blackhawks, Del Mastro agree to terms on a new contract ( SCH ) ( Tribune ) F...
News, notes and clips from the first official day of Blackhawks practice
Hockey’s almost back, with the surest sign yet being the Blackhawks first official practice of the season on Thursday morning. There’s also a preseason game in two days and a regular season game in 12 days. Better get yourself into midseason form quick, folks. And start by arguing about line combinations! Blackhawks lines and pairings Kantserov-Nazar-Kane Lardis-Frondell-Bertuzzi Donato-Moore-Mangiapane/Teräväinen Greenway/Slaggert-Greene-Smith Vlasic-Byram Kaiser-Levshunov Cole-Rin...
Thursday Morning Bag Skate 9-17-26
This is your thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS Blackhawks, Del Mastro agree to terms on a new contract ( SCH ) ( Tribune ) Five storylines for Blackhawks’ fast-tracked training camp: Roster math and line combos ( Sun-Times ) Blackhawks name Connor Bedard as team captain ( SCH ) ( Sun-Times ) ( Athletic ) ( Tribune ) 2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Connor Bedard is once again No. 1 ( SCH ) 2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Full ballot reveal a...
Blackhawks, Ethan Del Mastro agree to terms on a new contract
The last item remaining on the Blackhawks’ offseason agenda was completed on the eve of training camp, with defenseman Ethan Del Mastro signing a two-year contract. The deal is worth $950,000 annually. it’s Delly time ‼️ 📰 ➡︎ https://t.co/nREa93FGcW pic.twitter.com/m1o0IyCGws — Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) September 16, 2026 Del Mastro, who turned 23 in January and was ranked No. 21 on our potentially award-considered Top 25 Under 25 this summer, appeared in 19 game...
Wednesday Morning Bag Skate 9-16-26
This is your thread to talk about the latest hockey news. BLACKHAWKS Blackhawks name Connor Bedard as team captain ( SCH ) ( Sun-Times ) ( Athletic ) ( Tribune ) 2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Connor Bedard is once again No. 1 ( SCH ) 2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Full ballot reveal and discussions thread ( SCH ) Ethan Del Mastro remains unsigned as Blackhawks training camp approaches ( Athletic ) 2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Frank Nazar climbs to No. 2 (...
2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Connor Bedard is once again No. 1
The 2026 offseason version of Second City Hockey’s Top 25 Under 25 rankings wraps up with the totally unsurprising reveal of the No. 1 young Blackhawks player, who now has an official role with the team that was always going to belong to him one day. Connor Bedard Position: Center Age: 21 (July 17, 2005) Acquired via: First-round pick (1st overall) in 2023 NHL Draft 2025-26 team : Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) 2025-26 stats: 75 points (3...
2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Full ballot reveal and discussion thread
And now that we’ve reached the end of our 2026 Top 25 Under 25 rankings, it’s time for a little reflection. Here’s your place to share your opinion on this edition of the rankings and feel free to post your individual ballots down in the comments. Who’s too high? Who’s too low? Tell us below! And thanks to everyone who participated this time around — we had a record number of ballots! Full ballots are here, including the SCH community vote: # Dave Eric LBR SCH Vote 1 Bedard...
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