Chicago Blackhawks preseason game is a sign of things to come

The Chicago Blackhawks are expected to be a very bad team in 2022-23. It is no secret that they are rebuilding and trying to build for the future through the draft. They traded NHL-ready talent away for first-round picks in the 2022 NHL Draft and will likely do it again for 2023.

This time around, there is a generational type of talent at the top of the draft. Connor Bedard is headed to whichever city’s team wins the lottery this year. The Blackhawks could very well be that team based n the roster that they constructed.

With the potential to trade away guys on expiring deals like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, they could become even worse. Their first preseason game was a sign of things that could be on the horizon for this team as they lost 4-1 to the St. Louis Blues.

We saw the usual from Patrick Kane as he looks to be in mid-season form already. He was making some sweet passes that lead to high danger chances but nothing went in for him in this one. They certainly will eventually.

The Chicago Blackhawks played their first preseason game of the season.

There was one rookie who came so close to taking advantage of Patrick Kane’s magic. Kevin Korchinski was amazing all night long against a Blues lineup loaded with great NHL players.

Kane made a pass through a bunch of traffic that found Korchinski in front of the net but he couldn’t poke it in.

It was a great display of speed and offensive awareness from a very young defenseman trying to make his way into the league. It was evident all game that he is going to be a very good player in this league for a long time. He is certainly a young prospect to be excited about.

Cole Guttman was the only goalscorer for the Blackhawks in this game. He is a former 6th-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Since that, he has been a very solid player at the University of Denver. Now, he has hopes of playing pro hockey.

He isn’t as talented as some of the other prospects but he is a gritty player that always seems to be in the right place at the right time which was evident with his goal. He will start with the Rockford Ice Hogs and you can expect a lot of good moments from him there.

This was a game that the Blackhawks had a chance to win in the third period but they fell apart and allowed the Blues to pull away late. What we want to see from this season is the young players play well in spite of the outcome.

This game was a little bit of that model which might be a sign of things to come. The Blackhawks are back in action on Wednesday night with a road preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings. The lineup will certainly be interesting as most of these players won’t play.