Hawks Weekly Update 4/1

There are no April Fools jokes in this post.

Just me. I am the fool. Fell for a post that said Oliver Moore was signing with the Hawks.

Before we get into business, some housekeeping stuff. Last week, I wrote that I was going to make a post about the NCAA Tournament and focus on individual articles on prospects. I decided to include it in this weekly update instead. I like the idea of a weekly Hawks newsletter-style blog, but also don't want to have this thing be too long, you know? I also don't have the time to focus on multiple blog posts beyond updating the weekly updates and game recaps (my bread and butter). So, I am including prospect updates and the NCAA Tournament right here in this post.

Also, if you read this in your email, you may have noticed "embed from Getty Images." For whatever reason, Ghost (the blogging platform I use), won't make images I embed viewable in emails. Trying to fix it, I am no computer wizard so please be patient!

• Weekly Update
• Game Recaps
• Week Ahead
• Daydream Nation (prospect section)
• NCAA Tournament
• Sick Bay

Weekly Update

Pretty big week for prospects.

Frank Nazar, Ryan Greene, and Aidan Thompson all move onto the Frozen Four. Nazar and Michigan will be playing against Boston College on April 11, and Greene and Boston University will play against Thompson and Denver. I talk more about these guys below in the NCAA Tournament section.

For roster moves, not a whole lot happened this past week. Nikita Zaitsev was listed as injured on March 28 with an undisclosed injury. He took a puck to the hand in Thursday's game against the Senators and was out the remainder of the game.

Lukas Reichel had himself a two-point night against the Flyers. I talk about Reichel in the new prospect/youngins section below.

Other than that, no news items to really discuss, unless I missed something.

Game Recaps

3/26 Hawks vs Flames - Hawks win 3-1
Game Recap Here

3/28 Hawks vs Senators - Hawks lose 2-0
Game Recap Here

3/30 Hawks @ Flyers - Hawks win 5-1

That one was fun, wasn't it?

The last time these two played, Torts warned the Flyers not to take the Hawks lightly. They ended up winning 3-1 on Feb. 21. This time around?

Well, things went so bad that the Philly crowd booed the Flyers at the end of every period and during some moments in-game as well. You could hear the unified groans in anguish as chance after chance was wasted.

Thoughts

• Reichel had a solid game. Other than his goal and his assist, he looked closer to his old self. I talk more about him below in the prospect section. He had 4 shots on goal, 4 shot attempts, and a 52.94 Corsi.
• Connor Bedard looks due for an outbreak of scoring. He couldn't crack the Philadelphia netminder with 6 shots on goal and 10 shot attempts. Bedard was also played on the wing tonight, which meh, I'm indifferent towards.
• Bedard's defensive game was a little better with an expected goals against of .89 at 5v5. This was the 6th highest on the team.
• Philipp Kurashev's goal wasn't just a result of Bedard's beautiful passing skills, it was started by some great work by Alex Vlasic. Again, Vlasic has some great offensive impact that will only improve as he ages.

• The Flyers' lone goal, scored by Tyson Foerster, was the result of a turnover by Seth Jones in the neutral zone.
• Bedard was the recipient of a total BS "goaltender interference" call. Luckily, the Flyers' PP was so bad that their own fans booed it.
• Nick Foligno's goal on the PP was the result of some of the best passing this team has done all season.
• Joey Anderson's goal was initiated by some great work by Reichel to get the puck out of their own zone.
• Arvid Soderblom had a nice win with a .968 SV%. Soderblom stopped 30 of 31 shots on goal.
• Shoutout to Anderson who got the assist on MacKenzie Entwistle's goal and the locker room chain.

Week Ahead

Not a whole lot of hockey to carry you through the work-week. Hawks only play once on Tuesday against an Islanders team that's fighting for a playoff spot. They currently have 77 points while the Flyers are barely holding onto the second wild card spot with 82 points.

The weekend is packed with Hawks hockey in the afternoon. Both games are at 2:30 PM. The game on Saturday is against the Stars, who are looking very good at the top of the West. Sunday's game features a Wild team that won't be going to the playoffs this year.

• @ Islanders 4/2 @ 6:30
• vs Stars 4/6 @ 2:30
• vs Wild 4/7 @ 2:30

Daydream Nation

Other than the excitement of watching our prospects kill it in the NCAA or make a playoff push with the IceHogs, a lot of the younger players generating excitement are already on the Hawks roster.

One of those players is none other than Lukas Reichel.

It's not a surprise that he's been a disappointment this season, I wrote about it here. But what does surprise me is how quickly some Hawks fans are willing to move away from Reichel.

A podcast I listen to a lot hit the nail right on the head. The Tomahawk Podcast made a great point in this episode around the 4 min mark. Giving up on Reichel now is incredibly foolish. Matt and Mike make a great point in that Reichel is absolutely a top-6 player, which I agree with. Just look at his play style. If this is the time to experiment because these games "don't matter," why not let Reichel play the wing on the top-6? The coaching staff was very quick to try the hell out of Reichel playing center to the point that it probably hurt his confidence. They're already trying Bedard at wing just to see what happens. Why not let Reichel play where he's meant to play and learn?

‎Chicago TomaHawk: A Chicago Blackhawks Podcast: Prospects called back up, Calder Race, Reichel Playing with Purpose, NHL News on Apple Podcasts

‎Show Chicago TomaHawk: A Chicago Blackhawks Podcast, Ep Prospects called back up, Calder Race, Reichel Playing with Purpose, NHL News - Mar 24, 2024

Apple Podcasts

Since his return to the Hawks lineup on March 15, he's looked better. In 7 games played, he has 2 assists and 1 goal. He also has 9 shots on goal, which puts him up there as the 6th highest on the team. 7 games isn't a big enough sample size, but watching him play tells a bigger story than what the fancy stats say (which don't do him favors). At times he still makes hesitant plays or shies away from driving to the net, other times he makes calculated decisions to create great chances for his teammates.

Be patient Hawks fans. If the 2024-2025 season ends and Reichel hasn't improved, that's when we worry. The issue with Reichel is that he's a top-6 player and has been thrown in bottom-6 situations. I don't think he'll thrive at all on the bottom-6 as mistakes learned on the top-6 are better for him.

NCAA Updates

Frank Nazar - C - Michigan

Nazar has produced well this season, although things have quieted down before the tournament. He was over a point-per-game pace with 40 points in 39 games. Nazar played two games over the tournament so far. In the first game, he scored a big goal against North Dakota and logged 2 shots on goal. He also made one hell of a pass, between the legs, in a 5-2 win over Michigan.

Frank Nazar will be advancing to the Frozen Four tournament on April 11 to take on Boston College.

Ryan Greene - C - Boston University

In 38 games, Greene has played at a near point-per-game pace with 36 points. Over the weekend, Greene scored 1 goal in BU's 6-3 victory over RIT, as well as notching 1 assist. He didn't get any points in BU's 6-3 victory over Minnesota, but he did have 4 shots on goal.

Greene will face Aidan Thompson and Denver on April 11.

Oliver Moore - C - Unv. of Minnesota

Moore had a slow start to his NCAA career but blew up after the World Juniors. He's had 33 points in 38 games. In Minnesota's game against Omaha, Moore didn't log any points and was on the ice for a goal against while logging 1 SOG. Moore didn't score in their 6-3 defeat to Boston University and had 2 shots on goal.

Sam Rinzel - RD - Unv. of Minnesota

I don't know why Rinzel is my favorite college prospect, he just is. He's had 27 points in 38 games as well as a +/- of +24. He didn't log any points in the game against Omaha, but he did have a +2 and 3 shots on goal. In the defeat against BU, Rinzel logged an assist and 1 shot on goal with a -1 rating.

Aidan Thompson - C - Unv. of Denver

Thompson, a 3rd round pick in the 2022 draft, has had a decent year in Denver with 30 points in 41 games. He didn't play in Denver's victory over Massachusetts, which had a score of 2-1. Thompson did play in the 2-1 victory over Cornell with no points and 2 shots on goal.

Denver faces Ryan Greene and BU on April 11.

Sick Bay

• Taylor Hall – Knee/Out for season
• Connor Murphy - Lower Body/day-to-day
• Reese Johnson - Concussion/unknown
• Colin Blackwell - Undisclosed/unknown
• Nikita Zaitsev - Undisclosed/unknown