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Lukas Reichel

Blackhawks Announce Several Injury Updates

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The Chicago Blackhawks have shared that Nikita Zaitsev will be away from the team until early next week, at the earliest, as he’s taking time away for personal reasons. The team also placed defenseman Jarred Tinordi on injured reserve with an oblique injury. He and forward Andreas Athanasiou, who is dealing with a lower-body injury, are both considered week-to-week.

The Hawks have recalled Filip Roos to the NHL lineup in response to Zaitsev’s absence. Chicago is also without Taylor Hall, who has been day-to-day with a lower-body injury and returned to practice on Wednesday.

The quartet of Tinordi, Athanasiou, Zaitsev, and Hall have served as go-to lineup pieces for Chicago early on, with each player appearing in five or more games. Hall has played the most prominent role, averaging a little over 16 minutes of ice time and four points through eight games. Tinnordi and Zaitsev have operated as bottom-pairing defenders, with each player averaging roughly 14 minutes of ice time and scoring one point. Athanasiou has averaged the least ice time of the group, playing just under 13 minutes of ice time through 11 games and scoring four points. This is despite Athanasiou playing with the team’s middle-six in the games he’s appeared in, with half of his ice time being played alongside rookie Lukas Reichel.

Despite the long list of injuries, recalled defenseman Filip Roos is expected to slot in as the team’s seventh defenseman – playing behind AHL teammates Wyatt Kaiser and Isaak Phillips. He is the team’s only healthy extra player for Chicago’s Thursday night game against Tampa Bay, as Hall is expected to sit out of the match.

Latest On Lukas Reichel

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Leading up to training camp opening up, the General Manager of the Chicago Blackhawks, Kyle Davidson, spoke about his vision for the future of forward prospect Lukas Reichel. Charlie Roumeliotos of NBC Sports Chicago reports that Davidson believes Reichel is NHL-ready for the upcoming season and envisions him to play down the middle of the ice.

Reichel was originally drafted by Chicago as the 17th overall selection of the 2020 NHL Draft, a few years after the rebuild started for the Blackhawks organization. He spent the next season with the Eisbaren Berlin of the DEL, before finally making the transition to North American hockey for the 2021-22 NHL season. Being a part of the taxi squad at the beginning of the season for Chicago, Reichel received two separate call-ups in February and April of that year.

Primarily playing in the AHL, Reichel showed an impressive rookie effort for the Rockford Ice Hogs, scoring 21 goals and 36 assists in 56 games, finishing first on the team in scoring as a 20-year-old. Playing in 11 games for the Blackhawks that year, Reichel only recorded one assist, receiving a tad over 13 minutes of ice time per night. Aside from his play on the ice, Reichel did suffer from an undisclosed injury that would keep him out of the lineup for a little over two weeks but has sustained a clean bill of health since that point.

Much like his first year playing in North America, Reichel spent much of last season in Rockford but did play with the Blackhawks in a full-time role for the last month of the season. In a similar effort to his previous season, Reichel was once again effectively a point-per-game player in the AHL, scoring 20 goals and 31 points in 55 games.

Receiving the full-time callup one day before the 2022-23 trade deadline, Reichel became a focal point of the Blackhawks offense down the stretch. Well, outside of the playoff picture at that point, the organization was able to give Reichel just under 17 minutes a night, and he rewarded the team with six goals and six assists in only 19 games.

With his play to wind down the 2022-23 regular season for the Blackhawks, there shouldn’t be any question as to whether or not Reichel is ready for NHL minutes, but more so around Davidson’s belief he will be an effective option at center moving forward. Chicago did give Reichel 13 opportunities in the dot last year, as he would finish with a FO% of only 38.5%.

Although he has limited NHL experience up to this point, Reichel’s defensive metrics and possession metrics have not struck much confidence in his play on both sides of the puck. Without a doubt, the Blackhawks will start Connor Bedard as their number one center option this season, and one would also assume that their 2022 13th overall selection, Frank Nazar, will get the nod in the future holding down the second line.

Nevertheless, although it is never a given that a team will not make the playoffs, the Blackhawks still do not project as a playoff team for the upcoming season. Given where they are at in their organizational timeline, they don’t have much to lose trying Reichel out at the center position for this year.

AHL Announces Inaugural Top Prospects Team

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Ahead of the 2023 Calder Cup Finals, which starts tonight between the Coachella Valley Firebirds and Hershey Bears, the AHL has released a new award that will intrigue hockey fans across the country. The AHL Top Prospects Team is a group of players that may not be in the minor leagues for much longer.

This year’s group includes:

Tyson Foerster, Lehigh Valley Phantoms

The 21-year-old Foerster was selected 23rd overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2020 and is one of the OHL players forced into the AHL during the 2020-21 season. Even as a teenager, he showed great scoring ability and returned this year to put up 20 goals and 48 points in 66 games.

Foerster made his NHL debut as well, suiting up eight times with the Flyers and putting up seven points—a taste of what will come next for the young forward.

Jiri Kulich, Rochester Americans

The Rochester club has seen several talented forwards come through in recent years, and Kulich is just the latest after being selected 28th overall in 2022 by the Buffalo Sabres. Coming over from the Czech Republic at just 18, he proved he was ready for North American professional hockey by scoring 24 goals and 46 points in 62 games.

Kulich was even better postseason, where he potted seven goals in 12 games. Only turning 19 in April, he was among the league’s youngest players this season.

Lukas Reichel, Rockford IceHogs

Anyone who has watched Reichel this season can see his time in the minor leagues should be over. The 17th overall selection in 2020 made his NHL debut for the Chicago Blackhawks last season and looked overwhelmed. Not so a year later, when he scored seven goals and 15 points in 23 games in the NHL.

The 21-year-old forward has been a dynamic offensive threat since the moment he joined Rockford, with career totals of 108 points in 111 games to this point.

David Jiricek, Cleveland Monsters

If it were a more important season for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Jiricek might not have played a full season in the minor leagues. The 19-year-old defenseman was a menace at the AHL level, scoring six goals and 38 points in 55 games.

Known more for his size and blistering shot during his draft year, the 2022 sixth-overall pick showed improved poise and vision, leading to some lofty expectations in Columbus. Before long, he’ll be a full-time anchor on the Blue Jackets’ blue line.

Simon Nemec, Utica Comets

The other top defenseman from the 2022 draft class was Nemec, who didn’t disappoint in his rookie season. Selected second overall by the New Jersey Devils, the 19-year-old defenseman put up 12 goals and 34 points in 65 games.

Nemec has a wildly entertaining style that sees him fly all over the ice, making unpredictable plays regularly. While he may still take some unreasonable risks, he has a higher ceiling than almost any defensive prospect in the league, and should add that excitement to the Devils group soon enough.

Jesper Wallstedt, Iowa Wild

It was a pretty solid North American debut for Wallstedt, who posted a .908 save percentage in 38 AHL games. The big Swede was the 20th overall pick in 2021 and could buck the trend of goaltenders taking years to develop.

There was obvious growth in Wallstedt’s game during his first season in the AHL, and despite being just 20, he should already be factoring into the Minnesota Wild’s decision-making in net. They already have a young starter in Filip Gustavsson but may not need a backup for long.

Chicago Blackhawks Reassign Lukas Reichel And Alex Vlasic, Recall Buddy Robinson

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The Chicago Blackhawks have shuffled their roster, sending two young players (forward Lukas Reichel and defenseman Alex Vlasic) to the AHL while recalling a veteran (forward Buddy Robinson) to the NHL.

The move allows two of the team’s more promising young players to join the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs as they look to fend off a push from the Chicago Wolves for the final playoff spot in the Central Division, paving the way for the two to play a major role in any playoff series the IceHogs qualify for.

Since the Blackhawks have three games remaining on their schedule, though, an NHL replacement was needed, so the player chosen as the recall is Robinson, who was reassigned to the AHL by the Blackhawks on March 26th.

The biggest name of this group is Reichel, a 20-year-old German winger who was the 17th overall pick at the 2020 draft. While some of his fellow 2020 first-rounders have already played more than 100 games in the NHL, the rebuilding Blackhawks were more patient with Reichel’s development, and that patience seems to have paid off.

Reichel was drafted so high on the back of a strong draft season playing pro hockey in the DEL for Eisbaren Berlin, where he scored 12 goals and 24 points in 42 games. While it was ten points less than third-overall pick and current Ottawa Senators star Tim Stutzle managed that same year, it’s still an impressive feat for any draft-year player to be a productive regular in a professional league playing against grown men.

The Blackhawks opted to have Reichel spend 2020-21 with Berlin, and that choice paid off as Reichel scored 27 points in 38 regular-season games and five points in nine DEL playoff games.

That successful sophomore season in Germany’s top pro league gave the Blackhawks the green light to bring Reichel across the Atlantic, and they allowed him to spend most of his year in the AHL, save for some brief cameos at the NHL level.

Reichel was a star AHL rookie, scoring 57 points in 56 games, an extremely strong number for a player who spent most of the season still in his teens.

This season, knowing that their roster was unlikely to provide Reichel the most comfortable developmental environment, the Blackhawks opted to keep Reichel in the AHL, and he scored well yet again, potting 46 points in 51 games.

A three-point performance in an overtime victory over the Calgary Flames likely gave Chicago increased confidence that Reichel might be ready for a more extensive stretch in the NHL, and they gave him just that in the month of March. Reichel began growing into more of a go-to option for head coach Luke Richardson, and he now likely finishes his season with a strong 15 points in 23 games.

If he can help Rockford go on a deep playoff run, or at least put some finishing touches on what has been a successful sophomore season, Reichel will likely enter next year’s training camp with his spot on the team’s NHL roster virtually guaranteed.

As for Vlasic, he’s spent almost the entirety of the season with the IceHogs, save for the past two weeks or so that he’s been on the NHL roster. The 21-year-old is a hulking six-foot-six blueliner who turned pro last season after three years at Boston University.

While there isn’t a ton of offense to speak of (he scored 20 points in his NCAA career and has 17 in 52 AHL games this year) Vlasic is an imposing physical force with serious crease-clearing potential. He’s been utilized as a top-pairing blueliner for the IceHogs, and the organization is hopeful that he can soon develop into an NHL option.

As for Robinson, he’s a 31-year-old minor league veteran who has 60 NHL games on his resume. The six-foot-six crash-and-bang winger last played in the NHL in a March 25th, 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild and has not yet registered a point in seven NHL games this season.

With 20 points in 50 AHL contests, any NHL games Robinson can skate in during the remainder of the Blackhawks’ season will be an important opportunity as his one-year league-minimum two-way deal is set to expire, meaning he’ll want to put some quality play on tape before he possibly lands on the open market in a few months.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Transactions: 03/02/23

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With all of the excitement of trade deadline week, the shuffling of players between the NHL and minor leagues often gets overlooked. Luckily, we’ll keep track of all that movement right here!

  • The Ottawa Senators have reassigned Jacob Larsson to the minor leagues, as Jakob Chychrun met them on the road in New York. Larsson has played in seven games with the Senators this season, failing to record a point.
  • Darren Raddysh is up with the Tampa Bay Lightning, giving them another defenseman for their road trip after tonight’s game against Pittsburgh. Raddysh hasn’t played in the NHL yet this season but has been incredible in the minor leagues, scoring 50 points in 50 games for the Syracuse Crunch.
  • With several changes made to the Pittsburgh Penguins roster, Drake Caggiula has been recalled for now. The 28-year-old has 37 points in 47 games in the AHL this season, the first time he has played in the minor leagues.
  • Arnaud Durandeau has been returned to the minor leagues by the New York Islanders, as Pierre Engvall jumps into the lineup. The 24-year-old Durandeau failed to register a point in his four NHL games.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers have returned Elliot Desnoyers and Olle Lycksell to the minor leagues, after explaining that it was important for their development to join the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ playoff chase. Desnoyers, in particular, seems to have made an impact on the Flyers coaching staff, despite playing just two NHL games so far.
  • Lukas Reichel has been recalled from the Rockford IceHogs, now that Patrick Kane and company have left the building. A top prospect for the Chicago Blackhawks, Reichel scored three points in four games during an earlier call-up.
  • Mason Appleton has been moved to injured reserve by the Winnipeg Jets, meaning Axel Jonsson Fjallby is returning to the NHL.
  • With so many Detroit Red Wings players on their way out, Adam Erne is on his way up. The veteran forward has been recalled today.
  • Curtis Lazar has been activated from injured reserve by the Vancouver Canucks, meaning he can return after two weeks on the sidelines. The depth forward has five points in 45 games this season.

This page will be updated throughout the day. 

Chicago Blackhawks Reassign Lukas Reichel

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It seems clear that Lukas Reichel is ready to make an impact at the NHL level, which is why the Chicago Blackhawks have sent him back to the minor leagues today. As they prepare for Patrick Kane’s return, the team has loaned Reichel back to the Rockford IceHogs, clearing a roster spot for the weekend.

Of the four games the 20-year-old forward has played this season, the Blackhawks have won three of them, including one over the Calgary Flames in which he was the second star with three points. Their win last night actually pulled them ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the standings, the opposite of what they are looking to accomplish this year.

There’s an argument to be made that Reichel can benefit from more time in the minor leagues, playing with a Rockford team that should be competitive all year. But he has been a dominant player since the moment he entered that league, scoring at a rate better than a point-per-game through nearly 100 appearances.

There will be plenty of time to see Reichel in Chicago down the road, but for now, it looks like he’ll be limited to minor league action for the next while. After the trade deadline, when the team flips several pending free agents, perhaps he’ll get a more extended chance.

2023 AHL All-Star Rosters Announced

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While the focus of many hockey fans is on the upcoming NHL All-Star festivities, the AHL is set to hold its own event to honor the league’s best players. Today, they announced the rosters for the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic, which will be held in Laval, Quebec on February 5-6. Todd Nelson (Hershey), Greg Moore (Toronto), Neil Graham (Texas), and Mitch Love (Calgary) will be the four head coaches.

The rosters are as follows:

Atlantic Division

F Will Cuylle, Hartford Wolf Pack
F Tyson Foerster, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
F Ethen Frank, Hershey Bears
F Matthew Highmore, Springfield Thunderbirds
F Vinni Lettieri, Providence Bruins
F Riley Nash, Charlotte Checkers
F Mike Vecchione, Hershey Bears

D Samuel Bolduc, Bridgeport Islanders
D Xavier Ouellet, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
D Cam York, Lehigh Valley Phantoms

G Brandon Bussi, Providence Bruins
G Joel Hofer, Springfield Thunderbirds

North Division 

F Alex Barré-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch
F Brandon Biro, Rochester Americans
F Gabriel Dumont, Syracuse Crunch
F Anthony Richard, Laval Rocket
F Logan Shaw, Toronto Marlies
F Egor Sokolov, Belleville Senators

D Justin Barron, Laval Rocket
D Noel Hoefenmayer, Toronto Marlies
D David Jiricek, Cleveland Monsters
D Darren Raddysh, Syracuse Crunch

G Nico Daws, Utica Comets
G Joseph Woll, Toronto Marlies

Central Division 

F Riley Barber, Texas Stars
F David Gust, Rockford IceHogs
F Tommy Novak, Milwaukee Admirals
F Lukas Reichel, Rockford IceHogs
F Brett Seney, Rockford IceHogs
F Sammy Walker, Iowa Wild

D Declan Chisholm, Manitoba Moose
D Thomas Harley, Texas Stars
D Max Lajoie, Chicago Wolves
D Brian Lashoff, Grand Rapids Griffins

G Yaroslav Askarov, Milwaukee Admirals
G Jesper Wallstedt, Iowa Wild

Pacific Division

F Thomas Bordeleau, San Jose Barracuda
F Michael Carcone, Tucson Roadrunners
F Seth Griffith, Bakersfield Condors
F Matthew Phillips, Calgary Wranglers
F Andrew Poturalski, Coachella Valley Firebirds
F T.J. Tynan, Ontario Reign

D Ryker Evans, Coachella Valley Firebirds
D Brad Hunt, Colorado Eagles
D Daniil Miromanov, Henderson Silver Knights
D Christian Wolanin, Abbotsford Canucks

G Lukas Dostal, San Diego Gulls
G Dustin Wolf, Calgary Wranglers

Chicago Blackhawks Recall Lukas Reichel, Brett Seney

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The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled a top prospect, bringing up Lukas Reichel from the minor leagues along with Brett Seney. The club needed some extra bodies after placing MacKenzie Entwistle and Jujhar Khaira on injured reserve (retroactive to December 27).

Reichel, 20, is arguably the team’s top forward prospect, selected 17th overall in 2020. After spending his post-draft season in Germany, Reichel has come and dominated at the AHL level, scoring 93 points in 88 games since the start of 2021-22. During that time he has also received 12 games at the NHL level, but is still looking for his first goal.

Only one of those appearances has come this season, as the Blackhawks continue to keep most of their prospects sheltered in the minor leagues. No more, apparently, as it looks like Reichel may get a chance to test himself at the highest level. In 32 games with the Rockford IceHogs this season he has 36 points, but that actually trails the player he’s coming up with.

Seney, 26, has long been a minor league star and has 38 points to lead the IceHogs and trail only Michael Carcone for the league lead. The undersized forward has just 55 appearances at the NHL level, almost all of them coming with the New Jersey Devils in 2018-19, when he scored all 13 of his career points.

Reichel is in the second year of his entry-level contract and won’t be a restricted free agent until the summer of 2024. The Blackhawks may want to give him a good look before potentially inserting him full-time into the lineup next season. But a return for both players to Rockford should eventually be expected, giving the minor league club a chance to compete for a championship. Rockford is 19-10-3 so far and has won four in a row.

Chicago Blackhawks Re-Assign Lukas Reichel, Place Petr Mrazek On IR

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Dec 7: So much for that. Reichel has been returned to the AHL.

Dec 6: A top prospect is on his way up to the NHL. According to the AHL’s transactions log, the Chicago Blackhawks recalled forward Lukas Reichel from the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs today. In a corresponding transaction, they also placed goalie Petr Mrazek on injured reserve retroactive to December 3, per NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis.

The move comes as Jonathan Toews is set to miss tonight’s game with a non-COVID illness, so it’s feasible that Reichel doesn’t stay up long-term. However, the team’s 17th overall pick in 2020 again dominates the minors and could force the team’s hand.

For the second consecutive season, Reichel is operating at more than a point-per-game pace in the AHL and sits second on Rockford, scoring 10 goals and 23 points in 19 games. With depth players like Jujhar Khaira and Colin Blackwell struggling to produce, Reichel might have the opportunity to get in a meaningful string of NHL action if he performs well tonight.

Mrazek is dealing with his second groin injury of the season, an issue that plagued him last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs as well. Those injuries have limited the team’s presumptive starter to just nine games this year, and his .884 save percentage and 4.06 goals-against average are the worst among the team’s top three goalies. He can return as soon as this weekend.

Central Notes: Khudobin, Reichel, Knak

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Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin has been given a clean bill of health, notes Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News.  He underwent hip surgery in the spring and Dallas was very careful with how they used him in the preseason.  With a trade market unlikely to materialize, it’s likely that the veteran will be on waivers in the coming days, allowing them to free up $1.125MM of his $3.33MM cap hit.  Notably, the return to health takes away any chance of them placing Khudobin on LTIR to start the season which might have aided in terms of freeing up cap flexibility to re-sign Jason Robertson.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • Chicago’s decision to cut top prospect Lukas Reichel raised some eyebrows as the 20-year-old showed plenty of offensive skill in training camp. However, head coach Luke Richardson told reporters, including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, that they felt that his defensive game needed considerable improvement and it’s much easier for that development to happen in the minors than in the NHL.  Richardson hinted that Reichel would have been battling for a spot on the fourth line had the youngster stayed on the roster and he’ll get considerably more ice time with the IceHogs than being in that role with the Blackhawks.
  • The Predators will be waiting a while to sign prospect Simon Knak as HC Davos of the Swiss NLA announced that they’ve signed the winger to a three-year extension that runs through the 2025-26 season. Nashville selected the 20-year-old in the sixth round in 2021 (179th overall) on the heels of a season split between Davos and Portland of the WHL.  Knak is off to a solid start this season with four points in his first seven games but he’ll be staying in Switzerland for the foreseeable future.

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