Blackhawks Scrimmage Notes: Preseason opener awaits

In the final full practice before the Chicago Blackhawks open preseason action, the team was split for the first full scrimmage opportunity of training camp.

The teams focused on special teams play, with both sides working power-play and penalty-kill scenarios at full speed. As much as we are all hungry to figure out where Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill has certain players in the lineup, he said after practice not to take too much away from who he had playing together.

Regardless…

Scrimmage Lineups (Red vs. White)

Red

Moore-Bedard-Reichel
Bertuzzi-Nazar-Teräväinen
Foligno-Greene-Lafferty
Mišiak-Ludwinski-Pridham/Behm

Del Mastro-Rinzel
Grzelcyk-Crevier
Kuzmin-Harding
Fitzgerald-Mast

Knight
Commesso

White

Dach-Donato-Lardis
Mikheyev-Dickinson-Anderson
Thompson-Tonianto-Savoie
Vanacker-Cates-Hayes/Holmes

Vlasic-Murphy
Kaiser-Levshunov
Korchinski-Allan
Cumby-Perrott

Söderblom
Berezhnoy

*Andre Burakovsky did not skate in the scrimmage

Connor Bedard playing with Oliver Moore and Lukas Reichel was fun to watch, even if it was just for this session. The speed all three played with allowed for a number of exciting rush chances, but none were buried in the 40-minute scrimmage.

Seeing Ethan Del Mastro playing alongside Sam Rinzel could signal some potential favorability for him heading into the preseason action. With Rinzel looking likely to make the NHL roster out of camp, a player on the bubble like Del Mastro can take advantage of an opportunity to play well alongside him.

Drew Commesso looked very good in net for the second 20-minute period. He made every stop in the full scrimmage and the special teams sessions, only allowing one shootout goal to Ryan Donato. He’s got as much of a claim to be the NHL backup to Spencer Knight as Arvid Söderblom does, even with Söderblom earning an extension this offseason.

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Connor Bedard’s game speed has not been exaggerated.

Bedard’s focus this offseason was on his summer workouts and getting stronger and faster. We’ve seen all the videos and reports from his time training in Vancouver and declining to play for Team Canada at the World Championships to focus on his training.

Through the first week of camp and heading into preseason game action, his improvements in speed and strength have not been exaggerated. Bedard has been flying all week. His shot looks as good as it has since he’s made the jump to playing in the NHL, and his pace through drills and especially in the full scrimmage today showed the next gear to his game that we’ve been hoping to see.

Now, this is still one week into training camp. The real test is the 82 games between October 7, 2025 and April 15, 2026. But early signs point up. If his head and hands make the same jump in processing speed as his feet seem to have, this will be a breakout season for Bedard.

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First look at full special teams units

This is how Jeff Blashill and staff had Team Red and Team White lining up for their power-play and penalty-kill work today:

Red PP1:
Bertuzzi
Teräväinen-Nazar-Bedard
Rinzel

Red PP2:
Foligno
Greene-Moore-Reichel
Grzelcyk

White PP1:
Dach
Burakovsky-Mikheyev-Donato
Levshunov

White PP2:
Thompson
Anderson-Toninato-Lardis
Korchinski

Red PK1:
Nazar-Teräväinen
Del Mastro-Rinzel

Red PK2:
Lafferty-Foligno
Grzelcyk-Crevier

White PK1:
Dickinson-Mikheyev
Vlasic-Murphy

White PK2:
Dach-Toninato
Kaiser-Levshunov

It’s a surprise to no one, but Frank Nazar will be the engine that makes this Blackhawks team go this season. He’s going to start the year playing on the second line with Teuvo Teräväinen and Tyler Bertuzzi, he’ll get top power-play time and he’ll likely be on the top penalty-killing unit.

Colton Dach feels like a player who is going to have a good chance to make this NHL roster out of camp. Getting chances to play on the power-play and penalty-kill and on a line with Ryan Donato is not nothing, even with Blashill downplaying the 5-on-5 lineup groups today.

Dach has a chance this preseason to establish himself as that young, supplemental power forward who becomes a pain in the ass to play against on a nightly basis. That’s the hope for him, anyway.

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Artyom Levshunov can “turn it on” in game scenarios

There have been times through last season in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs and a few times in practices this week where Artyom Levshunov has been less-than-enthused in his efforts. But when it comes to playing NHL games and against other NHL players, he has the effort level you want to see.

Today’s scrimmage environment brought that out of Levshunov as he and defensive partner Wyatt Kasier were tasked with penalty-kill assignments. Levshunov found himself on the top power-play unit for Team White. There’s still a lot of refinement needed in Levshunov’s game, but when he gets his horsepower going, there’s not much that he can’t do.

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Oliver Moore is going to get a real chance to make the Blackhawks

Again, I don’t want to get ahead of my skis on the lines and pairings today. But contrary to what Blashill said after practice, I’m believing more every day that goes by that the Blackhawks want Oliver Moore to make the NHL squad out of camp.

After a nine-game stint with the team to end last season, Moore looks like the pace of play at the NHL level will not be a problem for him. There’s little doubt that he won’t be able to handle how fast the game moves, but more so, whether he’ll be able to process and execute at that speed right away. Moore has shown he can create chances, but it will be finishing them that will take him to that next level of player.

It’ll be a challenge for him in his first full professional season, both mentally and physically, going from 45 games played with Minnesota and the Blackhawks last year to what he hopes to be a full 82-game schedule. If he ends up starting the year in Rockford and having the same “Nazar plan” with the IceHogs, that’s acceptable. But I’m sure the Blackhawks would love it if he proved he didn’t need that time.