Looking Ahead At The Hawks

With the 2026 Winter Olympics behind us, the NHL resumes tonight, and the Chicago Blackhawks return tomorrow night to take on the Nashville Predators. Pundits have been sharing what they'd like to see out of the Hawks over the course of their remaining 25 games. I figured I'd share mine.

Blackhawks Tactical Adjustments

The biggest thing is going to be how head coach Jeff Blashill adjusts the Hawks' systems. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times detailed how the Hawks are going to be changing up their defensive zone scheme. It sounds like the Hawks are going to be more aggressive with their forwards in their hybrid man-on-man.

The current setup has the weakside forward protect the highslot while the rest of the defenders stick to their assignments. What it sounds like Pope is trying to say is that players will now have triggers to release their assignment to another player. So, instead of a defenseman following the puck carrier all the way up to the blue line, he might release the puck carrier at a trigger point (maybe the hasmarks) to a strongside forward.

We'll have to see what it actually looks like when the Hawks play.

Scott Powers had this to say in a recent article regarding upcoming adjusments:

"Blashill has used the Blackhawks’ recent stretch of practices as a mini training camp. He’s been re-emphasizing aspects of his system, but also tinkering in hopes of being more aggressive in the defensive zone and creating more offense in transition. The Blackhawks would also like to be more dangerous on the power play. These last 25 games can also be seen as a building block for what Blashill is looking to do for years to come."

Whatever we see on the ice, I'd like to see the Hawks play a much more aggressive style. They've gotten more passive as the schedule progressed, and I'm not sure if it's a combination of missing out on Bedard/Nazar while dealing with a compressed schedule. But they've sat back a lot, and their forecheck has been pretty ineffective.

They have young, fast players. They should be able to play a more "get up and go" style of hockey, even if it leads to some odd man rushes against.

The other area to watch is the kids.

The Youth

We're getting to that point in the season where some teams might be taking nights off if they've pretty much secured playoff spots. The Olympics have also made some rosters hurt and tired. We should see some of our kids fare better against teams. It happened last year with Sam Rinzel and Frank Nazar.

While I won't take too much stock if our kids absolutely crush it, I will take stock if the kids continue to struggle.

Frank Nazar's two goals in 31 games are concerning. Sam Rinzel looked better in his three games before the break, but let's see some consistency. Artyom Levshunov has to clean up his act. Kevin Korchinski must use this as an opportunity to prove he's the player I think he is (a puck-moving defenseman). Then there's the possibility we'll get a look at Anton Frondell if his season in Sweden ends before the Hawks do.

There's the potential for some fun nights of Hawks hockey, but there's also the potential that things could go frustratingly quiet.

I'll be back sometime next week with more Hawks thoughts. Maybe a recap on Thursday night's game, but I'll also be busy the following day... so don't count on that. I have an article in the works for Second City Hockey that breaks down the Blackhawks' penalty kill, so be on the lookout for that.