Clearly Landon Slaggert would have liked a win in the first game where he skated with his Chicago Blackhawks teammates. While a 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings dampens some of that mood, the memory is one that will last a lifetime for him. Once he got to the ice, it was business as usual.
“There’s always nerves and a little more energy built up,” Slaggert said. “At the end of the day, it’s still hockey.”
The result wasn’t what they wanted but his teammates certainly saw the effort put in for a first game in the league against a very good opponent.
“I thought he looked good,” forward Jason Dickinson said. “I thought he was moving his feet really well–he was reading the ice well. Didn’t see him out of position too much. Wasn’t analyzing too hard obviously–first game–just excited and want to make an impression.”
Head coach Luke Richardson
“Good, same as in practice–it’s just a sample size for him,” Richardson said. “Definitely energy, gets in on forechecks, not afraid to bump people. He only got out there once on the penalty kill but seemed fine and comfortable with it. Obviously more to come, and looking forward to seeing it.”
But there was one other tidbit that definitely could inject some more energy into the Blackhawks attack
Blackhawks bringing Lukas Reichel Back Up
With a good showing thus far in Rockford, the Blackhawks have called Lukas Reichel back up and Richardson’s assessment of his play sees that maybe his confidence is at the right point for him to shake off the doubt that may have been creeping in.
“He’s playing at a high level,” Richardson said, noting Reichel’s goal the other night. “This is a good time to get him back here while his confidence is at a higher level compared to when he left. I think he was a little bit down on himself and unconfident so this is the time to get him back up here.”
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