With the Blackhawks in Arizona taking on the Coyotes on Saturday night, defenseman Wyatt Kaiser will make his NHL debut after signing with the team this past week.
Every year, young college prospects sign and debut with their NHL teams following the end of their college seasons. In the case of the Chicago Blackhawks, freshly-signed defenseman Wyatt Kaiser is set to be one of those players. After signing with the Blackhawks on March 14, the 20-year-old will debut just four days later against the Arizona Coyotes.
As noted in Ben Pope's tweet, former NHL defenseman and Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson has advice for the Minnesota-Duluth product. With the Blackhawks being near the bottom of the NHL rankings, Kaiser is not expected to come in and provide a spark to help this team into the playoffs. Rather, this is a perfect time for the youngster to get acclimated to professional hockey.
It is clear the front office believes he is ready for the challenge, as fellow college signee Ryder Rolston signed with Chicago and was assigned to AHL Rockford.
The Blackhawks are hot, riding a two-game win streak after wins over the Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators. Entering Saturday's matchup, they'll look to make it three straight in Wyatt Kaiser's debut as he takes Ian Mitchell's spot in the lineup.
The Blackhawks and Coyotes square off at 9:30 p.m. CST. In his debut, Kaiser will wear #44 for Chicago.
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