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Blackhawks special teams is starting to take shape

Apr 9, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Anton Frondell (16) celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the first period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Blackhawks special teams is starting to take shape

Originally posted on Blackhawk Up | By Gail Kauchak | Last updated Sep 19, 2026 6:06 PM ET

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The Chicago Blackhawks, like the rest of the league, have a shortened training camp this season due to the new rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Because of this, they really have to hit the ground running to prepare for the regular season. In just the second and third days of training camp, they were already working on the power play and the penalty kill. Here's more on how special teams is taking shape for the Blackhawks.

Power play units for the Blackhawks

The top power play unit had Tyler Bertuzzi as the net front presence, Patrick Kane and Anton Frondell on the flanks and Bowen Byram as the quarterback.

Bertuzzi

Kane - Kantserov - Frondell

Byram

What's interesting is that Kane is lined up on the left flank, despite playing mostly on the right in the past. But Frondell showed a propensity for shooting his wicked shot from the right flank early and often in his limited time last season. Said head coach Jeff Blashill,

"Certainly Kaner has great ability. He spent more time on the other side, more on his one-time side. But him and I talked before the year, and I just think this offers him more options in terms of passing. It fits our hands better. But it also, to me, can fit his skills a little bit better. Not better, just differently. A new challenge, but one that I think he's equipped to be very good at. Because he knows how to, at that point he's just got so many different passing options, and he can score from that side just as well as he can the other side."

I can already envision some sneaky cross-ice passes by Kane to Frondell that could lead to a lot of goals.

Blashill also seems to have a lot of confidence in Kantserov in the bumper spot. "Kantserov is really, you know that bumper could be an interesting thing. Sometimes it's a learned position. A lot of guys don't necessarily come here having spent a lot of time in it. Because a lot of times at the levels they're at there on the half walls, and he spent a lot of time playing in the bumper. And so, like learning how to slide into space, learning how, just little movements in those areas to try to open up and find those lanes."

Byram was penciled in as the quarterback on the PP1 from the beginning, despite him playing mostly on the second unit in the past. Blashill expressed that he's watched him and seen his skill. Now the defenseman just needs to get more experienced at it.

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The second power play unit featured Frank Nazar at the net front, Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis on the flanks, Ryan Donato as the bumper and Sam Rinzel as the quarterback.

Nazar

Moore - Donato - Lardis

Rinzel

Here's what Blashill had to say about the second power play unit. "Lardis is really good on that kind of flank side. I think Mooresy showed some ability to go downhill. So we're just kind working through it to see."

Interestingly, on the third day of practice Levshunov took Byram’s place on the PP1, and Teravainen took Frondell’s place. This was mostly so Frondell and Byram could get in some penalty kill practice, but Levshunov and Teravainen could definitely be options on the power play moving forward. Per Blashill, neither Rinzel or Levshunov separated themselves as the quarterback on the power play last year. He said both will get a chance to prove themselves in that position.

With all these new weapons, the power play has the potential for some vast improvement this season.

Penalty kill units for the Blackhawks

Here's what we saw as some of the groups on the penalty kill in training camp.

PK Unit: Alex Vlasic, Ryan Greene, Ian Cole, Jordan Greenway

PK Unit: Rinzel, Cole Smith, Nazar, Wyatt Kaiser

PK Unit: Landon Slaggert, Vlasic, Andrew Mangiapane, Cole

Other PK participants: Frondell, Byram

Coach Blashill said Kantserov could easily play on the PK as well; he's very impressed with the Russian's two-way game. Regarding Frondell on the PK, he said, "Frondell with that big body, I thought he was really good on it today for never having done it. You know, he's somebody who I think part of becoming that great complete player is being a good penalty killer. You know, we did it with Dylan Larkin when I was in Detroit. He's become a really good killer over time, and I think I think Anton can do the same thing."

Another standout in this area of special teams is newcomer (Cole) Smith. Blashill sees him as someone who could offer a lot of the same skills as Ilya Mikheyev did last season, both five-on-five and on the penalty kill. "Cole's really long and really fast and a good skater. Even on the penalty kill, I thought it showed up a lot today, where his length and his stick, he was able to disrupt a lot of plays."

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Blackhawks had one of the best penalty kills in the league last season, so they're hoping they can maintain that same excellence with some different personnel.

Obviously, this is all subject to change. But with training camp being so short this year, this very well could be what we see on opening night for the Blackhawks. The NHL group is expected to play this Monday in the preseason game versus the Minnesota Wild. So we'll see if they can find some success with these power play and penalty kill units.

This article first appeared on Blackhawk Up and was syndicated with permission.

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