Evolution of Blackhawks’ Youngsters Leading to Team Success

The 22-year-old started the season centering the fourth line. Most thought it was a matter of time before he would be sent to Rockford. But the Blackhawks were utilizing a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen, allowing top players such as Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar to be double-shifted with the extra two “fourth line” players. Greene built some chemistry with Bedard, and his strong two-way play made it hard to justify taking him out of the lineup.

On Oct. 28 against the Ottawa Senators, Coach Blashill moved Greene up to the left wing of the top line, alongside Bedard and Andre Burakovsky. He’s been there ever since. Blashill recently gave his reasoning for this decision.

We (the coaching staff) just had discussions where (we said), let’s give him a chance to see; early on it was like it might be too much. And then as we kind of moved through the year, just trying to find the right fit and just give him the opportunity. His skill set, his ability to make plays with those guys (Bedard and Burakovsky), could allow them to be a little more tape-to-tape line. He’s accountable defensively. It gives us two guys that can take faceoffs. So, you kind of double your odds that if somebody gets kicked out, the other guys goes in and wins it. In my mind it’s been a really good fit. They’ve done a good job together. So hopefully they can keep it going.

Greene has certainly done his part of late. In the last four games he’s contributed two goals and three points. He’s also combined for 11 shots on goal and 23 shot attempts.

Against the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 2, Greene was deployed with Bedard and Alex Vlasic for the first shift of overtime. His 45.4 faceoff percentage is fourth on the team among players who have taken 160 or more draws, and his 240 faceoffs taken is third highest on the team. Pretty impressive for a guy that was a bubble player to start the season.  

Greene is an example of someone that’s taken huge strides in a very short amount of time.

The Need for Speed: Nazar & Moore Together

Another young player that’s showing great promise is Oliver Moore. Unlike Greene, Moore did spend some time with the IceHogs at the beginning of the season. He dominated in Rockford, posting six goals and nine points in just nine games. This prompted a call-up to the Blackhawks on Nov. 3, in conjunction with Jason Dickinson being placed on injured reserve.

Dickinson is back in the lineup now, but there’s no thoughts about sending Moore back down. In 15 games played with the Blackhawks, Moore has already contributed three goals and eight points. He’s moved up and down in the lineup, but he’s recently started to click alongside Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi on the second line. Moore and Nazar are both known for their speed, and Blashill thought it was a no-brainer to pair them together.

Longterm, the speed of Moore and Nazar can be something over the course of the season that can be real effective, and they both play real fast. And I think Bert is a really, really good, accountable, smart player who can put pucks into areas for those guys. Kind of help sort the line a little bit. So, hopefully it’s good. We’ve used it a little bit. It hasn’t come to fruition yet the way we’d like it to, but we’re hoping it gets there.

This was literally stated the morning before Nazar and Moore, with a little help from Bertuzzi, utilized their combined speed for this goal.

For his part, Moore is certainly happy to be playing with Nazar and Bertuzzi. “I think we can put the (other team) on their heels a good amount with our speed. I think now we can drive in and we can forecheck hard. I think we have a lot of options, especially playing with a guy like Bert, who really just supports all over the ice. It’s fun to play with them.”

Nazar likes the idea of combining his and Nazar’s speed. He also appreciates Moore’s intangibles on the ice. “Yeah, I mean, he’s so fast. It’s fun to play with him. I had a few chances today where I should’ve found him. He’s sneaky. He gets behind the guys. So really, just gotta do a better job finding him.”

Moore and Nazar combined for the assists on a goal from Wyatt Kaiser in the next game against the Los Angeles Kings (Dec. 4) as well. To continue with the “fun” manta, these guys should be fun to watch as they build on their chemistry.

By the way, in overtime with the Golden Knights that I referenced above, it was Nazar, Moore and defenseman Artyom Levshunov who jumped over the boards second after Bedard, Greene and Vlasic.

Levshunov is Learning

Speaking of Levshunov, the second overall pick from the 2024 draft has been an adventure from the get-go. His game was very raw when the Blackhawks drafted him, and still is to a certain degree. There’s many times where the 20-year-old’s decisions leave fans scratching their heads in confusion. But the talent is certainly there, and we’re seeing marked improvement as the season unfolds.

Levshunov is known as an offensive defenseman, and his 12 assists and 13 points leads all defensemen on the team. But in order to be an effective all-around defenseman, his defensive game has to get stronger. Coach Blashill feels that’s happening. He stated as much after the game in Vegas.

I think he’s done a good job. He had a little miscue on the first goal, got on the wrong side of the guy. But overall, I think he’s done a pretty good job. He has a real strong stick, meaning he can find a way to get stick on puck and disrupt plays. He’s just really strong on it. He’s a guy who probably, he’s faster than he looks. He’s got real powerful strides. I think his defensive game is growing, for sure.

Levshunov’s defensive partner throughout most of this season has been Kaiser, who’s made it a point to take the young D-man under his wing both on and off the ice. After the Kings game on Dec. 4, he was also asked about Levshunov’s growth.

(Immediately chuckles and says,) He makes me laugh.

But I think he just continues to be, he’s so young, but his defense has taken strides. I mean, yeah he sometimes gets out of position. But his forward gaps, like he’s really kind of stepping up and playing. I think he can be a defensive powerhouse as well as his offensive game. So I think there’s just, there’s just so much potential on both sides of the game. So it’ll be fun to kind of continue to watch him grow.

Kaiser laughed at training camp when I asked him Levshunov too. It’s easy to smile when it comes to the young Belarusian; he has such an affable way about him. It’s hard not to root for him, which is why everyone wanted to celebrate when he finally scored his first NHL goal in his 40^th NHL game (Nov. 26 versus the Minnesota Wild).

Coach Blashill has been utilizing seven defensemen this season in an effort to protect the young defensemen, namely Levshunov and Sam Rinzel. But he’s been giving Levshunov more run defensively as he continues to improve. Kaiser says it best that it will certainly be fun to watch him evolve.  

Bedard Taking It to Another Level

We can’t discuss the Blackhawks’ evolution without highlighting the leader of them all, Connor Bedard. This new face of the franchise has really come into his own this season, to say the least. He currently leads the team by a mile with 18 goals, 21 assists and 39 points. To put this in perspective, that’s 15 more points than Bertuzzi, who’s second place on the team. He also has an elite shot and deceptive release, allowing him to score goals that others can only dream of.

Bedard is one of the best in the league right now as well. At the time of this writing, he ranked third in both goals and points. He’s on pace for 118 points this season.

He’s doing it all, being second on the team in power play goals, with five, and tied with Bertuzzi with 12 power play points. In the shootout against the Golden Knights on Dec. 2, Bedard was the only Blackhawk who scored. And it was a thing of beauty.  

The 20-year-old has been criticized for not being responsible enough defensively. With good reason; he was a minus-44 in his rookie season and a minus-36 last season. This year, his plus/minus stat currently sits at a plus-9. He’s more committed to a team game, and understands that good defense leads to more offense.

With Bedard leading the way, and numerous other youngsters evolving right before our very eyes, the sky is the limit for this Blackhawks’ team. Yes, they still have their bad nights, which is to be expected. But if they can dig in and have more of those good nights than bad, they have the potential to make some noise as the season progresses.

As coach Blashill said recently, “We’re a good team when we play the right way. We just got to keep playing the right way and keep growing.”

The Blackhawks are currently in the last wildcard spot in the Western Conference, with a record of 12-9-6 and 30 points. Can they keep winning as they also continue to improve individually?! If so, we just might be talking about the playoffs come April.