Takeaways from the start of the Blackhawks training camp

The Chicago Blackhawks kicked off training camp with scrimmages right from the jump before formally introducing Nick Foligno as the 35th captain in franchise history on Thursday.

With a scrimmage to start camp, there are already a few lines worth mentioning. Connor Bedard centered a line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Taylor Hall on the red team while Philipp Kurashev centered a line with Lukas Reichel and Teuvo Teravainen.

Should those two lines make it to the regular season, the Blackhawks would still have plenty of depth for the bottom six. Although, while speaking with the media after practice, head coach Luke Richardson indicated lines could change.

“We’re going to rotate those three teams and scrimmages,” Richardson said. “We want to have a little balance so that we can see them pushing each other. But you also wanted to see some difference combinations like that. I think we’ll probably continue to do that. We might give it a few days and switch it for Saturday and Monday or just Monday, then get right into it in the exhibition games.”

The Blackhawks play a preseason game this upcoming Wednesday when the Detroit Red Wings come to town. While the first few preseason games will be a good opportunity to see some young players, an important rookie will be missing.

Artyomn Levshunov, who has been out with a right foot injury, is not expected to play during training camp.

“I know he’s in the gym right now working, at some point graduating to the ice,” Richardson said of Levshunov. “All I know is the same timeline that was originally released. I just know I see a smiley face in the dressing room every day. He’s a fun guy and loves to be around. He can’t wait to get out there. The trainers will have to wrestle him off until his timeline.”

The Blackhawks came ready to go to start training camp.

A major theme throughout the first day of camp was hitting the ground running. Starting the camp with scrimmages showed just how ready the players were. The veterans in Chicago set the ton early showing up in shape and ready to work throughout the next few weeks.

“We expected the guys to come in in shape,” Richardson said. “We talked about it. Nick, internally, talked about it with the guys that were coming here, especially the leaders, they all showed up in great shape, did extra stuff in the training room and the weight room before camp even started on their own. You can just feel it. So I think we just wanted to go with it and get right into a fast pace.”

The Hawks are back in action today. It will be interesting to see how the lines develop and more importantly which lines square off on the ice. Kyle Davidson is expected to speak with the media this afternoon so stay tuned for updates.

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