Blackhawks trim training camp roster down to 30

The Blackhawks opening night roster is coming into a clear view as the regular season inches closer. With the roster moves over the weekend and Monday included, here are the players who have been sent to the Rockford IceHogs, or back to their Junior teams.

The following players were re-assigned:

• Nicolas Beaudin
• Lucas Carlsson
• MacKenzie Entwistle
• Alexandre Fortin
• Alexis Gravel
• Brandon Hagel
• Mikael Hakkarainen
• Matthew Highmore
• Philip Holm
• Reese Johnson
• Chad Krys
• Graham Knott
• Philipp Kurashev
• Kevin Lankinen
• Dylan McLaughlin
• Jacob Nilsson
• Nathan Noel
• Jack Ramsey
• Jake Ryczek
• Dylan Sikura
• Tyler Sikura
• Tim Soderlund
• Matt Tomkins
• Joni Tuulola
• Kris Versteeg

Brandon Hagel at the Traverse City rookie tournament. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

Chicago is left with 17 forwards, 10 defensemen and three goalies in camp. The regular season opens in Prague, Czech republic against the Flyers in 11 days.

The Blackhawks are back in action on Wednesday night as they host the Washington Capitals for their fifth preseason game and final home contest until the regular season home opener against the San Jose Sharks on October 10. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.

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First period:
The Wings dominated the first period with physicality and many shots. New Blackhawks goalie Robin Lehner was tested early and often. The defense did Lehner no favors early, allowing a three on one chance in the opening minutes of the game.

Detroit would get the lone tally on a shot from Matt Puempel that Lehner would have liked to have back. Aside from Lehner not allowing more goals, there was nothing really positive for the Blackhawks in the first. The score was 1–0 Red Wings and the shots were 12–5 in favor of Detroit.

Second period:
The second period was better for the Blackhawks. After their lackluster first period, up was the only direction to take for this team. The Blackhawks did face a huge scare to start the second. Alex DeBrincat had went knee to knee with a Wings players in the first period. He would return to bench later in the second period.

The Blackhawks would finally get on the board when Andrew Shaw won a board battle and fed Dylan Strome. Strome made a beautiful pass to Philip Holm, who sniped home the equalizer.

In our best Eddie voice, Philip Holm went “RIGHT DOWN MAIN STREET”! pic.twitter.com/hFcbSGHJai

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) September 18, 2019

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The good feelings from the Holm goal would be short lived. Matthew Ford would beat Lehner on a fluky goal to re-establish the lead for Detroit at 2–1.

Lehner would be removed close to the 30 minute mark. Kevin Lankinen replaced Lehner and was not eased into the game. He faced several high danger chance right off the bat. The Wings would increase their lead to 3–1 on goal late in the period from Chris Terry.

However, the Blackhawks answered back with a goal from Dominik Kubalik.

Consider us big Domink Kubalik fans pic.twitter.com/B16i72mhBb

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) September 18, 2019

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The second period ended with the Red Wings up 3–2.

Third period:
The Hawks would tie the game on a power play goal early in the period. Kubalik was assisted by Holm on the goal. The shot was a laser past Detroit goalie Calvin Pickard.

Dominik Kubalik is firing lasers tonight! Goal #2 ties the game at 3! pic.twitter.com/BDFYVbQQxu

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) September 18, 2019

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Lankien was tested a couple of times in the third. He looked very good in net, but allowed a late third period goal. To be fair, he had faced 20 shots in 29 minutes of play before allowing the power play goal from Michael Rasmussen.

An empty goal with less than one minute remaining left in intermission sealed it for the Red Wings. The goal was scored by Luke Glendening.

When the final seconds ticked off the clock, Detroit had earned a 5–3 victory.

Quick hits:

A defensive challenger: Philip Holm has been impressive during camp. After a disastrous first period, he responded with a better second period. He tallied the first Blackhawks goal. He also had the assist on the second Kubalik goal.

Dominik who?: Dominik Kubalik looks like he could be a useful player for the team this season. He had two goals on the night.

The Blackhawks’ next game will be on Wednesday, as they host the Red Wings in Chicago. It can be seen on NBCSCH+ and puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The post Chicago Blackhawks fall to the Detroit Red Wings 5–3 appeared first on The Rink.

Blackhawks sign Holm for 2019–20 season

The Chicago Blackhawks’ depth at defenseman is a mish-mash of high-level prospects and mid-to-low-level NHL players. The addition of Holm seemingly only muddles the waters of the depth pool.

At 27 years old, Holm has bounced around Europe in his professional career with one stop in North America during the 2017–18 season. From 2011–2017, Holm played in the Swedish SHL and Allsvenskan leagues with Djurgårdens IF and Växjö Lakers HC. Skating in 197 SHL games and 90 Allsvenskan games, he tallied 61 points and finished the 2016–17 season with the SHL’s best plus-minus rating with Växjö.

Defenseman Philip Holm skates in an international game with Sweden. (Photograph courtesy of the IIHF)

Holm, who clocks in at 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, was part of the 2017 Swedish World Championship squad that took home the gold medal. Following that, he made the jump to North America to play with the Vancouver Canucks. He skated in just one game in the NHL with Vancouver, playing the rest of the season with the Utica Comets in the AHL before being dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights and finishing the 2017–18 season with the Chicago Wolves. Holm’s 2017–18 AHL season totaled 63 games played with 38 points tallied.

Last season, Holm transitioned to the KHL in Russia, playing for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. In his only KHL season, Holm played in 61 regular season games with 29 points and seven KHL playoff games with five points, as his club was eliminated in the first round. Holm was named a KHL All Star last season.

The Blackhawks open training camp on Sunday, Sept. 15 at the United Center with their annual Training Camp Festival. Look for Holm to make his team debut then.

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