Blackhawks’ Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel show promise in NHL debuts: 20 thoughts

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There was definitely a buzz about the Chicago Blackhawks game Sunday that has often been lacking this season. First-round picks Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel brought anticipation and excitement to United Center as they made their NHL debuts.

By all accounts, Moore and Rinzel didn’t disappoint.

“Yeah, lots to like,” Blackhawks interim coach Anders Sörensen said. “I thought Rinzel really (had an) attack mindset. I think he had three or four Grade-A chances offensively, did a lot of good things. Oliver, too. Under pressure, made a lot of plays. They were good. I liked their game.”

We’ll see what the rest of the season brings, but there were a lot of positives they can build on. That and plenty more in this edition of Powers Thoughts:

1. Rinzel especially had people talking after his game. He had his share of impressive plays Sunday, but none matched the following shift in the second period. He had four puck touches, two completed passes, two scoring chances and one delightful spin move.

2. The Blackhawks did officially burn the first year of Artyom Levshunov’s entry-level contract by playing him Sunday. He’ll become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2026-27 season.

It might not make a difference, but there is a chance that by getting Levshunov to his second contract earlier, the Blackhawks could save money on his deal. Considering how he’s looked on the ice, it made sense to burn the year.

3. Levshunov has passed the eye test for the most part. He looks like he belongs at the NHL level.

Analytically, the numbers have been mixed. In 10 games, he has a 45.07 Corsi percentage, a 39.76 percent expected goals rate, and the Blackhawks have been outscored 13-4 with him on the ice at five-on-five. Some of those goals against can be put on him, but there have also been instances when it hasn’t been his fault.

4. After Saturday’s practice, I talked to Alex Vlasic about Levshunov and a few other topics. His comments were worth sharing.

On how he’s trying to help the young players along: “Just be talkative with them and make them feel comfortable. For me, that was the biggest thing I struggled with when I first came, was just you don’t really know your place yet, you don’t know where you fit in. You don’t have those relationships. For me, I just try to be a resource for them to talk to, just really try to be a good teammate and friend. I think that goes a long way.”

On having so much size among the defensemen: “We got some big players on the back end, but they can also skate. That’s important in the NHL today. It used to be big, slower, physical defensemen transitioned to smaller, fast skating. Now it seems like we now have a little bit of both. We have guys who are big, but we can also skate pretty well. It’s exciting. I think it’s going to be a challenge for teams to face.”

On playing with Levshunov: “He’s great with the puck on his stick. When he wants to go and gets going, I don’t think anyone’s stopping him with the puck. I try to encourage him to do that as much as he can. If he gets the puck in the defensive zone to use that size, to use that speed to get going, he’s been great so far. He’s been fun to play with.”

5. The Blackhawks do have plenty of size across their defense. Something Chris Watkins and I talked about on a recent “Powers & Laz” podcast was how that size is only a differentiator if your big defensemen can excel at what smaller and more skilled players are supposed to be able to do and still bring the qualities that big defensemen are expected to contribute. If your 6-foot-6 defenseman can skate and handle the puck but can’t win puck battles and defend the net … well, that size doesn’t mean much.

Sörensen was asked before Sunday’s game about what size among the defensemen could mean for a team.

“I think with big defensemen, just the way they can defend and cover ice, if it’s with their sticks or just their bodies in general, to get stops defensively,” he said. “I think a lot of these guys have taken big strides in their development over the last year or two. But I think it helps a lot in the defensive part of the game, and even off the rush, right? Having good sticks and rangy players helps.”

6. Frank Nazar seems to get a breakaway almost every game lately. Though he’s not finishing them at a high rate, it shouldn’t worry anyone. Those types of chances aren’t often that easy to create for 21-year-old rookies. For him to be first on the Blackhawks with 0.73 rush attempts per 60 minutes at five-on-five and second to Ryan Donato with 3.53 high-danger chances per 60 minutes is a positive sign.

Just over the last two games, Nazar recorded a total of nine scoring chances at five-on-five. That was his most in a two-game span this season.

There will likely be a point where he finishes this type of opportunity.

7. Blackhawks prospect Sacha Boisvert, a 2024 first-round pick, entered the NCAA transfer portal Monday. Boisvert played his freshman season at North Dakota, and the school fired its men’s hockey coach, Brad Berry, after the season.

It’ll be interesting to see where Boisvert ends up. He could play one more season in college before turning pro. He’s a candidate to be in the Blackhawks lineup at the end of next season. He exceeded the Blackhawks’ expectations this past season and was named the NCHC rookie of the year with 18 goals and 14 assists in 37 games as a freshman. He finished the season with nine goals and two assists in his final nine games.

8. I would expect a portion of the Blackhawks’ practice Tuesday to be spent on zone entries on the power play. It was a disaster Sunday. The Blackhawks could have put themselves in a much better position in that game if their power play was at all functional.

9. Alex Ovechkin is five goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will host the Blackhawks in three games April 4. Odds are he won’t tie or break the record against the Blackhawks, but his next two games will provide a clearer picture.

10. Blackhawks goalie prospect Drew Commesso had his best month as a pro. He stopped 274 of 291 shots for a .942 save percentage in 10 starts for the Rockford IceHogs in March. Though it certainly appears the Blackhawks have prioritized Spencer Knight and Arvid Söderblom, Commesso could have his say about it. With every position, the Blackhawks have to be open to any prospect surprising them and overtaking someone else.

11. Ryan Donato has never had a four-game span in his 475-game NHL career like he just had for the Blackhawks. He had a few good stretches with the Seattle Kraken: one when he scored in four consecutive games, and another when he had four goals and one assist over four games. But his six goals and two assists from March 23 to 30 is on another level.

12. Colton Dach’s recent injury came at the worst time for him. He was playing well for the Blackhawks so far and doing exactly what the organization was seeking from him as a power forward. His underlying numbers were strong, too. He had a 50.34 expected goals percentage in the 12 games before his injury.

13. The Blackhawks are expected to explore signing defenseman prospect Taige Harding, a 2021 third-round pick. Harding, who is 6 feet 7 and 235 pounds, just finished his senior season at Providence.

14. With three home games remaining, the Blackhawks have drawn 685,537 fans and averaged 18,528 fans over 37 home games this season. (The Wrigley Field game doesn’t count toward their season average.) To compare, they averaged 18,836 last season and 17,167 in the 2022-23 season.

The Blackhawks had two games, both Mondays in January, under 16,000 fans this season. Another two games brought in between 16,000 and 16,999 fans; both those games were against the Los Angeles Kings and were on a Monday and Thursday in March. The six worst-attended games were all Mondays through Thursdays. On the other side of the spectrum, the Blackhawks drew more than 20,000 twice, both Sunday games. They brought in a season-high 20,627 fans for the Dallas Stars on Dec. 29.

15. In a text exchange with prospect Aidan Thompson’s agent Monday, the agent said Thompson hadn’t made a decision on what he’ll do after the season and they’ll discuss it with the University of Denver once the season ends. The Pioneers are playing in the Frozen Four again.

The 23-year-old Thompson, a 2022 third-round pick, had a breakout junior season at Denver. He was among the nation’s leaders in goals (20) and points (54).

16. Over the last 20 games, Ilya Mikheyev and Donato are tied for the most five-on-five points with 13 each. They’re followed by Teuvo Teräväinen (10), Nick Foligno (7), Vlasic (6), Connor Bedard (6) and Tyler Bertuzzi (6). Mikheyev has a team-best seven goals at five-on-five in that span, and Donato has six. No one else has more than two. In all situations, Donato has 11 goals in that span and is followed by Mikheyev (8), Bedard (4) and Teräväinen (4).

Ryan Donato has scored six goals in his last four games and 11 in his last 20. (Daniel Bartel / Getty Images)

17. Prospect Martin Misiak, a 2023 second-round pick, is one of those players who could go either way as a pro player. He has some intriguing attributes as a center, but his consistency has fallen short of what the Blackhawks were hoping he’d do in the OHL.

To his credit, Misiak has been playing better as of late. In his final 12 regular-season games for the Erie Otters, he had seven goals and 12 assists. So far in the playoffs, he’s kept it up. He’s produced four goals, which included a hat trick, and one assist in his first two playoff games.

18. Since Knight’s hot start after the Seth Jones trade, his game hasn’t been as consistent. He has an .887 save percentage in his first nine games with the Blackhawks. In his last five games, he’s made 111 saves on 131 shots for an .847 save percentage.

19. The Blackhawks will have no issue still burning the first year of Ryan Greene’s season whenever his college season ends. He and Boston University advanced to the Frozen Four this past weekend.

With the way the NCAA does its men’s hockey tournament, the teams take next weekend off and then will play the semifinals April 10 and the championship April 12. The Blackhawks have games April 12, 14 and 15, so Greene could still get two to three games whenever he’s done.

20. If anyone is interested in following Marcus Krüger’s quest to get Djurgården promoted in Sweden after reading my recent story on him, Djurgården is in the semifinals after sweeping Mora in the quarterfinals. Djurgården is down 1-0 in the best-of-seven semifinal series.

(Top photo of Clayton Keller and Sam Rinzel: Matt Marton / Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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