Maybe one day, Chicago Blackhawks fans who attended Sunday’s game against the Utah Hockey Club — the ones who were willing to pony up $12 for a commemorative ticket — might look down on that stub and say, “I was there.”
Or it might be a tangible reminder of a failed experiment.
However it goes down in history, it would’ve been the first time several of the former draft picks who marked the genesis of the Hawks’ Great Rebuild assembled for an NHL game.
In the context of Sunday’s matinee, it’s just another game, a desperate playoff contender (Utah) pitted against the league’s second-to-last team (Chicago).
Whether Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, Kevin Korchinski, Artyom Levshunov and the others are ready for this particular moment is immaterial.
For the Hawks’ management and coaches, and even fans, it’s a first glimpse of the future.
“The bigger picture of it, right?” said Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen, who worked with several of the players as prospects when he coached the Rockford IceHogs. “Six guys that we picked in the first round that get an opportunity to play tonight. Obviously, this is the foundation of what we have going forward that we believe in here.
“So to see them and get a taste for them, to get a taste of what it is to play playoff-bound teams or teams that are fighting for the playoff spot, it’s a good learning lesson and obviously a good evaluation tool for the organization as well.”
It goes without saying that the team isn’t built with just first-round picks.
Look no further than the Hawks trading for goalie Spencer Knight.
But for good or ill, high draft picks represent what a team believes will be the core.
Eventually, they’ll inform us of general manager Kyle Davidson’s skills as a drafter, tradesmith and team-builder.
Sorensen raved about the potential he saw Sunday, despite the loss.
“If you watch Rinzel, for example, his mentality of attack off the blue line or just advancing pucks with his feet, those are attributes that at this level are really positive,” he said. “To see that for a first game, that was pretty impressive to watch.
“But those attributes, both of them (Rinzel and Moore) that came in today have them, for sure.”
Moore and Rinzel took a rookie lap together before Sunday’s 5-2 loss to Utah at the United Center.
“Rinzey and I almost multiple times missed the net right on the ice there,” Moore said.
Both had friends and family in attendance, as well as several of their teammates from the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
“It was obviously really fun experience, definitely something I’ll never forget right from the national anthem on. … But obviously wish we would have gotten the win.”
Rinzel said of making his debut with Moore, “Having to do it with a buddy, it means the world. It brings a level of comfortability to you and that adds to your confidence, for sure.”
Here’s how each player performed.
Connor Bedard, forward
Draft: 2023, No. 1
Outlook: Bedard is the unquestioned centerpiece of the future, but it’s fair ...
