The Blackhawks assigned forward Alex Nylander to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL on Sunday.
The 23-year-old signed a one-year contract extension in August after he missed all of this past season recovering from surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee. He scored 10 goals and 26 points in 65 regular-season games and played in eight games in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Despite last season being his fifth in the NHL, Nylander retained his waiver eligibility because he did not play. He will need to be healthy for another season or play 53 NHL games to no longer be waiver-exempt.
Nylander hasn’t played in the AHL since the Blackhawks acquired him from the Buffalo Sabres for defenseman Henri Jokiharju in July 2019.
With this move, the Blackhawks training camp roster currently stands at 27 players: 14 forwards, nine defensemen, and four goaltenders.
Also Sunday, the Blackhawks placed goalies Collin Delia and Malcolm Subban on waivers in an attempt to assign them to AHL. Both players were also left exposed for the Seattle Expansion Draft.
Delia and Subban each played in the NHL this past season, but Kevin Lankinen‘s emergence and the acquisition of Marc-Andre Fleury have left Delia and Subban outside of the NHL rotation. Delia also played in the AHL last season, while Subban remained with the NHL group behind Lankinen.
The IceHogs currently have three goalies in training camp: Arvid Söderblom, Cale Morris, and Tom Aubrun.
The Blackhawks will have to submit their opening night roster on Monday, as the team opens their season in Colorado on Wednesday night against the Avalanche.
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