Saturday marks an odd start time for the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild. The game will begin at 1:00 p.m. CDT in St. Paul, Minnesota. However despite an odd start time, there is plenty of excitement to get up for in this matinee matchup. According to head coach Derek King, Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk will make their Blackhawks debuts following the trade and Alex Vlasic will make his NHL debut against the Wild.
As indicated by Ben Pope of the Sun-Times, the Hawks will roll 11 forwards and seven defensemen today. This gives Vlasic an opportunity to ease in as he gets used to the NHL game. In what should be a competitive game facing a good Wild team, that’s a safe play for the rookie. Dominik Kubalik will jump up the lineup following Brandon Hagel’s departure as well.
Based on the information above. It feels like Katchouk and Raddysh will play on the third line wings, perhaps anchored by Philipp Kurashev. Even in a third line role, these two should see more ice time than they ever did in Tampa Bay. Both players averaged 11 minutes or less with the Lightning, leading to their modest offensive totals so far. Katchouk has six points (two goals, four assists) in 38 games and Raddysh has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 53 games. According to the Blackhawks’ team roster, Raddysh will sport #11 and Katchouk will don #14.
The Blackhawks and Wild play at 1:00 p.m. CDT on Saturday. Following the road tilt, the Hawks return to the United Center on Sunday night for “one of those great 6:00 starts” against the Winnipeg Jets.
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