The Chicago Blackhawks held their first practice of 2026 Training Camp on Thursday at Blackhawks Ice Arena. Most of the players have been skating there for a couple of days now, but Thursday was the first official skate.
There are some new names, including Ian Cole, Bowen Byram, Cole Smith, Jordan Greenway, and Roman Kantserov. Of course, Patrick Kane is back as well. Connor Bedard is still out as he continues his comeback from shoulder surgery, which will leave a hole in the lineup for a little while longer.
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Right off the bat, there were some line combinations forming. Jeff Blashill had them skating like this:
Kantserov-Nazar-Kane
Bertuzzi-Frondell-Lardis
Donato-Moore-Teravainen/Mangiapane
Smith-Greene-Greenway/Slaggert
Vlasic-Byram
Kaiser-Levshunov
Cole-Rinzel
Korchinski-Del Mastro
Knight
Soderblom
With Bedard out, Frank Nazar skated as the top-line center. Playing with Patrick Kane, a franchise icon, and Roman Kantserov, a superstar KHL goal scorer, is a great opportunity for Nazar while they wait for the captain to return.
Anton Frondell skated as the second-line center. Even before Bedard hurt his shoulder, the plan was for both Nazar and Frondell to operate as centers coming into camp. So far, the Blackhawks are sticking to that plan. If it works, they will be much deeper in the long-run than if they were forced to become wingers.
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Skating with Frondell were Tyler Bertuzzi and Nick Lardis. For Frondell, that’s two goal-scoring wingers to help him with that transition to the middle of the ice.
The bottom-six forward group is where things get interesting. Andrew Mangiapane and Landon Slaggert each rotated in and out with Teuvo Teravainen and Jordan Greenway, respectively. Ryan Donato, Oliver Moore, Cole Smith, and Ryan Greene were part of that bottom-six group as well.
When Bedard comes back, that will push a third player from this group out of the top-12. There are injuries and inconsistencies that will play a factor in these decisions throughout the year, but it is going to be a revolving door.
It should be noted that AJ Spellacy, who was incredibly noticeable at the Prospect Showcase and appears to be NHL-ready, did not skate with the NHL group on day 1 of training camp. Although he is a candidate to make his NHL debut at some point in 2026-27, it is not likely to come out of camp.
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Sacha Boisvert, who played in the NHL a little bit at the end of last season but was less noticeable at the Prospect Showcase, is also likely to be in the AHL.
For Spellacy, this is a chance to dominate in the AHL and force the team to have no choice but to call him up. For guys like Boisvert and Marek Vanacker, playing in the AHL will be a great opportunity to advance their skills.
On defense, Alex Vlasic was paired with Bowen Byram to form the new top pair. If Byram’s offensive game continues to improve, this could be an outstanding two-way pair that the Blackhawks can use against anyone.
Wyatt Kaiser and Artyom Levshunov, who skated together a lot last season, were back together while Ian Cole was paired with Sam Rinzel. The extra pair consisted of Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro. The Blackhawks are likely to carry a 7th defenseman, which should be Korchinski, while Del Mastro may be destined for waivers/AHL time.
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In goal, it is Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom. Some are expecting Drew Commesso to get his chance, but he is with the non-NHL group for now. Due to the two-way contract that he has, becoming a one-way contract at the same time that Soderblom becomes a free agent, expect this to be the mold for the 2026-27 season. Adam Gajan is projected to back up Commesso in the AHL.
Both Jeff Blashill and Kyle Davidson admitted after practice that the NHL group that skated today is likely where the opening day lineup is coming from.
With training camp being so short, it will take a lot longer than that for someone from the non-NHL group to earn their way up. Spellacy, Boisvert, and Vanacker may not like hearing that, but they will get some good work in with the Rockford IceHogs to boost their confidence and prepare for when their name is called.
For Spellacy specifically, he can go to Rockford and play so well that the decision makers decide it is finally time to play him over an NHL forward who isn’t as impactful as him.
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On Friday, each group will practice again. On Saturday, the non-game group will have a practice at Blackhawks Ice Arena, followed by the game group having a morning skate. Then, the game group will make their way up north for that night’s preseason tilt against the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena.
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