Blackhawks Beat NY Islanders, Frondell's 1st NHL Point | Kantserov Makes KHL History!

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Anton Frontel records his first NHL point

as the Black Hawks hold onto defeat the islanders.

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What's going on, everyone?

Welcome on in to Lockdown Black Hawks.

I'm your host, Jack Bushman.

On today's episode, Roman Cancer Up officially made KHL history

and now the postseason is underway.

Also getting to the latest updates on Sasha Blavare.

And when we could see his first look with the Black Hawks,

but first all the takeaways from a 4-3 win over the islanders

and Anton Frontel's NHL debut.

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on Instagram as I've been pumping out a lot of content over there.

And the content was absolutely crazy last night

with Frontel's NHL debut.

So again, make sure to go and check out Lockdown Black Hawks

over on Instagram.

But enough of that happy Wednesday, everyone.

Hope you all had as much fun as I did watching last night's game,

although the third period definitely wasn't as fun

and things got way too dicey there down the stretch.

But ultimately, thanks to Arvid Soder Blue,

who I'll get to here in just a moment, the Black Hawks,

hang on to take down the islanders,

4-3 and kick off their four-game East Coast road trip

with a bang.

And of course, getting right into it, Black Hawks fans yesterday,

indeed was the first look at 2025 number three overall pick

and Tom Frontel with the Black Hawks,

the beginning of the Bedard and Frontel era here in Chicago.

Frontel makes his NHL debut at UBS Arena

in front of his parents and also his sister super cool

that they were able to be in attendance for this one.

And all of the Frontel content that was getting pumped out

yesterday had me so absolutely fired up.

Seeing him go, no bucket, just like all the young Black Hawks,

youngsters do for his rookie lap.

Seeing the pictures of he and Bedard standing next to each other

during the national anthem, them shooting the ish

in the locker room following the morning skate,

all of the pictures that were posted of Frontel,

all the videos, all the clips that were out there.

And again, I posted a lot of them over on Lockdown Black Hawks

Instagram page, had me so jazzed up,

but it also had me really fired up yesterday

with Frontel's positioning in the lineup

and who he skated with as.

He was indeed on the top line,

along with Conor Bedard playing the right wing,

but it was an Andre Berkowski,

who is the third member of that line.

It was Ryan Green, which was such a pleasant surprise.

I know for many of us Black Hawks fans,

after it sure seemed like it was going to be Frontel Bedard

in Berkowski as the top line for Frontel's NHL debut,

especially with the way that Blasho mentioned

after some days game that he wants to be giving Ryan Green

some more looks down the middle here

to conclude the regular season.

Sure seemed to be an indicator that Green was going to be

the one to boat it off of the top line

and Frontel taking his spot,

but it winds up being Berkowski,

who gets moved down to the third line

and by the way, Berkowski nearly had another goose eggs

across the board night as I posted on X,

no shots on goal, no hits, no points,

no penalty minutes, no blocks,

the only category that he did fill

in just over 13 minutes of ice time

was having one singular shot attempt.

But considering the position of the Black Hawks

or in at this point of the season line,

the playoffs are out of the picture,

it's all about the young players,

it only makes sense to keep Ryan Green in that spot,

even if as I've said, I don't really think Ryan Green

is going to be a top line or long term

or maybe even a second liner,

I still envision him being either a third line,

maybe fourth line center or wing for the Black Hawks

in the long term, but there's no reason

that Andre Berkowski should be remaining

on that line over Ryan Green.

So was very happy to see that be the Black Hawks top line

that was shrouded out there together.

And of course, also got the start in last night's game

and super cool as well to see Conor Bedard

go and give Frandel a little tap on the leg

and say, get in there, bud,

you're taking this opening face off,

which unfortunately Frandel did lose to Bohor Vat.

But the combined age of the Black Hawks top line

last night in New York was 60 years old,

Anton Frandel being 18, Conor Bedard being 20

and Ryan Green, the oldest of the bunch still only 22 years old.

For Frandel didn't take him long to make his impact

on this game as in the first period recorded,

NHL career point number one,

the first of what's sure to be many for him.

And it was off of a very crisp pass in transition,

great play recognition overall by Frandel, recognizing that.

I believe it was Scott Mayfield for the Islanders

who just wasn't really in good position

as the Black Hawks had a three on two rush,

going the other direction recognizes that Mayfield

didn't have great gap control.

There was a lot of room down the left flank for Ilya McKayev

who's an excellent skater, right?

Do not want to be giving him that much time in space.

Frandel recognizes that opportunity

and then the execution was also perfect as well.

Throwing a crisp pass to find McKayev

and stride that allows him to get that breakaway.

He puts it home five hole to give the Black Hawks a two to one lead.

And Frandel with the primary assist

is officially off and running, but altogether,

I thought there were sometimes when unsurprisingly Frandel,

it seemed like he was just trying to keep up with his linemates,

but I don't think that's really all that surprising

considering the quick turnaround that he's had

from Sweden going to New York.

Obviously just played a full SHL campaign,

42, 43 of their 52 games and also had three postseason appearances

as well, also played for Team Sweden at the World Juniors

and doesn't really have any practice experience

aside from the morning skate earlier that day

to kind of establish some chemistry

or truly understand how his linemates

like to operate out there on the ice.

But I thought the skill was pretty obvious at times

from Frandel last night,

not only on that primary assist on Ilya McKayev's goal,

but made a couple of sharp defensive plays too.

The most notable one was probably him stripping

Matthew Schaefer at the Blackwax Blue Line in the third period

and then not only that, but going in,

following up on the other end,

let go of a strong wrist shot that unfortunately

just sailed high of the target.

But my big takeaways from Frandel last night, the shot,

he had two shots on that,

and that wrist or that he fired high

after that great defensive play on Matthew Schaefer.

The puck absolutely jumps off his stick

and that's something I talked about

when going through the expectations for Frandel

on yesterday's episode, that shot

is definitely going to be his best offensive attribute.

Didn't really get to see the one timer

on the man advantage yesterday

as the Blackwax power play wasn't all that great,

but there's clear power behind the shot

of Anton Frandel and I thought it was funny.

Jay Zewoski of CHGO posted that opposing goal tenders

are reacting to Frandel shot

in a similar way to Conor Bedard.

I don't know if they're necessarily the same type of shooters,

but it's clear that Frandel has really strong power.

I don't think he's got the curl and drag maneuver

that Bedard has, but just a lot of power

and a lot of speed coming on that shot.

That was very evident last night.

And then I liked his two-way game for the most part.

So all together, I was pretty happy with Anton Frandel's NHL debut

recording of primary assist getting on the stat sheet.

In total, he wound up recording,

as I mentioned, two shots on goal, five shot attempts,

which was tied for third most on the team,

also chipped in with two Black shots

and had one individual scoring chance in one hit

in 15 minutes and 45 seconds of ice time.

I was really happy with what I saw for Anton Frandel.

Wasn't like a jaw-dropping debut,

but quite honestly, I didn't really expect that

to be the case, again, with a quick turnaround

in the lack of practice time that he's had here

with his new team.

But go and let me know down below

in the comment section, Black Hawk's fans,

how pumped up you are that Anton Frandel is now

finally on the NHL scene.

I guess I shouldn't say finally.

They just drafted him this year,

but with what he's been doing in the SHL,

I know a lot of us have been excited

for some time now and to finally see him

downing the Black Hawk sweater is just so great.

But let me know also what you thought

overall of Frandel's NHL debut last night in Long Island.

But stealing the show a little bit in Frandel's NHL debut

was none other than Nikki Lardis.

Surprise, surprise when you actually put Nick Lardis

with competent offensive-minded players in a top six role.

What do you know?

He winds up producing and it is so maddening

that it took this long to get Lardis that opportunity

to win in his first two games as a full-time top six member

skating on the second line with Tyler Bertuzzi

and Frankie Nazar.

Jeff Glashel on Sunday following the game

said he thought it was Lardis' best as in NHL

or while I think he even outdid that performance

with how strong he was last night in New York.

Quite honestly, I thought he was the best skater

on the ice for the Black Hawk's,

scored a goal for the second consecutive game.

And to me, I loved this goal from Nick Lardis

because he was the one who flipped the puck up high

to spring Nazar in Bertuzzi for that two-on-0 rush.

Now, the fact that Nazar and Bertuzzi didn't even hit the net

on that two-on-0 rush is a little bit concerning there

and definitely not ideal, but I love that Nick Lardis

at the time go back and watch the replay.

Unfortunately, I just can't pull it up here on YouTube.

But after Nick Lardis flips that puck up high

to spring Nazar and Bertuzzi for that rush,

he doesn't quit on the play.

But he is, I believe, either the fifth or the sixth skater

back, there's the two Black Hawk's words ahead of everyone.

And then there is at least two Islanders defenders

right behind them.

Nick Lardis is trailing them on the play,

but he never quit on the play.

And this is what I think good goal scorers do.

Maybe this isn't the best example,

but Lardis in the OHL with Brandford,

one of his biggest strengths was finding little pockets

of space, finding the open ice and going there.

And that's exactly what he did on this goal.

He never quit on the play.

He hustled the get back into it as the Islanders

were kind of puck watching a little bit there.

Nazar ends up regaining possession off of his mishat.

And then Nick Lardis is in the perfect position

right out in the slot.

Nazar feeds him and he puts home the goal

for his seventh tally of the season.

And as I said, second in his many games.

And that probably definitely wasn't Lardis's best play

of the night.

His best was on Frank Nazar's one time

or that extended the Black Hawk's lead

to four to one picking up his third point of the night.

Came off of what probably should have been

an icing call from the officials.

They decided to blow it off for whatever reason.

But again, Nick Lardis didn't quit on the play.

And he showed off his skating ability,

which I really do think has been evident

in these last two games.

He was skating really well on Sunday in Nashville.

I thought his speed both offensively

and defensively was very evident last night again.

And it definitely was on this play.

As he got in on the forecheck,

forced the Islanders into making a turnover

and then again, looks up, recognizes the play developing

in front of him, feeds Nazar for the one time

or in the slot, winds up picking up his third point

of the game.

Also had the second area assist on Tyler Bertuzzi's goal

in the first period, first three point game for Nicky Lardis.

And I don't think it's a surprise.

It comes shortly after him getting the promotion

that we all feel like he's been deserving.

And almost in like a similar mentality

of why Ryan Green should be up on the top line

with Bedard and Frondelle as opposed to Andrej Burakowski.

At this point in the season, the priority should be the young player.

So it didn't really make any sense whatsoever

to keep Nick Lardis down on the fourth line

with Landon Slager, Dom Nickton and Otto.

And Sam Lafferty for as long as he did

when we all know what Nick Lardis is capable of.

Nick Lardis is capable of being a top sixth player.

I thought, again, he was the best skater on the ice

for the Black Hawks yesterday.

And with the way that he can skate,

I think that's a huge addition to that second line

along with Frankie Nazar.

Table Teravine and has some decent wheels.

But Nick Lardis is the better skater.

And Tyler Bertuzzi just isn't really known

for his puck play in transition or for his wheels.

So Lardis being an offensive minded guy

who can also skate.

And I like that we're seeing him use his skating ability

to force turnovers, get in on the forecheck

and make plays on the defensive side of things.

But it also keeps him up to speed

with Frankie Nazar in transition.

So all together, I loved what we got from Nick Lardis

and the second line last night, all three forwards

finished with a plus two rating,

all three with a multi-point effort,

Bertuzzi with a goal in assist,

Nazar with a goal in assist.

But Lardis, I thought was the best one out of the three

scoring for the second consecutive game

and adding two assists as well.

However, I don't think Lardis was the number one star

of the game for the Black Hawks last night

because Arvid Frick and Sauderd Bloom folks

without his incredible effort,

especially in the third period,

when the Islanders were absolutely surging.

Black Hawks were ahead four to one through 40 minutes,

then the Islanders went and outshot them 23 to five

in that final frame.

Without Sauderd Bloom standing on his head,

the Black Hawks do not get across the line with the win,

ended up stopping 44 of this 47 shots that he faced

and was credited with 2.60 goal saved above expected.

And I do feel like the amount of rubber

that Sauderd Bloom saw in his last outing on Friday

against the Colorado Ablands kind of prepared him

for the onslaught that he saw in that third period

because on Friday against the Aves,

the Black Hawks were pretty putrid in front of him,

although the Aves are an absolute wagon,

and they do that to a lot of teams.

But he faced 49 shots in that game

and wound up stopping 45 of them,

sadly the Black Hawks offense just couldn't do enough

to get them in that game

and give Sauderd Bloom a chance to come away with a win.

But that I think got him ready for all the rubber

that he faced down the stretch in this game,

ended up stopping 21 of the 23 shots that he faced.

Calum Richey and Simone Holmesram did get the puck by him,

but I mean, there were four or five saves

that Sauderd Bloom made in that period

that were absolutely outstanding.

A couple sprawling saves like it was ridiculous

what he did and overall in his last two appearances.

He's now stopped 89 of the 97 shots,

89 of the 96 shots that he's faced, excuse me,

which gives him a,

and also has a 3.75 goal saved above expected margin

in those two games combined.

And in three of his last five stars,

Sauderd Bloom now has a 918 save percentage or better,

which I think is definitely significant considering

the way that I and a lot of Black Hawks fans

have been talking about him with Drew Kameshso looking pretty good

in a couple of opportunities here in the second half.

It's been an up and down season for Sauderd Bloom once again,

with the Black Hawks,

could that lead to him possibly being on the move here

this off season or during next training camp?

Well, he really needed,

really needs to finish strong in order to kind of, I think,

get back in the Black Hawks organization's good graces.

Definitely has helped his cause in doing so

with a shut out into other real standout performances here

in his last five games.

Before I move on to segment two though,

I know I'm running a little long here in segment one,

but I absolutely have to just take a moment to talk

about Matthew Schaefer Black Hawks fans.

I was jumping for joy with Anton Frandell's NHL debut last night.

I thought he looked really good.

Nick Lardis was absolutely excellent.

Frankie Nazar had himself a two point game.

There was a lot to be stoked about as a Black Hawks fan,

but maybe the thing that rattled my mind the most last night

was just how damn good Matthew Schaefer was.

The kid is unbelievable.

For being 18 years old,

the second defenseman in NHL history to record

50 points as an 18 year old,

the youngest player in NHL history to ever do it.

Last night in a 60 minute game,

this game did not go to overtime.

Matthew Schaefer played 31 minutes and 58 seconds,

almost played 32 of the 60 minutes in the game.

Unbelievable.

And when he was out there,

the Islanders were dominant.

He finished with 17 shot attempts,

eight shots on goal in nine individual scoring chances

and in all situations.

When on the ice, the Islanders led 59 to 21 in shot attempts,

30 to 12 in shots on goal, 36 to nine in scoring chances,

15 to five in high danger of chances

and two nothing in goals for.

I texted one of my buddies after last night's game

and I said, that might have been the best performance

from a defenseman under 21 years of age

that I've ever seen in this kid turned 18.

What, not even six months ago.

I don't have words to describe how good Matthew Schaefer already is

and how high the ceiling can be for this kid in five, six, seven years

down the road.

I feel like he's already one of the best defensemen in the league

at his age as a rookie.

They call their trophy, it is an absolute runaway.

Matthew Schaefer, I still am like trying to comprehend what I saw

last night and it didn't really look like he was tired.

He just glides around the ice so effortlessly

and the thing that stood out to me the most

was how involved Matthew Schaefer was.

Obviously when you're playing 32 of 60 minutes,

you're gonna see a lot of the guy,

but he was making plays in all three zones

and offensively it felt like he was rife

when the puck on that so often.

He just finds open space out there on the ice

like good players do, like Nikki Lardis does,

obviously in a different way, though, as a forward.

But my mind was just blown.

Watching Matthew Schaefer last night,

I thought he was darn good at the United Center earlier

the season when I got my first look at him.

He was definitely better last night,

unbelievable how special the talent Matthew Schaefer is.

Kind of a shame that the aisles are in the Eastern conference

and we only get to see Connor Bedard and Matthew Schaefer go,

had to had two times a year.

Connor Bedard did get the better of Matthew Schaefer on a rush,

though, I will say kind of dazzled around him

and got a shot off in tight,

but sadly, airmailed the backhand or up high,

but Schaefer and Bedard battles, man,

I wish we would get more of those

and I wish we would get more opportunities to see this kid

because he is a special, special talent.

What he's doing as an 18 year old,

that's not going to turn 19 until the start of the 26-27 campaign.

It is truly melting my mind right here right now,

but do love that the Black Hawks,

despite Schaefer's dominance last night,

I just went through the stats,

still find a way mostly thanks to Arvid Souter Bloom

and also thanks to the way Nick Lardis, Anton Frandell

and the Black Hawks top six played in those opening 40 minutes,

but that takes care of my thoughts on the Black Hawks,

coming away with a four to three win

in Anton Frandell's debut,

give me all your thoughts down below in the comment section

on Frandell's first look on Nick Lardis,

surprise, surprise, producing,

now that he's in a top six role

and also your overall takeaways on the win last night

in Long Island.

But coming up in just a moment,

make sure to stick with me for segment two is all discussed

when we could see another NHL debut

in fellow former first round pick, Sasha Boivere.

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Before I get into segment two,

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Segment two here on today's episode finally

after eight long days,

Sasha Waver was granted his work visa on Tuesday morning,

meaning he was allowed to participate

in the Blackhawks morning skate at UBS Arena

along with Anton Frandell.

And of course, this was the first time we've seen Waver

on the ice with his new teammates as prior to him

receiving this visa, he was not allowed to take part

in any team activities whatsoever.

But finally got out there on the ice,

got our first look at Waver,

downing the number 12 sweater Anton Frandell,

rockin' number 15,

forgot to mention that in segment one,

even though I think I brought it up yesterday.

But ultimately we did not see Waver

make his NHL debut alongside Frandell against the Islanders

instead, Waver will be getting his first look

sometime later on here during the Blackhawks road trip,

either Thursday, tomorrow against the Philadelphia Flyers,

Friday at Madison Square Garden,

which would be a pretty darn cool one against the Rangers

or on Sunday when the road trip wraps up

against the New Jersey Devils.

But actually what I've heard this morning Blackhawks fans,

nothing confirmed as of right now,

but I believe the plan is for Waver to make his NHL debut

tomorrow in Philadelphia.

So in back-to-back games for the Blackhawks,

we can see former first round picks

make their first look in the big leagues,

which has me very excited.

But unlike Frandell, though, I do want to say,

and I have mentioned this on a couple of episodes in the past,

but I know with the intrigue around the Blackhawks right now

with Frandell and Waver's debut coming up,

then I'm sure I'm having a lot of new listeners

or a lot of new viewers.

I'm not expecting Waver to kind of get thrown into the fire.

I'm not expecting Waver to get thrown into the fire

like we saw Anton Frandell last night.

The Blackhawks are apparently very comfortable

with putting Frandell in that top-line role immediately

because he has two years of pro hockey experience

over in Sweden under his belt

and has really thrived at that level for two years in a row now.

While Waver doesn't have any pro experience

under his belt, he's coming from the collegiate level

and also is coming off of a pretty sour sophomore campaign

with Boston University.

And I think the projections for these two players

in terms of the 26-27 campaign

because Frandell does have all that pro experience.

He's going to be on the Blackhawks NHL roster

to open up next season.

I don't think that's going to be the case for Sasha Waver

although things can't definitely change.

I didn't think Ryan Green was going to be part

of the opening in I roster this year

and he hasn't played a single game at the AHL level

and might never play a single game at the AHL level

because of how well he's performed here.

That is, in the cards for Waver,

we don't know what type of player he's going to look like

down the stretch here in the NHL.

We don't know how he's going to fair in training camp

but odds are just kind of with the patient approach

that Davidson has had,

especially with prospects coming from the NCAA

or Junior Hockey up in Canada.

Usually likes to give those guys time

to develop down in the AHL first

and if they're thriving at that level

and they come up to the NHL

and can continue to thrive,

then that's the time for them to become full-time NHLers.

So with kind of two different outlooks on these two players

even though they both were first round picks

in each of the last two years,

I do think they're entirely two different situations

and because of that, I'm expecting Waver's place in the lineup

to probably be either on the third line

or the fourth line for the Blackhawks.

One is NHL debut does come,

which again, what I'm hearing is

it's going to be tomorrow against the flyers.

But with this news that Waver's NHL debut is on the horizon,

I definitely wanted to go over where Waver could slot into the lineup

and what the Blackhawks lineup will look like

as a whole with him in it.

So the top line, no reason to change this up whatsoever,

no reason to even think about putting Andre Barakowski back there

after having nearly goose eggs across the board

down on the third line.

Not how I'm sure Blaschel wanted to see Barakowski perform.

You know, you demoted guy from the top line

and Blaschel has done Barakowski a lot of favors

by keeping him there as long as he has.

And Barakowski's been outspoken about how appreciative

he is of Blaschel continuing to put him in that spot

despite him not producing well.

It would have been a nice favor.

It would have been nice to see Barakowski return the favor

and go and have a better effort or a more impactful game

down on the third line.

And listen, Ryan Green didn't have a shot on goal

last night for the Blackhawks.

He didn't finish with a single point on the board.

But you know what, he at least did.

He chipped in for a couple of black shots.

He chipped in for some hits, had a couple of scoring chances.

Andre Barakowski didn't do any of that.

So that's kind of the situation we find ourselves in with Barakowski.

He's not producing offensively

and he just doesn't really give you anything whatsoever

outside of that.

So no reason to even consider putting him back on the top line.

Even if you do want to give Ryan Green some looks down the stretch,

I don't think Andre Barakowski is the answer.

I'd much rather just give Sasha Wauvar

even if it could potentially overwhelm him a little bit

to go up into the top line right away.

I'd much rather give that chance to Sasha Wauvar

to at least see what he has in store in that spot

than put Andre Barakowski back there.

But I do think we're going to see the green Budard,

Frontel, combination for at least the next couple of games here

with the way that Nick Lardis has been performing in his two games

since being promoted somewhat full time.

At least remained in that spot for an entire game now

for two consecutive outings

with the way that he's performed on that second line.

Four points over the last two games.

Like I said in segment one,

I think he was probably the most impactful Black Hawk skater last night.

No reason for Blaschio to go and change up that second line.

So Bert, Nazar and Lardis.

And I mean, overall in this top six with Tyler Bertuzzi

being the only one who's what, over 22 years old, yeah.

That's what the Black Hawk should be going

with down the stretch here.

On the third line, this is potentially

where we could see Sasha Wauvar slide in.

But I don't, I mean, I wouldn't disagree with putting him

over Andre Barakowski in that third line left wing spot

along with Ryan DeNado and Ilya McKayev

as someone who can play with some good physicality

for his size six foot three.

And does provide a good two way game.

I think that is a good spot for Sasha Wauvar

and I do feel like it's definitely a possibility

that that's where he could slot into line

up for his NHL debut where I have him though

is down on the fourth line at the fourth line center spot.

He could also jump into that three C spot

as the Black Hawks are, of course,

unfortunately without Oliver Moore right now

and Ryan DeNado is in that three C spot replacing him

considering, yes, Ryan DeNado was signed on

for another three years after this one.

But Sasha Wauvar definitely is held in higher regards

for the organization because he has a real good chance

to be a puzzle piece long term, exactly what piece

that's going to be.

That's what we're still trying to find out.

But I feel like third line left wing,

third line center or fourth line center

are the options for Sasha Wauvar right now

because the Black Hawks need some help down the middle

and Dominic Toninato, Sam Lafferty playing center

down on the fourth line isn't the most ideal situation

and with the youngsters coming in,

they're definitely going to get the opportunities

over them.

So I do think the fourth line center spot is a decent spot

for Sasha Wauvar to kick off his pro career.

Listen, he's not going to be asked to do too much.

He can kind of get his first taste of NHL action

out there and not have super high expectations

or anything.

Tavo Terevine and his been down on the fourth line

as well recently.

And I think that could be a good line mate for him

to at least have a little bit of skill alongside him.

And then overall, it's just going to allow him

to get an opportunity to see what NHL action is all about

and then go into the offseason and have a better understanding

of what he needs to continue developing,

what he needs to improve upon before his first full campaign

at the professional level in 2026, 2027.

I have Wauvar on the fourth line with Tavo Terevine

and land and slagger.

I could definitely see it shaping out that way,

but do also want to point out third line left wing

and third line center.

I also believe are in the cards.

We will be really interesting though

to see what's going to happen with this Blackhawks forward

group in general when Andrew Mangiappani returns from his injury

because I mean, looking at this lineup right now,

you could healthy scratch on Draper Akawski.

I know a lot of Blackhawks fans wouldn't hate to see that.

Do I think Blackhawks actually going to go that route?

Possibly, probably not, excuse me.

So as for who's going to jump out of this lineup

to give Andrew Mangiappani an opportunity?

And I think Andrew Mangiappani is deserving of flying.

He hasn't been, you know, otherworldly or anything,

but I feel like he's made an impact

and played with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder

since being acquired from the Blackhawks.

So is it going to be land and slagger

who's coming out of the lineup?

I do think the Blackhawks want to give slags opportunities,

but might just have to scratch him a little bit

to give Mangiappani those looks.

We know Sam Lafferty and Dominic Toninato.

Toninato is going to be going back down to rock

for it any day now, but very interested to see

what's going to happen with this Blackhawks forward group

because with Wavair and Frandel now on the NHL scene,

and not that Andrew Mangiappani is, you know,

held in the same regard as those two young players,

but I do think they want to be giving him an opportunity

in the lineup.

So very interested to see how that's all going to shake out.

But with Anton Frandel and Sasha Blavare,

now on the scene Blackhawks fans,

seven of General Manager Kyle Davidson's first round picks

are now on the NHL scene.

Conor Bedard, Anton Frandel, Frankie Nazar, Sasha Blavare,

Artem Levchenov, Sam Renzell,

unfortunately, the seventh Oliver Moore is currently

out right now due to injury.

And then there's 2022 second round pick, Ryan Green,

2023 third round pick, Nick Larris,

both of those players selected by Davidson as well.

So nine of the, what is that?

15, 22 skaters on the roster right now.

We're selected by Kyle Davidson since 2022.

And then even though these players weren't selected by Davidson,

they are still homegrown talent with Alex Lastic

being drafted by the Blackhawks.

Wyatt Kaiser, Ethan Del Mastro, Louis Crevier,

all of those players are homegrown talents.

So I think this is shaping up to be a very exciting 11 game,

final 11 games of the season where we really get an opportunity

to see all of these kids together,

playing for the Blackhawks for the first time

and really get a look at what Kyle Davidson has done

in his time as General Manager

in rebuilding the Blackhawks.

It's been a long, slow moving, frustrating rebuild at times.

But now we're finally starting to see all the kids come to the other.

Now we're going to see some of the promise.

And yeah, it might not result in wins

because of all these kids are so inexperienced.

But there's a lot of potential there.

And getting these guys reps with one another down the stretch

is going to be really significant for what the Blackhawks

are going to try to do.

Go into the offseason with some momentum

and get off to a good start in 2026, 2027.

I really believe these final 11 games are set up to be,

even though it's not playoff contention games,

the Blackhawks aren't fighting for their playoff lives.

I think it's set up to be one of the most exciting

finishing stretches in a long, long time.

As Anton Frontel makes his NHL debut outside of Conor Bedard,

one of the most significant NHL debuts

for the Blackhawks organization in a long, long time.

And it sounds like we're going to be getting another one

in Sasha Boah Bear here in 24 hours or so

against the Philadelphia Flyers.

All right, there is the latest news on Sasha Boah Bear

and how he's going to fit into the Blackhawks lineup,

what it will look like when he does finally draw in.

Coming up in just a moment,

before I close out today's show still,

have to break down Roman Cancer Off,

making KHL history this year.

But first, gotta talk to you all about the last of today's

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here to start off your day.

Segment three, he's officially done at Black Hawks fans

according to my research with 64 points,

including a league leading 36 goals and 63 games this season.

Roman Cancerov has officially become the first 21-year-old

to finish with a points for game rating higher than one

in KHL history.

He also has recorded the most points ever by a 21-year-old

in KHL history was 64.

That's nine more than what Alexander Niketian Talley

does a 21-year-old back in the 2022-2023 season.

And oh yeah, the 10 power play goals that Cancerov

netted this year are also the most in KHL history

for a 21-year-old and he's the first 21-year-old

to lead the league in goals since Caril Caprizov

back in 2021 at 2022.

So some elite elite company from Roman Cancerov

setting KHL records.

He also now has tied for the seventh most goals

in a single season in KHL history among all ages.

I mean, incredible.

What Cancerov has been able to do this season,

playing for in a similar sense to Sasha Boa-Vere

with your guard and the SHL.

Cancerov playing for his hometown team over in Russia,

Magnita Gorsk has helped them be the top seed

going into the KHL playoffs.

So stoked for Roman Cancerov to hopefully be

on the NHL scene next year with the Black OX,

all indications are that he's going to come over

in North America once his KHL contract expires

at the conclusion of the season,

but just thinking about the Black OX prospects, man,

not only having the two top goal scores in the OHL this year

in Merid Van Acker with 47 and Jack Pridham with 46,

the only two players to record more than 40 goals

this season in the Ontario Hockey League.

Then the Black OX also of course had Frondelle becoming

the fourth 18-year-old and SHL history to score 20 goals

or more in a single season.

Now they have Roman Cancerov who, in my books, again,

from the research that I've done has the best 21-year-old

season in KHL history.

And for Cancerov to go and do this,

I'm someone who's been high on Cancerov

for the last handful of years.

But even I didn't envision him having this type of season,

especially in the goal scoring department.

I knew he was a capable player.

I knew he was capable of having a really dominant,

hopefully final season over in Russia.

But I still didn't expect it to be at this level.

Here's what I said, Black OX fans,

remember in segment three a couple of days ago

on the show I mentioned that I did a preview episodes

for all of the Black OX top prospects back in like August,

kind of projecting the numbers or what I want to see

from them in their respective seasons.

I'm going to be going over those that I did for Jack Pridham

and Merid Van Acker on tomorrow's episode

ahead of the OHL playoffs kicking off.

But I did the same thing for Roman Cancerov

going into this season as well.

And back on August 19th,

here's what I had to say about my expectations

for Cancerov going into this year.

I said, quote,

if he stays healthy and plays a 65 to 68 game season,

I expect Cancerov to reach 50 points

and possibly even push for 60.

I want to see his speed and skill dominate this year

as he's racked up quality experiences already at a young age.

I expect him to take that next step

as a leader of the team.

And I also want to see an uptick in goal scoring this year.

Quotes, quote, because remember,

in his first two years over in the KHL,

Roman Cancerov was mostly known for his playmaking.

He was racking up a lot of assists

while for him to go and become not only the league's

leading goal scorer,

but to do it also while transitioning

to the center ice position.

He had played wing for Magnetegorce the last two years.

As a playmaker now moves to the center ice position,

becomes the best player for his team

on the best team in the KHL leads the league in goals.

I would, yeah, definitely say he had an uptick in goal scoring.

I definitely would say we saw his speed

and skill dominate in the KHL this year

and wound up with again, 64 points and 63 games.

I was just hoping that he would hit 50

and be on the push for 60 for him to finish higher

with an above one point for game margin

is just absolutely incredible.

And rightfully so has a lot of us so excited

about the future of Roman Cancerov with the Black Hawks.

But as I mentioned,

Cancerov and Magnetegorce are the number one seed

in the KHL playoffs, which kicked off yesterday

in Cancerov and Magnetegorce.

They're trying to win the gag ring cup

for the second time in three years

and started off on the right note

by taking down severe, I believe is the team

that they're facing four to one in game one

of their opening round series.

And Cancerov was at the helm scoring his first goal

of the postseason and also telling a primary assist

for a multi-point game and game two of this series

will be held tomorrow.

And I'll be giving you all the updates on Roman Cancerov

and what he's doing for Magnetegorce all throughout

the gag ring cup playoffs right here on Lockdown Black Hawks.

But the fact that Cancerov has put himself

into elite conversations,

having a more productive 21 year old season

than Kuroka Prizov did.

Being the first 21 year old to lead the KHL

since Kuroka Prizov,

having the most points ever by a 21 year old

in that league,

absolutely incredible stuff Black Hawks fans

and could not be more excited to see this kid

and what he has in store with the Black Hawks'

fingers crossed next year.

That is going to take care of today's episode

of Lockdown Black Hawks as always.

Thank you all again for joining me on the show.

Be sure to subscribe to the channel

if you haven't done so already.

It's all 100% free.

And also go and follow Lockdown Black Hawks

wherever you may be listening to your podcast that way.

You can get the latest episodes

as soon as they become available regardless

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If you want to check me out on X,

you can do so at Jack Bushman too.

My strictly Black Hawks account on X

can be found at Talk and Hockey

for all the latest Black Hawks news and updates.

Until tomorrow's episode everyone,

enjoy the rest of your Wednesdays.

And I'll see you next time on the Lockdown Black Hawks podcast

part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every day.

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