Blackhawks Call Up Top Prospect

The Chicago Blackhawks are set to call up top prospect Lukas Reichel. He will be on the team's taxi squad and is expected to get into NHL action shortly. 

There will naturally be a lot of excitement when it comes to Reichel. The 19-year-old was selected 17th overall by the Blackhawks during the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Therefore, the team views him as a big part of their future, and thus far, he's been giving them a lot to be optimistic about.

In his first season playing professional hockey in North America, Reichel has 11 goals and 20 points in 20 games with the Rockford IceHogs. This kind of production from a teenager in the AHL is extremely impressive. During last season with the Berlin Polar Bears of DEL, he scored 10 goals and had 27 points in 38 games. Therefore, he is continuing to improve.

At this time, the Blackhawks have a 13-18-5 record, and their chances of making the playoffs are essentially nonexistent. With that, they have many players with expiring contracts who likely will be dealt by the deadline. Therefore, there's nothing wrong with giving one of their top prospects a shot. This is especially the case when looking at how well Reichel has been playing.

To conclude, let's look at Reichel's hat trick earlier this season against the Manitoba Moose. If he can carry over performances like this one in Chicago, he's going to be a very good player for them.