After putting the cap on a successful five-game road trip with two straight wins, the Blackhawks will be back at Fifth Third Arena today for practice. My two big questions: will we see defenseman Alec Martinez and/or goalie Laurent Brossoit with the team in any kind of a regular capacity? We’ve already discussed the heavy workload they’ve put on Petr Mrázek (even if Arvid Söderblom has been good in his three appearances).

The team is playing well right now but bringing Martinez’s veteran presence back on the blue line could help. The question would immediately become what to do with the two young defensemen. Nolan Allan and Isaak Phillips have been okay thus far. Phillips scored a goal against Anaheim while playing over TJ Brodie, who has not been good at all.

• One of the unexpected surprises for the Blackhawks over the last couple weeks has been the success of the fourth line. We knew what Pat Maroon and Craig Smith brought to the table when they were brought here over the summer as free agents, but we didn’t have a really good idea of who would center the two. There were a few experiments there early in the season.
• But since Lukas Reichel was inserted on a line he (in theory) wasn’t supposed to be on, all three players have been producing — and Reichel has looked like the guy we saw a couple years ago when he was playing fast and confident. He’s been the guy everyone — the front office, coaches, teammates, fans and (I’m sure) his agent — have been begging to see.
• Scott Powers at The Athletic wrote a terrific piece about how Reichel rediscovered his confidence this season with help from Smith and Maroon (among others). It’s terrific (highly recommend it again). But I wanted to grab a couple quotes from Maroon and Smith because I think they speak to the culture the Blackhawks are trying to foster in their room right now and why the additions of veterans around some younger players like Reichel is so important.

“I think most importantly, I know, I got the opportunity to sit on the plane with him last night next to him and hear what he went through last year,” Maroon said. “Obviously it was a down year for him, in and out of the lineup, healthy scratch, Rockford.”

“He’s eager,” Smith said. “He’s always smiling. I think that’s underrated. When you’re having fun, you’re at your best. You feel comfortable. You have energy. Things suck when you aren’t having a good time. It’s always nice to see him get in the locker room and have a huge smile. He’s always talking.”

https://twitter.com/ByScottPowers/status/1853800798691504496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1853800798691504496%7Ctwgr%5E4e5299c113ffa248ecf7e5b37b4d6b3d6b5b44c8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bleachernation.com%2Fblackhawks%2F2024%2F11%2F05%2Fvets-helping-reichels-rebound-martinez-and-brossoit-tyler-got-a-job-and-other-blackhawks-bullets%2F

• When training camp opened, Ryan Donato talked about working on his skating because he knew the organization was going to get faster moving forward. Ironically, this year’s team might be a step back in the on-ice speed category, but his improved skating has been noticeable from the first day of training camp. Good piece here from Ben Pope about how that has helped him translate effort into goals early this season.

Ryan Donato tweaked his skating technique to increase his explosiveness, and that's paying dividends for the Blackhawks.

"I knew that if you put in the work, usually the results are going to follow."

Story: https://t.co/7HsaGEOXDL

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) November 5, 2024

• An interesting move for a Blackhawks prospect: according to the USHL transaction register, Jack Pridham is joining Tri City. He had been at West Kelowna in the BCHL, where he had four goals and four assists in nine games. He’s committed to play at Boston University next year. The Blackhawks traded back into the third round (to No. 92) of the 2024 NHL Draft to select Pridham.
• Earlier this morning I took a look at some roster projections for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off

• Tyler Johnson got a job. That’s neat.

• The Blackhawks don’t face the Blues until the Winter Classic, but this is a tough blow to their roster.