![\"Frank](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/c5723c0\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3540x2360+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F93%2F31%2F68adac4340c4ad1e45f1e375d9be%2Fnazar.jpg\")
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As a Michigan fan and suburban Detroit native, Frank Nazar has spent his life hearing all about Tom Brady.<\/p>\n
When the young Blackhawks forward thinks about what he\u2019s trying to master in the NHL \u2014 the game-management side of things, making the correct decisions at the correct times \u2014 he can\u2019t help but notice parallels to Brady.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows how to play the clock; he knows how to play the game,\u201d Nazar said Friday. \u201cIt\u2019s almost [about] bringing that to hockey and doing that on the ice, knowing when the time is right to get the puck in and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nazar, 20, knows he has all the natural talent needed to succeed. And after dominating the AHL the first two months of the season, he has all the necessary confidence, too.<\/p>\n
His challenge is to learn what works and what doesn\u2019t against elite defenders \u2014 and to learn how to navigate the NHL\u2019s always evolving, high-intensity game situations.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone has a pretty high IQ when you get to the NHL, obviously,\u201d he said. \u201cIf a play gets broken up, it\u2019s [about] coming back at it and doing it again until it works. That\u2019s part of [why] getting these games in is really helpful. [I\u2019m getting] up to speed and understanding how guys play and the routine of things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those game-management skills might require a few trips back and forth to conquer. This is already his second NHL stint (after the end of last season), and considering he has been fine but unremarkable in five appearances, Hawks management might decide he needs more seasoning before becoming a fixture.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s OK, though. Even before he was called up, one scout said he believed a small dose of NHL experience followed by a return to Rockford would be best for Nazar\u2019s long-term development.<\/p>\n
In his five games, he has no points and two shots on goal, averaging just under 14 minutes of ice time.<\/p>\n
Slotted as the second-line center by Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen, he mostly has played with Taylor Hall and Tyler Bertuzzi, although that started to change in the latter half of the Hawks\u2019 6-4 loss Saturday in Calgary.<\/p>\n
During five-on-five play, Nazar has a respectable 46.2% scoring-chance ratio (18 for and 21 against), ranking ninth among Hawks forwards during this span. His 33.7% shot ratio is considerably worse, though. Saturday was his roughest outing: The Flames generated a 7-1 scoring-chance advantage against him.<\/p>\n
Smaller forwards (such as the 5-9 Nazar) who put up huge numbers in the AHL sometimes struggle to translate that production to the NHL because they spend too much time on the perimeter of the offensive zone. In the NHL more than anywhere else, getting to the high-danger areas around the net is a crucial ingredient for scoring.<\/p>\n
In Nazar\u2019s case, the fact that much of his AHL production originated around the net encouraged scouts and management that it would translate up a level. Despite his size, he doesn\u2019t shy away from contact; he actually thrives in tight areas.<\/p>\n
Sorensen, whose coaching fueled much of Nazar\u2019s success in Rockford, is nonetheless monitoring his ratio of perimeter-to-interior play closely. He\u2019s also urging him to shoot when he gets opportunities rather than forcing passes, as he did to Hall on one blatant occasion Thursday against the Kraken.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you play with certain guys that have been in the league for a long time, you respect them and maybe look to pass to them when you could hang on to it yourself and trust your own instincts,\u201d Sorensen said Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want him attacking. He can score goals. It\u2019s a different league, obviously \u2014 [there are] bigger D-men and smarter players \u2014 but I think he has done a pretty good job of that overall.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nazar hasn’t notched a point yet, and he struggled Saturday against the Flames. But he believes this NHL experience is helping him with “understanding how guys play and the routine of things” at this level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n