Blackhawks News: This was actually Chicago’s best player on FridayVincent Pariseon January 8, 2023 at 12:00 pm

The Chicago Blackhawks earned a big win over the Arizona Coyotes at the United Center on Friday night. That isn’t great for the Connor Bedard sweepstakes but most of the teams around them in that also earned a couple of points this weekend so it is no big deal.

Jake McCabe and Tyler Johnson each scored a goal in the 2-0 shutout victory. This win came without Patrick Kane because he was missing due to a lower-body injury. It is obvious that they are just being cautious with him because of his potential contract/trade status.

In this win over Arizona, however, the best player on the ice played for Chicago but he didn’t show up on the score sheet. Lukas Reichel is up with the team right now and the has looked amazing in recent days. This was his best game as a pro for a variety of reasons.

Again, he didn’t score or have an assist but those are coming. He played the game with pace, won some battles, created for himself and his teammates, and just passed the overall eye test. He looks like he can move well out there and didn’t look out of place at all.

The Chicago Blackhawks would love for Lukas Reichel to become an NHL star.

The Blackhawks are evaluating a lot of their prospects right now, especially following the World Junior Championships. There are prospects that didn’t play there though that everyone might be able to be excited about and Reichel is one of them.

This is a kid that looks like he could be a piece on this team in the long term. Out of every prospect not named Kevin Korchinski, he has the best chance of sticking in the long term.

If they add a forward like Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, or Leo Carlsson in the 2023 NHL Draft, Reichel’s offensive output could increase even more in the NHL if he gets put with one of them. That is the hope for the core of the next great Blackhawks team.

He has the pedigree of a top forward in the NHL as the Hawks used a first-round pick on him as well when they took him with the 17th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

If he continues to play as he did in this win over Arizona, he will be a great player in this league for a long time as he develops. The sky is the limit for him.

Lukas Reichel’s next chance to play will come on Sunday night when the Chicago Blackhawks host the Calgary Flames. Don’t be surprised if he gets his first career NHL goal in this one. It is coming very soon.

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