Natalia Chi
TEMPE, Arizona — The Blackhawks have seen many players debut in the NHL this season, but perhaps none have arrived with a more promising future than Wyatt Kaiser.
As such, Kaiser’s performance in Saturday’s 4-2 Hawks loss against the Coyotes was particularly highly anticipated and under particular scrutiny. The 20-year-old rookie defense passed the test well.
“He was everything we heard about him,” said coach Luke Richardson. “He’s competitive, he’s not afraid to get in there, and his feet are really good for speed, which surprised some people. I can take you.”
Six days after the end of the Minnesota and Duluth college seasons, four days after signing his beginner-level contract, and two days after his first practice with the Hawks, Kaiser clocked 16:11 on ice to beat Nikita Zaitsev. I participated in the third pairing of.
He was credited with 1 hit, 1 blocked shot and 0 shots. During his 5-for-5 ice time, the Coyotes created a slight 6-5 advantage in scoring chances.
“I played a very solid game, very simple, not too crazy,” Kaiser said. “[I] I made some ambiguous plays, [I’m] Still learning the system and understanding everything. “
His ability to move the puck with his feet and create smart breakout passes is his strongest asset. He demoed both a few times Saturday, with his parents in the crowd, but he’s likely to make more of an impact when he’s more comfortable.
The Hawks also played pretty good overall, but didn’t get the win to prove it. Added aggregation of .
“We outdid them almost the entire game,” said Jared Tinordi. “We played the way we wanted to. It’s a shame that the small mistake we made ended up behind the goal.”
Richardson added: [turnovers]but they were at the wrong time when we went. We are getting better in those areas and unfortunately tonight the one or two we made [Clayton] Keller and the creative players around the ice made us pay the price. “
The Hawks’ 34-21 dominance on goal shooting was the third time this season they finished with a double-digit advantage in that regard, and all three have come against the Coyotes.
But Saturday’s result nevertheless sealed the split of the season series, with the home side winning all four games. The Hawks slipped to 30th in the NHL standings.
