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The Blackhawks re-assigned prospect Aleksi Saarela and 17 other players to the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL on Sunday after the team’s 8-2 preseason loss to the Bruins the day before in Boston.
Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said Saarela was initially not sent back to Rockford due to the Finnish winger being “a little banged up” from Saturday’s game.
Aleksi Saarela is a "a little banged up," which is why he hasn't been sent down to Rockford.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) September 29, 2019
Crawford and Lehner will split the game tonight, with Crawford starting.
Saarela was acquired from Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Gustav Forsling and goaltender Anton Forsberg at the NHL draft. Saarela scored 54 points (30 goals, 24 assists) in 69 regular-season games and added 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 17 playoff games to help the Charlotte Checkers win the Calder Cup.
AHL camp
Forwards: MacKenzie Entwistle, Alexandre Fortin, Brandon Hagel, Mikael Hakkarainen, Matthew Highmore, Reese Johnson, Philipp Kurashev, Dylan McLaughlin*, Jacob Nilsson, John Quenneville, Aleksi Saarela, Dylan Sikura, Tyler Sikura*, Tim Soderlund, Kris Versteeg*
Defensemen: Nicolas Beaudin, Adam Boqvist, Lucas Carlsson, Philip Holm, Chad Krys, Nick Moutrey*, Jack Ramsey*, Jake Ryczek*, Joni Tuulola
Goaltenders: Kevin Lankinen, Chase Marchand*, Matt Tomkins*
*AHL contract