After months of speculation, the Blackhawks finally released their training camp roster on Monday morning, within an hour of the team’s first practice.
Here’s a rundown of the roster by position:
Forwards (22): Dominik Kubalik, Alex DeBrincat, Mattias Janmark, Dylan Strome, Ryan Carpenter, Philipp Kurashev, Pius Suter, Matthew Highrmore, Brandon Hagel, Cam Morrison, John Quenneville, Reese Johnson, Michal Teply, MacKenzie Entwistle, David Kampf, Andrew Shaw, Matej Chalupa, Lucas Wallmark, Brandon Pirri, Tim Soderlund, Andrei Altybarmakyan, Patrick Kane
Defensemen (14): Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Nikita Zadorov, Adam Boqvist, Chad Krys, Calvin de Haan, Lucas Carlsson, Wyatt Kalynuk, Ian Mitchell, Anton Lindholm, Nick Seeler, Michael Krutil, Nicolas Beaudin, Alec Regula
Goaltenders (5): Malcolm Subban, Cale Morris, Kevin Lankinen, Collin Delia, Matthew Tomkins
The most curious part of the roster was in the “Not Participating” section.
Alex Nylander, Kirby Dach and Jonathan Toews were listed here because of their previously disclosed injuries. Recently signed center Carl Soderberg was also included, apparently a result of immigration issues.
But two other names were massive surprises.
First, Evan Barratt — the Blackhawks’ third-round pick (90th overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft — was among the players not on the ice for the team’s first practice.
Brent Seabrook was also deemed “unfit to participate.”
Seabrook’s inclusion on that list raises several eyebrows. He did practice with the team before last summer’s postseason but ultimately did not play in any games after saying he didn’t “feel comfortable yet, just not as comfortable as I want to be.” Seabrook is coming off a trio of surgeries: one on his right shoulder in late December of 2019, one on his right hip in January 2020 and the other on his right hip in February 2020.
Forward Zack Smith was also another curious omission from the Blackhawks training camp roster. Smith had back surgery last March, a procedure that kept him off the ice for the rest of that calendar year. He was expected to be ready for this year’s training camp, however, according to this report from Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.
[UPDATE] According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Zack Smith was placed on waivers:
Zack Smith (CHI) and Marko Dano (WIN) on waivers. Prow clears.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 4, 2021
[UPDATE, II] Add newcomer Pius Suter to the “unfit to participate” group.
Pius Suter gets a retroactive “unfit to participate” designation.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 4, 2021