One of the Chicago Blackhawks first-round picks was involved in a trade on Wednesday afternoon — one that does not affect his NHL rights, though.
Defenseman Nolan Allan, Chicago’s first-round pick (32nd overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft, was part of a mammoth WHL trade on Wednesday, going from the Prince Albert Raiders to the Seattle Thunderbirds:
TRADE: the @SeattleTbirds have acquired @NHLBlackhawks prospect Nolan Allan in a blockbuster deal with the @PARaidersHockey.
📰 | https://t.co/xI3luWkpw6 pic.twitter.com/YHdUpk5P0E
— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 16, 2022
From a Blackhawks perspective, this unites two of Chicago’s most recent first-round picks on the same team, with 2022 first-rounder Kevin Korchinski — No. 7 overall — already locked into top-pairing minutes in Seattle. A potential top defense pairing of Allan and Korchinski would seem to be a beneficial situation for the Blackhawks long-term plans, as the foundation of an on-ice chemistry between that duo could begin construction this winter. In 16 games as the captain for Prince Albert, Allan had 11 points (4 G, 7 A). Korchinski, meanwhile, continues to be one of the premier offensive defenseman in the league with 21 points (3 G, 18 A) in 14 games for Seattle.
The Thunderbirds, who appear to be very much going all-in on a championship run this season, host the Everett Silvertips on Saturday night.
Speaking of Blackhawks defensive prospects, Ian Mitchell is having himself quite a morning with the Rockford IceHogs:
Happy to be tweeting Ian Mitchell goals again😄
we missed ya! pic.twitter.com/iflQO1vXFH
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 16, 2022
Ian Mitchell AGAIN!! On the powerplay AGAIN!!
5-1 us 😆
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) November 16, 2022
Mitchell has two power-play goals in that game while the Blackhawks have not had a defenseman tally a PPG in 18 months. Feels like Mitchell may not be staying with the IceHogs for long.
While much of the attention in Chicago is focused on Wednesday evening’s game against the St. Louis Blues, there was an update on the recovery timetable for No. 1 defenseman Seth Jones, who’s been out for almost three weeks now:
It’s been 2.5 weeks since Seth Jones was ruled out for 3-4 weeks. Richardson said today he’s still having “normal” discomfort in his hand and an X-ray was “cloudy,” so they’ll wait another 7-10 days and do another X-ray.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) November 16, 2022
Sounds like Jones’ spot on the top power-play unit could be available for Mitchell should he receive the call-up from Rockford soon.