Dennis Rasmussen didn’t wait long before scoring his first goal in a Blackhawks uniform. The rookie forward needed less than a period in his NHL debut with Chicago on Tuesday before deflecting an Andrew Shaw shot past Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne to give the team a 1-0 lead.
Rasmussen goal/celebraiton cc @ryjkent pic.twitter.com/yir2rAhfkE
— Stephanie (@myregularface) December 9, 2015
Shaw quickly hurried over to celebrate with Rasmussen afterwards and looked as excited as anyone about the big center getting on the scoreboard. Rasmussen was recalled by the Hawks on Monday to take the spot of fellow rookie Tanner Kero, who was reassigned to Rockford to make room.
Rasmussen, 25, was signed by the Hawks as an undrafted free agent in June 2014. He recorded 27 points in 73 games with Rockford during the 2014-15 season and was among the team’s league leaders with 14 points in 22 AHL games this season. The forward also has a pair of international medals representing his native Sweden, winning bronze at the 2010 World Junior Championships and 2014 World Championships.
The Hawks have been searching for bottom six answers and maybe Rasmussen could be an unearthed piece. He’s rarely named among the team’s top young players but offers size and might be a good fit for the system. It’s just one period so we’re a long way from calling him a solution, but Rasmussen now has as many goals in one period as Kero, Bryan Bickell, Kyle Baun, Vincent Hinostroza, Brandon Mashinter, Viktor Tikhonov and Ryan Hartman combined for in 56 games played.