The Chicago Blackhawks lost Petr Mrazek to injury on Saturday afternoon. He tried to give it a go after sustaining the injury but it was too much to bear. Mrazek’s injury came after making an awkward save in the first period.
After the game, interim head coach Anders Sorensen confirmed that Mrazek would be out for a while with a lower-body injury.
On Saturday, the Hawks made a few roster transactions that declare how they will handle this situation while it is their reality.
The first thing to note is that they placed Petr Mrazek on the IR with a groin injury. He has dealt with this in the past which is not ideal but the word is that he should only miss about two weeks.
In his place, they called up Drew Commesso, who has been playing this season with the Rockford IceHogs.
In the same game that Mrazek got hurt, Alec Martinez took a puck off his neck area, which also removed him from the game. Martinez didn’t hit the IR, but they did call up Kevin Korchinski from Rockford.
They put Joey Anderson on waivers as he hasn’t found his way into the lineup over the last couple of weeks. They want to get him to Rockford so he can play again and be ready for another call-up but it is risky to assume he won’t be claimed.
As for Commesso and Korchinski, this is a big spot for them. They each have an opportunity to show their stuff at the NHL level until things get back to normal for Mrazek and Martinez.
The timing isn’t the best here as they both need a lot more development in the AHL but the Hawks needed extra help at the varsity.
For Korchinski, his offensive game has been fine in Rockford. He has 2 goals and 9 assists for 11 points in 21 games played.
The problem is the defensive side of things. There is a lot more development needed in that area. He wasn’t drafted to be this elite shutdown defenseman as his goal is to produce offense which he does but more responsibility is needed in his own end.
As for Commesso, he has yet to make his NHL debut and he is not ready for a full-time gig yet based on how he has played this year.
In the AHL so far, Comesso has a 4-6-0 record with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .879 save percentage. These aren’t good stats but the Hawks didn’t have much of a choice with this call-up.
The IceHogs aren’t this powerhouse team but it is more of a winning environment than the current Blackhawks situation so at least their spirits should be much better than those of the other Blackhawks players.
These two need to play well but it is also important for the Hawks to make them feel comfortable. If they do that, they might be able to finish this season strong split between both leagues so that they are ready for bigger NHL roles in the future.
Chicago has a lot invested in both of these gentlemen and now they’re getting the opportunity to perform.
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