The young players on the Chicago Blackhawks’ roster have benefitted greatly from playing in the IIHF World Championships so far. Frank Nazar had a fantastic showing for Team USA on Sunday in their 6-0 victory over Hungary. The forward scored two first period goals and added an assist in the win, earning Player of the Game honors in the process. Alex Vlasic is a member of the USA squad alongside Nazar, and is using the experience as an opportunity to grow on the blue-line next to some of the league’s other young, bright defensemen.
Lukas Reichel was off to a solid start with Germany before being ruled out for the rest of the tournament due to injury on Wednesday. The 2020 first-round draft choice had a goal and three assists for four total points in three games before going down.
The lone veteran from Chicago in the IIHF World Championships this year is Teuvo Teravainen. The 30-year-old is with the Finish team just as he was in the Four Nations Faceoff back in February. Teravainen put himself into elite company in the tournament’s history thanks to his performance on Thursday.
Chicago Blackhawks’ winger Teuvo Teravainen makes history
Teravainen collected six assists in Team Finland’s 9-1 win against Slovenia on Thursday, tying the record for most assists in a single game in the history of the IIHF World Championships. The veteran returned to Chicago this past offseason on a three-year deal worth $5.4 million per season. To begin his professional career, Teravainen was the 18th overall pick of the franchise in the 2012 draft. He was a member of the last Chicago team to hoist a Stanley Cup back in 2015 and was an underrated part of the team’s championship run that year.
Teuvo Teravainen will be counted on heavily moving forward
Teravainen was the definition of consistent this past year. He played in all 82 games and was a top-six forward for most of them. He quietly put up a great scoring season, as he finished third on the team in points with 58, and second in assists with 43. The veteran trailed only Connor Bedard in the assist department, who completed the season with 44 helpers. It is good to see Teravanien not miss a beat while playing for Finland in this tournament. His play speaks volumes to how reliable he can be down the road for a franchise desperately looking to compete again.
It will be up to Teravanien and other veterans on the roster like Tyler Bertuzzi to continually help the young players on this roster grow into their own in the NHL. The team only got younger as this past season came to a close, and the on-ice product looked much better while the transition was occurring. The goal this summer is for the front office to capitalize on this momentum and bring in any pieces needed to take this rebuild to the next level this fall.
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