Familiar Faces In Tampa Tonight..

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Joseph
April 1, 2022 (1:13 PM)

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Tonight in Tampa Bay the Hawks take on the defending Stanley Cup Champion Lightning. To most this is just another game between teams going in opposite directions but let's dig a little deeper into it.

The Blackhawks have come out and said that they're in a full on rebuild while the Lightning are making yet another run at Lord Stanley. With that being said, the Hawks traded fan favorite Brandon Hagel to the Lightning at this years trade deadline. As many fans hated to see him go there's a plus side to it as the Hawks got a slew of young talent and draft picks for the talented forward. The two first rounders for Hagel are enormous in value since they are both top-10 protected. The Hawks also received young skaters in Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh.

Boris Katchouk: This 23 year old former second round draft pick (44th overall) is a solid depth player at this state of his career but has major upside to his game. With him moving to a team like the Blackhawks he will have a much better shot to improve his game he plays a physical style of hockey which the Hawks have been lacking since the playoff runs of years past. He's not the most flashy player but gets the job done in other ways.

Taylor Raddysh: Another second round draft pick (28th overall) has plenty of upside and is a viable piece to any hockey team. Raddysh came onto the scene while playing for the Lake Erie Otters of the OHL where he played with line mates Alex Debrincat and Dylan Strome ever heard of them? Raddysh, another player with major upside should stick around the Hawks organization for years to come. He's a young power forward with enough size to take on duties other than filling the scoresheet.

At the end of the day, tonight can be very interesting. Yes it may just be another game in April but there's plenty to watch closely. You can call this a revenge game for all players involved. With Hagel's style of play and the Blackhawks season being all but over, there's a chance Hagel drops the mitts against his old club.