Why Raddysh will be Hawks' breakout player of season originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
DENVER — Typically at this time of year, I’ll lay out some reasons on why to be optimistic about the Blackhawks going into the season. I might even offer some bold predictions.
This season, I can’t do that. We all know the situation. The Blackhawks are going to be one of the worst teams in the league and will likely be in the hunt for the No. 1 overall pick.
So I’ll just make one little prediction: This will be a breakout-type season for Taylor Raddysh.
Prior to his trade with the Blackhawks on March 18, Raddysh had 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 53 career games with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He averaged only 11:03 of ice time across those two seasons.
Since the trade, Raddysh has six goals and four assists for 10 points in 21 games with an average of 15:34 of ice time for Chicago. That's a 23-goal and 40-point pace across an 82-game schedule.
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With Kirby Dach, Alex DeBrincat, Dominik Kubalik and Dylan Strome no longer in the picture, Raddysh should easily get top-six minutes with the Blackhawks this season along with top power-play time, which means he'll have all the opportunity in the world to show his true offensive potential.
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Raddysh once scored 42 goals and 109 points in the OHL, so the offensive ceiling is clearly there. Now it's about proving he can do it at the NHL level.
"Right now, it's just an opportunity to show my stuff inside the top six," Raddysh told NBC Sports Chicago. "I want to go day by day and not look past that. Just work hard, build off what I did last year and keep building chemistry with the guys I'm with and hopefully pucks start going in."
Raddysh skated on a line with Tyler Johnson and Jonathan Toews for the majority of training camp, and that's who he's expected to play with on Opening Night. But he did open camp on the first line with Max Domi and Patrick Kane, which is a combination we could see at some point this season.
While he is obviously no DeBrincat, Raddysh would give Kane the right-handed shot on his other wing that Kane is used to, which would set Raddysh up to be the recipient of some prime one-timer opportunities. Raddysh is also starting the season in the bumper role on the top power-play unit.
Raddysh knows the mentality he has to have in those spots.
"Keep shooting the puck, for sure," he said.
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Because of his newfound opportunity to play a larger role with the Blackhawks during a rebuild, I wouldn't rule out a 25-goal, 45-point campaign for Raddysh. Consistency, he notes, will be the biggest key.
"I want to be a contributor on this team and I want to help them out as much as I can on both ends of the ice," Raddysh said. "Offensively, if I get my chances, my looks, I want to be able to show them that I can do it, for sure."
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