In a bit of a surprise announcement on Tuesday morning, the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed that 2020 first-round pick Lukas Reichel will not be starting the 2022-23 NHL season with the parent club.
Reichel was one of seven players assigned to the Rockford IceHogs, along with defenseman Isaak Phillips and forwards Cole Guttman, Michal Teply, Josiah Slavin, David Gust and Kale Howarth. The final two players on that list were released from professional tryouts before the assignment.
With a pair of preseason games still left for the Blackhawks, it seemed like Reichel would’ve been kept around to get him as much NHL exposure (or as much as the preseason provides) as possible before a possible AHL assignment — although the recent injury to Boris Katchouk also created another potential roster spot for Reichel in Chicago.