Two days after giving the third line of David Kampf centering Brandon Saad and Dominik Kubalik a large dose of approval, Jeremy Colliton awarded newcomer Anton Wedin a look between Saad and Kubalik on Saturday.
In the Blackhawks’ 3-2 overtime win against the Bruins, Wedin looked decent in the “3C” role, winning three of six faceoffs — a concern coming in, considering he’s typically more of a winger — and tallying a primary assist on Saad’s late second-period goal.
Operating as a set-up man below the goal line, Wedin executed a savvy give-and-go with the Hawks veteran to earn his first point of the preseason.
“He plays with a lot of energy and he’s a conscientious player. He works hard on both sides of the puck, he’s got a little bit of skill, he’s a strong skater,” Colliton said. “He’s shown well on the wing, and we wanted to rotate the lineup a little bit and see if he could fit in at center.”
Colliton said he’d actually tried to sign Wedin — a regular in the Swedish league before coming over to North America this summer — a few years ago when coaching Mora in Sweden, but failed.
The coach is now getting a second chance to work the 5-foot-11 forward in his lineup. Wedin currently stands in the thickest part of the battle for the Hawks’ few open forward spots, battling the likes of Brendan Perlini and Ryan Carpenter.
“I think I’m on the bubble,” Wedin said. “It’s a really hard competition, and [there are] a lot of good players here. I just need to step up and be good every day and show the coaches I’m supposed to be on the team.”
Hawks’ cut camp roster to 32 players
Originally at 55 players, the Hawks have cut their training camp roster down to 32 in a series of transactions over the past three days.
They’re now most of the way down to the regular-season maximum of 23 players, though they’ll be permitted to take a few extras on the Europe trip.
The most surprising cut Saturday was Dylan Sikura, who played in 33 games last season but did not score a single goal. The formerly well-regarded prospect has seen his stock precipitously decline in recent years due to an ability to get to dangerous areas in the offensive zone.
Other notable cuts include forwards Brandon Hagel, Matthew Highmore and Alexandre Fortin, three guys who will likely get some call-up opportunities over the course of the season. Goaltender Kevin Lankinen was sent down after Saturday’s game.
The Hawks have yet to dabble on waivers, but potential future cuts Jacob Nilsson, John Quenneville, Philip Holm and Carl Dahlstrom would require them.
