Analyzing Oliver Moore’s transition to Blackhawks, development at Minnesota

Oliver Moore signed with the Blackhawks so abruptly that he forgot to tell his professors at the University of Minnesota he was going to miss two weeks of class.

Last week, he was a 20-year-old student trudging into morning lectures and looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament. This week, he’s teammates with dads.

“It’s different than going to college, where the oldest guy you play with is 23 or 24,” Moore said Wednesday. “Now, you’re playing with guys with kids.”

Fellow Minnesota product Sam Rinzel is going through the same experience, and it has been a whirlwind. They’ll make their third career NHL appearances Friday against the Capitals, tasked with preventing Alex Ovechkin from eclipsing Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record against them.

The Hawks’ plethora of younger players — there really aren’t that many dads around — has at least aided their transitions. Moore’s forward linemate Landon Slaggert, for example, has been a valuable resource because Moore and Slaggert’s younger brother, Carter, are good friends.

“It’s kind of nice jumping into the fire,” Moore added.

In the Hawks’ 3-2 shootout loss Wednesday against the Avalanche, one early second-period shift showcased a bit of what Moore can do. His world-class speed is an asset on defensive-zone breakouts and offensive-zone entries, as he demonstrated by slicing through the Avs’ structure before Devon Toews broke up his one-man rush at the last second.

A few moments later, Moore intercepted a Cale Makar pass in the neutral zone, again cut between two Avs and made a between-the-legs play that almost connected with Slaggert.

Later in the period, however, his line got stuck in the defensive zone for two marathon shifts. They did a decent job keeping the Avs to the outside most of the time, but the Hawks’ coaching staff got plenty of tape that they can use to point out some positional corrections.

Interim coach Anders Sorensen only gave Moore two shifts in the third period, and Makar scored the first goal of the Avs’ comeback during the latter one. The Hawks were cumulatively outshot 7-1 during Moore’s five-on-five ice time, compared to his debut Sunday when they outshot Utah 9-4 during his ice time.

Moore did receive two more shifts in overtime, and that’s a situation where his speed could be especially dangerous in the future.

From afar, Moore’s sophomore season at Minnesota seemed slightly underwhelming. The 2023 first-round pick tallied 33 points (in 38 games), the exact same total as his freshman year.

But he and the Hawks both felt like poor finishing — and some bad luck — explained why his production flat-lined. Finishing isn’t irrelevant, and he does need to work on that. Nevertheless, it masked improvements in other areas of his offensive repertoire.

“My first year, I was hoping plays and forcing plays, trying to make things happen that weren’t there,” Moore said. “My development was just holding onto pucks and seeing plays develop more. That comes with experience. I felt a lot more comfortable offensively.”

He has always thrived off the rush, and he has improved at making plays below the goal line, utilizing his increased strength and confidence. He shifted his mentality to tell himself, “I’m going to hold onto this puck, and no one is going to knock me off of it.”

Another developmental focus area was his defensive attention to detail. He learned how to use his skating more effectively in his own zone, closing gaps faster and jumping on loose pucks.

The Hawks are optimistic Moore’s skill set will translate smoothly to this level, despite his professors’ annoyance.

“For some guys, the pro game is actually a little easier,” general manager Kyle Davidson said in February. “When they take a step [up]…that feels easier because you’re playing with players that are moving at your pace or thinking at your level.”