Frank Nazar’s return to NHL makes Blackhawks’ future feel more tangible

NEWARK, N.J. — The Blackhawks‘ top prospect forward, top prospect goalie, one of two top prospect defensemen and best prospect-developing coach have all joined the big club in just over a week.

In a season billed as somewhat of a gap year between the tear-down portion of the rebuild and the youth movement to come, the Hawks’ promising future has quickly become much more tangible and present.

Frank Nazar’s NHL call-up Friday provided the biggest jolt of excitement yet. The 20-year-old forward will make his NHL season debut Saturday against the Devils, then make his second career regular-season appearance at the United Center on Sunday against the Islanders.

Goalie Drew Commesso should make his first career NHL start in one of those two games, and a lineup featuring Nazar, Connor Bedard, Lukas Reichel, Kevin Korchinski, Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser and Nolan Allan will skate in front of him.

This Hawks roster still features a lot of veteran placeholders of little relevance to the future, but interim coach Anders Sorensen’s arsenal of young players is nonetheless expanding rapidly.

For Nazar, the call he had been waiting months for finally came last night from Rockford general manager Mark Bernard, who told him to hop on a plane to Newark.

“It was a really exciting moment,” Nazar said. “I was shocked. [When] you get a random call at night from the GM, you can kind of expect what he’s gonna say, but you never know. When I heard the good news, it was a lot of joy.”

Hawks GM Kyle Davidson’s decision to send Nazar to the AHL at the end of training camp has proven definitively to be the right move. The Michigan product dominated there, racking up 24 points in 21 games — tops among rookies and sixth overall in the AHL — while accumulating a tremendous stockpile of confidence.

Nazar talked Friday about how “growing up, the only thing you think of is just scoring goals,” and he got to do that over and over again. He also made countless additional dazzling plays that didn’t lead to points.

His defensive reliability is another strength — and a contrast to most rookies, including Bedard last year. He substantially reduced the difference between his best and worst shifts thanks to a mental checklist he created to remind himself to always keep his feet moving and think on the fly.

His challenge now is to transfer all of that confidence and playmaking skill into the NHL, where he tallied one point in three solid outings at the very end of last season.

His success doing so might determine whether he stays with the Hawks for good or returns to Rockford after an educational NHL stint. If the latter happens, it shouldn’t be interpreted as a step back; a scout recently mentioned that could actually be the best outcome for his long-term development.

“It’s an adjustment to come up mid-season and mid-road trip with a team that’s trying to work through a lot of stuff, but it’s our job to help him through that,” forward Taylor Hall said. “The biggest things we [will] look for from him are energy, compete and enthusiasm. That’s what, as a young player, you’re required to show.”

Nazar immediately slides in as the second-line center between Hall and Tyler Bertuzzi (who has finally found his rhythm this week) and as a part of the top power-play unit. Sorensen, a key catalyst in Nazar’s development in Rockford, advised him to “trust his instincts” as he jumps in head-first.

“The numbers he’s put up in the AHL, those are really good,” Hall added. “Hopefully he can contribute and play well and help us win, because we’re in need of wins. Obviously he has a relationship with Anders, and Anders is comfortable enough to put him in that spot, so we’re excited.”