Jeff Blashill is right to use Blackhawks’ final games for experimentation

It was strange to see some Blackhawks fans criticizing coach Jeff Blashill on Sunday for experimenting with the team’s lineup.

In fact, that’s exactly what Blashill should be doing right now.

The final weeks of this season are essentially a trial run for the Hawks’ young core, most of which has — at long last — reached the NHL and taken over the roster.

Come next season, especially once one last crucial piece in Roman Kantserov arrives, expectations will begin to rise. It will be time for the Hawks’ ascension to begin in earnest.

The final weeks of this season, however, are the perfect time for experimentation. The kids are all present, but the Hawks are miles out of the playoff race. Losing isn’t worth much heartache, considering it will help the organization harvest one more top-five draft pick from this rebuild.

To make a pottery analogy, the clay is already on the wheel but the kiln hasn’t begun to heat yet. Blashill is free to attempt to mold any type of bowl he likes; there will be no consequences if it falls apart in his hands.

Will Anton Frondell succeed as a center, rather than a winger, in the NHL? Nobody knows, including Blashill. The odds are perhaps against it. But why not find out?

“He hasn’t played center all year, so it’s probably not the easiest position to put him in — I recognize that,” Blashill said Sunday. “But he’s played center a lot in his life, and I think he’s got traits to be a really good 200-foot winning center. And I would like to get a look at it this year rather than at the beginning of next year, so that if that’s the way we go, we can hit the ground running.

“It’s going to put a lot [of responsibilities] on his shoulders, and it might affect his game a little bit until he gets really comfortable. But I want to look at it anyways.”

Will a five-forward power play quarterbacked by Connor Bedard work? Again, nobody knows, including Blashill — but that’s fine.

“It’s easier to get the puck in [Bedard’s] hands up top than it is on the flank,” Blashill explained. “He’s talked about wanting that opportunity to do it. He’s obviously a really smart player. He’s got good deception. We thought, ‘Let’s give it a try and see it.’ It’s something we’ve talked about through the year.”

Frondell and the power play turned out to be two of the Hawks’ brighter spots in their dramatic loss Sunday against the Devils.

The Swedish rookie earned two assists and now touts four points in his first four NHL games. His ability to force turnovers and create havoc around the opponents’ nets has stood out in particular.

He did get caught in no man’s land as the “F3” (third forward) on the failed Hawks forecheck that directly preceded Jack Hughes’ game-winning goal. But those kinds of lessons are better learned now than in October, at least.

The power play, meanwhile, generated one goal — its first in a nine-game span — and a number of dangerous looks on three opportunities.

Bedard looked comfortable up top, and his accurate passing was effective from that position. Any improvement is welcome; the power play ranks last in the NHL since Jan. 11 with a 9.5% conversion rate.

Safe to say, those two ideas deserve runways to accumulate larger samples of data, as have any other half-reasonable ideas the coaching staff can brainstorm.

On a related note, it would be swell to see prospect goalie Drew Commesso make another NHL start or two down the stretch, if he is to compete with Arvid Soderblom for the full-time backup role in camp next fall.

April’s purpose is getting a sense of what the Hawks might be able to build with these puzzle pieces.