The Rockford IceHogs have a number of rookie skaters looking to make an early impact. Highly-touted forward Frank Nazar, the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, has come out of the gate with a flourish. Nazar (2 G, 2 A) currently leads the IceHogs in goals and points. He’s also made a strong early impression on Heasd Coach Anders Sorensen.
“I thought he was dynamite,” Sorensen said of Nazar’s weekend at Rockford’s weekly media session Tuesday. “Especially on Saturday, I thought he got better and better as the game went on. I thought he was good Friday, too, but Saturday, I thought he took a step forward. I thought he was, offensively, our best player.”
The IceHogs dropped a pair of games to the Milwaukee Admirals last weekend. Rockford lost 6-3 at the BMO Center Friday night and 5-2 in Milwaukee the following evening. Still, Nazar was noticeable on the ice all weekend.
On Friday, Nazar assisted on Austin Strand’s first period tally, then converted a shorthanded chance. Kevin Korchinski got the puck to Nazar, who sent it to the back of the Admirals net late in the second period. On Saturday, he knocked in a rebound from the right post late in the third period.
Sorensen also praised Nazar’s contribution to the IceHogs penalty kill, which has been perfect in ten chances this season.
“It was fun to see him and Landon (Slaggert, another rookie) together. I think they had three or four breakaways between the two of them on the PK. They’re aggressive players, they’re quick on their feet, they’re strong on the puck and they anticipate well. When you do that and you put them together, they were able to get some chances out of it. It was impressive to watch those guys together.”
“I try to play as smart as I can,” Nazar said on Tuesday. “Obviously, I’m not going to cheat for something and give them an opportunity if it’s not going to go our way. If I see a play I can make, I’m going to try my best to do that.”
Getting The IceHogs Back On Track
After an impressive win against Grand Rapids to begin play this season, the young IceHogs had trouble keeping pace with a veteran Admirals club. After a strong opening 15 minutes Friday, it was all Milwaukee the rest of the weekend.
“I thought Friday we started really well and we actually got up two-nothing. I thought we were a little bit content after that,” Sorensen said.
Rockford’s two-goal lead evaporated late in the first period on Friday. The Admirals then hung three goals on Drew Commesso in the second stanza for a final score of 3-2 Milwaukee. Milwaukee also opened Saturday’s contest with a trio of goals, which proved too much for Rockford.
Despite the setbacks, Sorensen isn’t pressing the panic button three games into the campaign.
“I’m not too concerned about it,” he said. “It’s early in the season yet. We know what areas we need to clean up. I think as long as we communicate and we’re up front with each other and we tell them, ‘here’s what we need to get better at and here’s what we did well,’ as well. We had some of those conversations the last couple of days that they took the right way, and they’re ready to get back to work.”
The key, Sorensen pointed out, is being ready to play from the opening faceoff and maintaining consistency.
“You might have to play ten shifts, where it’s called a 50/50 shift, where nothing much happens,” Sorensen explained, “and you’re just doing a really good job of checking and being on the right side again. Then the eleventh shift you might get a scoring chance. You can’t be play high event hockey every shift.”
IceHogs Roster News
Another top prospect of the Chicago Blackhawks will soon be making his pro debut with Rockford. Chicago’s first-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, defenseman Artyom Levshunov, has recovered from a foot injury and was assigned to Rockford on Tuesday.
Back on Saturday, the IceHogs signed defenseman Cavan Fitzgerald, who was on a PTO, to a standard AHL contract for the 2024-25 season. Rockford also signed forward Matus Spodniak to an AHL contract, assigning him to the ECHL’s Indy Fuel.
This Week For Rockford
The IceHogs have a few days of practice before making the trek to Manitoba for two games with the fourth-place Moose. Like Rockford, Manitoba has dropped its last two games. The Moose were in Grand Rapids last weekend, where they were on the wrong end of a pair of one-goal decisions.
Both Saturday’s and Sunday’s puck drops at Canada Life Centre are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CDT.
