Insider names 8 Chicago Blackhawks who are all crucially battling for a roster spot

«I do think he is a player who can potentially end up being a really good NHL player in different spots in the lineup,» Blashill said. «It wouldn't surprise me at all if he ended up into a top-six spot, a guy who goes out and helps a couple of other really good players because he's got enough skill to play with good players. Where I think his identity is and where he can separate himself more than anything else is by being a big power forward, by being physical on the forecheck, being hard at the net front, adding some team toughness.»

«He's a bit of a gamer in a sense,» Blashill said of Del Mastro. «I think he has a way of making plays and doing that without being high-risk. I think Rinzel, he's a fairly complete package. We think they're a group that can play well together and again, trying out some different pairs. We'll try this out at the beginning of preseason and we'll go from there.»

«We definitely want to score short-handed goals,» Blashill said. «That's a huge part of the penalty kill. (Oliver) Moore, Greene, Frankie (Nazar), Mikky (Ilya Mikheyev) - those guys all have a lot of speed to create opportunities to go down and score shorties, and we definitely want to do that.»

«He's a good player in the league,» Blashill said. «Honestly, surprised he's still available, in a sense that he had a good year last year with Pittsburgh. He can kind of do a lot of different jobs. Last year, he was on the power play. He hadn't spent a ton of time on a first unit before that.

«Ultimately, he's got to be him. He's got to be a really good steady kind of figure out there for us. And it probably depends on how some of the younger guys play. If the younger guys play really good, it'll make it hard. If the younger guys falter and then open the door for him and he plays great hockey, then he's in a good position.»

"Rockford's still a great option (if he doesn't make the Blackhawks). He's still very young. We've known the name and he's been on the scene. He started early. But there's still a growth for all young players to undergo to make sure they stick and they're impact players in the NHL."