Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson addresses media on Wednesday October 30th involving injuries, rumors and lineup decisions

The Chicago Blackhawks are in a tough spot in the Central Division standings, sitting in last place behind the past league-dwelling San Jose Sharks, who earned the first overall pick in MacKlin Celebrini’s 2024 NHL entry level draft.

Although the Blackhawks’ present is in a much worse state, their future is much brighter with an AHL organization loaded with prospects such as Isaak Philips, Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov and many more names such as AJ Spellacy in juniors, seeking their pro careers kicking off next year (2025-26).

Amidst these struggles early on in the regular season, the team continues to have to use youth in fulfilling their game-day lineups due to injuries. Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson addressed the media, and Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ben Pope relayed the information via X.

The Chicago Blackhawks will continue relying on their younger players, as defenseman Alec Martinez and goalie Laurent Brossoit remain out for at least three more games, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. Both will miss the remaining three games of Chicago’s five-game road trip and could return on November 6 when they host Detroit. Martinez played a top-pair role in the Blackhawks’ first four games and was solid, though he recorded just one assist. After an injury-marred stint with Vegas, where he scored 49 points in 221 games, he hopes to stay healthy and contribute significantly on his return.

Brossoit had knee surgery this past summer following signing a two-year deal with the NHL organization, Arvid Soderblom has since taken over the backup role and has served as a solid backbone to starting goaltender Petr Mrazek.

With injuries looming, the Blackhawks look to stay strong through thick and thin, when they face the second-last team in their division, the San Jose Sharks, on Thursday night for a late night 10:30PM puck drop at the PPL Center in San Jose.