The Chicago Blackhawks have a lot of great young defensemen in the organization. Some big names, like Alex Vlasic, Kevin Korchinski and Artyom Levshunov, are getting a lot of hype.
One name people might want to keep an eye on is Nolan Allan. The young defenseman was selected in the first round by the Blackhawks (32nd overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft.
After some patience with his development, the Blackhawks are starting to see results. He’s now playing with them at the NHL level and hasn’t looked out of place.
On Thursday night, Allan scored his first career NHL goal. He’s not really an attacking defender, but getting the first goal is always nice. Through his first 26 NHL games, Allan also has five points. He is unable to score or take action, but his main focus is on defending the opponent.
“I hit the post and thought to myself: I’ll never get that chance again.” Nolan Allan said upon scoring his first NHL goal after hitting the goal post earlier in the game. “It was nice to get one today. Kind of weird how that works.”
After that comment, Allan confirmed that he had no family for the game, but he was happy that someone had the puck for him. He didn’t know who did it for him, but he’s certainly grateful.
Allan wasn’t sure what he planned to do with the puck either. One thing was clear: he was in a good mood and enjoyed talking about the match.
For Anders Sorensen, who dealt with Allan in Rockford, he has to keep playing him. Seth Jones comes back into the lineup and rightfully so, but Allan shouldn’t be the one coming out. There’s no reason to bench him anytime soon.
Some people overvalue offensive defensemen, regardless of how they play defense. Every team needs a few guys who aren’t afraid to design their entire game as an excellent shutdown player on the back end.
Hawks fans may remember Nicklas Hjalmarsson, who was a key part of the team that won the Stanley Cup three times in six years at the time. He didn’t score much at all, but goals didn’t go into Chicago’s net when he was on the ice.
For this reason, Allan draws many comparisons with Hjalmarsson. Will he continue to have the same success as the latter? That remains to be seen, but the ceiling is similar.
In hockey, accepting and executing a role is important. Being a player who skates at a high level, blocks shots, always has a good stick and is always in the right position is incredibly valuable.
Kyle Davidson has drafted some very talented young blueliners and many of them have developed well in the system. It won’t be long before Allan is part of a great core at this position.
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