Blackhawks’ Drake Caggiula Set to Have Disciplinary Hearing on Sunday

Chicago Blackhawks forward Drake Caggiula is scheduled to have a disciplinary hearing with the NHL on Sunday. Caggiula issued an illegal check to the head of Edmonton Oilers forward Tyler Ennis during Game #1 of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers on Saturday.

While yesterday’s Chicago victory was a good sign of things to come for the Hawks, it may have come at a cost. At 12:38 of the second period, after the Oilers scored to cut the Blackhawks lead to 5-2, Drake Caggiula issued a high hit to the Oilers’ Tyler Ennis. You can view the incident below:

It is important to note that Caggiula was not issued a penalty for the check at the time of the incident. Ennis actually received a delay of game penalty for dumping the puck out of play. As the video shows, Caggiula just brushes Ennis’s chin with his shoulder. Ennis did leave the game for medical evaluation, but he did return to the ice in the third period.

Caggiula is set to have a hearing with the league on Sunday. This could result in a fine and/or a possible suspension for the Blackhawks forward. Some good news for Blackhawks fans is that Caggiula has yet to be fined/suspended during his NHL career, so he is not a repeat offender. Also, as I alluded to earlier, Ennis was not injured during the play. The league takes both of these factors into consideration when determining the appropriate action to take.

If Caggiula is suspended one or two games, it could be assumed that either Dylan Sikura or John Quenneville will take his place on the Blackhawks roster, and be slotted into a 3rd or 4th line role. While both have about the same number of NHL games under their belts, Sikura did have a very impressive training camp showing.

As for Caggiula, he will hope for the best possible scenario. After Edmonton traded him to the Blackhawks in December of 2018 for Brandon Manning, you better believe that he is eager to knock his former team out of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.