Morning Chirps: Another intense day for Blackhawks, Central Division rivals dealing with injuries

Happy Saturday! The Chicago Blackhawks will be back on the ice today after two grueling days of training camp. They will play their first preseason game on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, it’s been a rough start for three Western Conference rivals as they deal with injuries and illness.

Blackhawks Chirps

• Jeff Blashill is not messing around in training camp. After a pair of two-hour practices on day one, Friday featured some serious conditioning drills.

• There is a much younger group in camp this year, and Blashill and general manager Kyle Davidson have a different way of determining who is separating himself from the pack.

• Ryan Donato had a breakout season and got rewarded handsomely for it. Jim Lynch writes that he must go out and prove last year wasn’t a fluke.

• Brandon Croce feels that Connor Bedard getting left off the 4 Nations Face-Off roster last will only fuel him to have a monster season.

• On this date in 1991, the Blackhawks traded Wayne Presley to the San Jose Sharks for a third-round pick. They used that pick to take Bogdan Savenko, who never played in the NHL.

•  Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Sept. 20: Brandon Mashinter and Ryan Hartman.

NHL Chirps

• Minnesota Wild top prospect Zeev Buium is having a tough start to his professional career. The young defenseman suffered an upper-body injury during the first practice of training camp. He missed Friday’s practice, but head coach John Hynes wasn’t concerned about Buium’s injury.

• The Utah Mammoth have had a rough start to the season. Alex Kerfoot is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The news came just a couple of days after losing Liam O’Brien to a lower-body, as well.

• Macklin Celebrini has yet to appear at Sharks training camp. He missed Thursday and Friday’s practices due to illness.

• The Yegor Chinakhov for Lukas Reichel “change of scenery” trade might not be an option after all. Despite requesting a trade during the offseason, Chinakhov said he’s open to staying with the Columbus Blue Jackets after coming to an understanding with head coach Dean Evason.

• We are definitely sending our best to Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and his fiancée, Carolina.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Sept. 20: Ray Cullen, Guy Lafleur, Jeff Nielsen, Jan Hlavac, Sergei Bobrovsky, John Tavares, Kevin Stunlund, and Braden Schneider.