Morning Chirps: Moore is Team Conrad, Reichel can't escape trade rumors

Thursday was a newsworthy day for the Chicago Blackhawks. I learned about a new pop culture reference after an intense scrimmage at rookie camp. Plus, the trade rumors won’t go away for one young forward, while a top prospect picked up his first point of the season in Russia. We are one day closer to the weekend and the start of the National Hockey League season! Enjoy the Chirps…

Blackhawks Chirps

• There is a lot of excitement about the Blackhawks’ prospect pool, especially on the back end. Todd Welter reminds us that Alex Vlasic is still capable of being the No. 1 defenseman for years to come.

• Nick Lardis has a lot of buzz heading into his first professional season. He revealed that he spent his offseason working out with an impressive group of NHL players. Hopefully, this will lead to a successful year, whether it's with the Blackhawks or the Rockford IceHogs.

• Thursday was an eventful day at rookie camp. Defenseman Ty Henry suffered an ankle injury after an awkward fall into the boards. AJ Spellacy took an errant skate to the face and then mixed it up with Aidan Thompson on his way to get patched up. In the end, IceHogs head coach Jared Nightingale appreciated seeing the emotion and intensity that the players displayed.

• Last note from yesterday, during Oliver Moore’s post-practice scrum, he talked about his trip to Nick Foligno’s summer house and made a “Team Conrad” reference. Well, the age gap between Moore and the majority of the beat is quite large, so the line flew right over most of our heads. Thankfully, Ben Pop of the Chicago Sun-Times was there to fill us in on The Summer I Turned Pretty. You can hear the exchange towards the end of this clip.

• Roman Kantserov picked up his first point of the season with the primary assist on Dmitry Silantyev’s shorthanded goal. Metallurg ultimately lost 2-1 in a shootout to Dynamo. They are 0-0-3 to start the year with two shootout losses and one in overtime.

• According to the NHL Network, the Blackhawks have the top prospect pool in the league. Take that, San Jose Sharks!

• On the latest episode of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman said that Lukas Riechel is available on the trade market.

"I think it's understood that the Blackhawks are willing to make the move if they find a trade partner, and I think the player understands it might be time, too."

Elliotte Friedman

• The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto got a new banner yesterday!

Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Sept. 12: Earl Miller, Shawn Byram, and Martin Lapointe.

NHL Chirps

• According to James Murphy of RG Media, the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames have inquired about the availability of Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha. The 28-year-old center had 14 goals and 47 points in 82 games last season. He is halfway through his current four-year contract that comes with a $4.75 million salary cap hit.

• There has been some uncertainty about whether or not Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry will be available for the start of the season. He had hip surgery back in late May, but was back skating in late August. Lowry told Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press that his recovery is going well, but he is still targeting a late October or early November return.

• The Buffalo Sabres signed goaltender Alexandar Georgiev to a one-year, $825,000 contract. Brandon Croce of Sabre Noise breaks down what the signing means for the folks in Buffalo.

• Former Blackhawks defenseman Ville Pokka has signed a one-year contract with ECH Munchen in Germany.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Sept. 12: Marcel Bonin, Mike Murphy, Josef Vasicek, Paul Ranger, Patrick Wiercioch, Connor Mackey, Jake Christiansen, and Jaret Anderson-Dolan.