Are the Chicago Blackhawks stunting the development of these two young players?

Nolan Allan surprisingly made the Chicago Blackhawks 23-man roster out of training camp.

Since that news, he has skated in one game--opening night at Utah. He held his own in his first NHL game. Then Wyatt Kaiser came off of injured reserve and Allan has been listed as the seventh defenseman.

That means not getting a sweater.

Instead of being sent back to Rockford to get ice time, Allan has been watching the Hawks' past two games from the press box with Lukas Reichel.

Reichel has also been a healthy scratch. Unlike Allan, who played well in the preseason and the first game, Reichel had a terrible preseason that earned him not having a sweater.

At some point a decision has to be made on getting them back on the ice, especially to avoid stunting their development by sitting out games.

Allan's making the roster was a surprise, considering he did not get a call-up last season when the blueline was riddled with injuries. Having him be on the opening night roster was not a bad idea since he earned it.

Since Kaiser was set to return quickly from starting the season on IR, it might have been a better idea to have Isaak Phillips stay on the roster as the extra defender and sit in the press box since the Hawks have already waived him to start the season.

The book on him as a valued prospect has already been written. He is probably going to be, at best, the team's third-pair defenseman.

The team still values Reichel since they gave him a contract extension in the offseason. However, head coach Luke Richardson and the front office have been disappointed with his preseason performance.

Missing a few games is not going to kill their overall development path. It would be nice for a plan to be mapped out soon so these two still vital parts of the Hawks' future can get back to playing, whether it is in Chicago or Rockford.