Louis Crevier is the ideal 'in case of emergency' defender for the Blackhawks this season

The Chicago Blackhawks are going to be rolling out a young defensive unit.

Connor Murphy and Alex Vlasic will be the only Blackhawks defenders who have played in multiple full NHL regular seasons. Otherwise, talented youngsters Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Kevin Korchinski, Ethan Del Mastro, Wyatt Kaiser (once he re-signs), Nolan Allan, and Louis Crevier will battle it out in training camp for the four other spots among the three defensive pairings.

Korchinski has played a full NHL season during his rookie year, but it was only because he showed enough promise that going back to the WHL would be a waste of his time. He was not eligible to skate in Rockford two seasons ago due to still being a teenager. Otherwise, Kaiser is the only other player to have skated in over 82 NHL games

It will be interesting to see how the preseason battle shakes out for those four spots.

If Crevier wins one of those spots, it means either he had a great preseason, there was a rash of injuries, or some of these higher-regarded defensive prospects were terrible in camp. Options two or three would be a nightmare scenario.

Crevier just does not have the overall skill that Levshunov, Rinzel, and Korchinski have. Kaiser can provide better offensive support than Crevier. Del Mastro and Allan seem more talented than Crevier.

That does not mean Crevier cannot carve out an important role on the team this season.
He showed during his brief time with the NHL club that he can be the ideal No. 7 defender this team needs.

Crevier Proved to be a Decent Stay-at-Home Defenseman

Crevier has skated in 56 games over two seasons. The one thing he has proven with his 6'8 frame is that he can be a serviceable stay-at-home defender. With his long reach, he can use that to poke pucks away without having to get too close to the puck handler and potentially getting beaten by a move.

He can move screeners out of the way with his size. You have got to like him having long limbs to help block shots and disrupt passing lanes. He paired up well on the ice with the smaller Kaiser last season.

Despite his massive size, his lack of offense is what has relegated him to being an organizational depth blueliner. The only reason he debuted during the 2023-24 season was that the blue line was ravaged with injuries in December of that season.

Crevier was called up for the first time last season in November after Seth Jones went on IR with a foot injury. He did see his ice time increase last season once Anders Sorenson took over as interim head coach after Luke Richardson was fired. He had a run in January where he was consistently getting 19 to 20 minutes of ice time a night.

However, he suffered a concussion in February and was sent down to Rockford shortly after coming off injured reserve. When he was recalled in March but his ice time was vastly reduced to where he was consistently a healthy scratch toward the end of the season.

Crevier Makes the Ideal No. 7 defenseman for Young Group

Crevier is 24 and does not much of a high talent ceiling. That makes him the ideal player among this young group to sit in the press box on nights the Hawks' defense is fully healthy and performing.
Allan, Korchinski, or Del Mastro are a few years younger, so whoever loses the training camp battle should still get regular ice time in Rockford.

That is why I think the proper expectations for him are to be a solid "break glass in case of emergency" defender. Playing in Rockford is not going to potentially give him the ice time to turn into a great player, like it still could with Korchinski or Del Mastro. It can never hurt to have a long, stay-at-home defenseman be ready at a moment's notice to fill in for a few games if there is an injury or underperformance from one of his fellow young teammates.

Crevier might have a slight chance of carving out more of a role if he can prove he can consistently win puck battles on the forecheck and backcheck. New head coach Jeff Blashill is going to be looking for guys who are willing to chase down the puck along the boards. The issue I see with Crevier on the forecheck is that he will not be able to set up the secondary assist on a pass out of the boards or keep an offensive cycle going.

Blashill's forecheck philosophy will leave the potential for odd-man rushes going the other way off potential turnovers. Having the longer Crevier back there could help make goalie Spencer Knight's life a little easier.

If Crevier can do those little things well, he has a shot to be more than an extra defender. If he cannot, well, better to have him sit in the press box than Del Mastro, Allan, or Korchinski.