Lukas Reichel makes case for more ice time in Chicago Blackhawks defeat to Buffalo Sabres

Lukas Reichel spent the first four games of this season watching them from the press box. Some might think that is the not best way to develop a skilled 22-year-old player.

It is not like Reichel did not earn the healthy scratch designation.

One of the Chicago Blackhawks' former top prospects finally got a sweater in the home opener against San Jose and he earned another nod on the fourth line in last night's 4-2 defeat to the Buffalo Sabres.

While he did not get a lot of time on the ice, he made the most of it as he picked up the primary assists on the Hawks' two goals. Scores that came from veteran center Craig Smith.

Reichel seems to do a good job of establishing chemistry with veterans, whether it's with Smith or Andreas Athanasiou.

Maybe, it is because veterans are good at understanding you have to take advantage of any ice time you can get since it is so precious to earn opportunities in the NHL.

Reichel barely got on the ice in the first period, a period in which the Hawks were dreadful. The Sabres pounced on a lifeless Hawks group to go up two-zip in the opening period. Head coach Luke Richardson thought that cost the Blackhawks two points in the standings.

The Hawks rallied back in the second period to tie the game, and it was all Reichel and Smith's doing. Reichel made a sweet mid-ice pass to lead Smith into the offensive zone on the first goal.

Then Smith lit the lamp again in the second period with a rebound shot off of Reichel's miss. It was good to see Reichel pick up the loose puck, charge hard to the net, and confidently shot the puck.

Reichel may not have gotten the goal, but good things happen when the puck is sent towards the net.

Alas, the Sabres later scored the go-ahead goal later on in the second period and an empty-netter to seal up the victory in the third.

Reichel's lack of ice time is stunting his development.

He had a rough preseason that earned him four healthy scratches. It is not like he is without blame as he can tend to lose confidence very quickly when things are not going his way. If he was a few years older, putting him in the pressbox would not be such an issue as his salary and play have earned him extra forward status.

Reichel is still 22 and has tremendous upside. That is why his development is still important to the future success of the club. The problem is his age and upside also make it incredibly difficult to get him to Rockford to get more playing time there as he would unlikely not clear waivers.

He showed when he is on the ice with the right combination of veteran players, he can produce on the offensive end. The trouble is that veteran players like Smith and Athanasiou are playing at a fourth-line level. That means less ice time for Reichel, who possesses the skill level to play on the top lines.

It would make sense to give him a run on the top line with Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen.

The problem is Reichel has lost the trust of Richardson with his terrible season last year that was followed up by an awful preseason.

That is where the conflict occurs when it comes to prioritizing Reichel's development versus making him earn his ice time. The Hawks front office has made it clear no prospect or young player is just going to be given a role despite the team still being in the middle stages of an extensive rebuild.

That is why it feels like the Hawks are stunting Reichel's development.

After last night's performance, it could not hurt to move Reichel up to the top line with the clear directive of skate hard and forecheck hard, just like last night. Also, make it clear to the youngster to keep shooting the darn puck when the opportunity arises.

Then, give him a month to see if he can produce like he did last night. Suppose he cannot produce, then make him a fourth-line winger for the rest of his time with the club or finally cut ties via a change of scenery trade. Just stop stunting his development with the lack of ice time.