RECAP: Prospects Show Out in Scrimmage, Wrap Up Development Camp | Day 5

As the puck dropped, the players' eagerness to move on from drills and testing and get to real-game action was evident as the enthusiasm filled throughout Fifth Third Arena Friday morning. Sticks banging against the ice and kicks against the bench rang through the rink throughout the first 25-minute rolling period as several Blackhawks prospects showed out early.
"We've been competing all week just in practice, so it's a great way to cap off this week and go out on a high note competing with all the guys," said forward Landon Slaggert. "It's been awesome just being able to, obviously with the past two years with COVID, we haven't been able to have this, so meeting all those new guys and be able to be on the ice with some incredible players has been awesome."

While the emphasis on speed from Blackhawks' organization was clear in the movement from both the Red and White squads, the Red team controlled the narrative early, led by Development Camp invite Joseph Serpa of the OHL's Kitchener Rangers, who rounded out the first period with a goal and an assist.
The scoring got rolling just under five minutes into play, as 2019 Draft pick and Boston University defenseman Alex Vlasic capitalized on a steal in the neutral zone and found second round, 39th overall selection from this year's draft, Paul Ludwisnki, who found Serpa up ice for the clear shot to give Red a 1-0 advantage.
The Red squad stayed aggressive and on the offensive for much of the start of the period and added to their lead with 15:39 left on a score by defenseman Filip Roos on a shorthanded goal over the glove of netminder Dominic Basse (out of Colorado College), thanks to an assist from Serpa.
Three minutes later, White had a chance to cut their deficit in half with a penalty shot chance by forward Aidan Thompson, who was selected in the third round at 90th overall in Montreal this year, but goaltender Drew Commesso out of Boston University shut down the opportunity.
However, Thompson capitalized on a recovery off a shot attempt from forward Colton Dach with just under 10:45 on the clock, getting White on the board, 2-1.
"There's been a lot going on for me in the last few weeks, so, this is great," Head Coach Luke Richardson said after the game. "This is what you live for and what we live for, is hockey. So, it was great to see the young players putting in a great effort this week and for me to get here, start meeting staff in the organization and diving right into the hockey feel."
Before the 15-minute break, 2022 sixth-round pick at 188th overall Nils Juntorp, tied it up at 2 apiece from deep with an assist by Wyatt Kaiser, a 2020 defenseman pick out of Minnesota-Duluth.
Action picked back up quickly after the intermission, as Slaggert, another 2020 pick, found the net off of a pass from 2022 sixth-round selection Dominic James to give the Red squad a 3-2 lead. That line for Red, which also included first-round pick at 13th overall, Frank Nazar, was dominant throughout the entire 5-on-5 portion of the scrimmage--and though Nazar didn't have much to show for it on the stat sheet, his leadership on the ice impressed.
"We had a little chemistry going," Slaggert said. "I think they're obviously incredible players that play fast, play hard, so I think we clicked early. Hopefully, we can even see that up in Plymouth at the US camp [next week] and see if we have a little chemistry up there as well."
Nearing the end of the 20-minute second period, a high stick penalty drawn by White presented another penalty opportunity, which Notre Dame forward capitalized on to tie things back up 3-3. To round out the full-squad portion of the scrimmage, White edged out Red in shots 31 to 19.
The action then transitioned into a quick 3-on-3 "overtime" segment, during which Red secured the 4-3 victory thanks to yet another score by Serpa on an end-to-end rush. Afterwards, a short shootout session took place, where eight consecutive shots were blocked until the Blackhawks' top draft pick from this year, Kevin Korchinski, got one passed Mitchell Weeks of the OHL's Sudbury Wolves to clinch the shootout for White to wrap up the day and camp for the week.
"It's definitely something that will open your eyes up, to take a deep breath and realize like, 'Wow, you're here,'" Nazar said. "I've loved it."
While Richardson noted the performances of Korchinski and other draft picks from this year, such as 25th overall pick Sam Rinzel, he said he saw a lot of things he liked out on the ice throughout Development Camp this week.
"I'm excited just to get going," Richardson said. "But, I think we're going to have to probably sit down and see where the direction of some of the young guys are and their progression over the summer. Things might change by training camp, people might surprise you."