From the Kraken's morning skate at Climate Pledge Arena, it appears the right-shooting Blackwell will play with Morgan Geekie at center and Brandon Tanev on the left. Blackwell and Tanev have been working together in recent practices once Blackwell was cleared for full contact.
"I just hope I can keep up with him," said Blackwell, quipping about linemate "Turbo" Tanev.
"He probably has a little bit of rust," said Kraken coach Dave Hakstol. "We will keep it simple and keep his shifts short so he can play with energy. He plays with pace, energy and plays a tenacious game."
While not slated for power play minutes in the near future, Hakstol said "if we need him on the penalty kill, we won't hesitate to use him."
Blackwell said he was confident about maintaining his goal pace from last season: "I know what it takes to be successful."
To make room for Blackwell on the active roster, center Riley Sheahan was placed on waivers.
Blackwell played on Team USA at the recent Worlds last spring. His experience included locker-ing next to Seattle's 2021 first-round draft choice (No. 2 overall), Matty Beniers, who performed admirably during the tournament and impressed Blackwell as both a solid player and "even better person."
Beniers is on scoring hot streak, notching seven goals in the last four games, including three straight two-goal games against Big 10 foes last weekend and Thursday. On Friday, he scored another goal and added three assists in a 6-2 win over Penn State.
The Kraken's top prospect has mutual feelings about Blackwell.
"He mentored me [at the Worlds]," said Beniers recently. "He was awesome."
Blackwell is looking to keep up the momentum from his past season, during which he averaged a top-third-in-the-league 1.61 points (including one goal) per game in scoring per 60 minutes of individual ice time.
"I've always learned that being patient, good things will happen and something will pop up," he told the New York Post during a hot streak last spring. "I think the only thing that I can do -and it's the hardest thing for an athlete - is kind of believe in yourself. Confidence is everything."
