The Chicago Blackhawks opened the 2025-26 season with the third-youngest roster in the NHL, behind only the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. But Chicago likely has the youngest blue line in the league, with six of their eight defensemen on the opening-night roster being 24 years old or younger.
Wyatt Kaiser (23), Ethan Del Mastro (22), Sam Rinzel (21), and Artyom Levshunov (19) were all in the lineup for the Blackhawks’ 3-2 loss on Tuesday, and they each had their share of struggles against the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers.
The Blackhawks’ defensive core was responsible for 14 of the team’s 19 giveaways on the night, and they often looked like deer in the headlights when facing the Panthers’ constant pressure and hounding style of play.
Given all the inexperience on the back end, there will inevitably be bumps in the road throughout the course of a long season. Tough moments, bad games, and inconsistent stretches of play are all part of the learning curve, and they will happen for every player from time to time, regardless of age.
How those players respond to adversity is what truly matters, and there will be plenty of chances for this defensive group to bounce back and have better performances. Especially when they aren’t going up against the champs.
With that being said, let’s break down the stats and analytics (per Natural Stat Trick) for all three defensive pairings from Tuesday in Sunrise, and then discuss how each young blue-liner can improve moving forward.
The Grzelyck-Rinzel Pairing
With Alex Vlasic unable to play against the Panthers, Matt Grzelcyk stepped into a top-pairing role in his Blackhawks debut alongside Rinzel. For as much flak as I’ve given Grzelcyk in recent weeks, he didn’t have any clear-cut breakdowns and fared decently. However, he was still on the ice for a team-high 17 scoring chances against in just over 18 minutes of ice time at even strength.
Without Vlasic on his side, Rinzel, an offensive-minded defenseman, was left to man the top pairing with the 5-foot-10 Grzelcyk, who’s also more known for his offensive abilities. It’s not surprising that Rinzel had issues without a true defensive anchor, as he’s still very early in his NHL career and has little to no experience against playoff-caliber teams.
Rinzel struggled most with his positioning and puck management against the Panthers. He committed a team-high five giveaways in his 25:18 of ice time, which also led the Blackhawks. At even strength, Rinzel was on the ice for 14 shots on goal against and 15 scoring chances against, both the second-most on the team. Some of that comes along with playing nearly half of the game, but not all of it.
During the Panthers’ second goal, Rinzel was caught too high at his own blue line with the opposing team entering the zone on the power play, and he also stood by idly in the crease while Carter Verhaeghe roofed a shot over Spencer Knight’s shoulder.
With Vlasic expected to return to the lineup on Thursday against the Boston Bruins, Rinzel should be more comfortable in his own end, and he’ll hopefully play better.
In terms of improvements, the 6-foot-4 right-handed defenseman needs to start with his decision-making and play recognition. Rinzel made a few too many mistakes with the puck on his stick on Tuesday, and he also put himself in tough situations defensively by failing to recognize what was transpiring in front of him. Nothing too atypical for a young defenseman in his first full NHL season.
I have full confidence that Rinzel will make notable strides in the defensive zone as the year progresses. Tuesday was still just his 10th career NHL game, after all.
Kaiser-Levshunov Duo
Analytically, Kaiser and Levshunov were the two best defensemen for the Blackhawks against the Panthers. But the analytics only tell a part of the story, and the eye test suggested that Levshunov, in particular, had himself a rough first game of the season.
In the opening 20 minutes, seemingly nothing went right for Levshunov. He fumbled the puck several times, which often led to turnovers, and he also committed both of the Blackhawks’ penalties in the period. The Panthers capitalized on their second man advantage to jump ahead 2-1 with “Arty” in the sin bin. It wasn’t a great start for the 2024 No. 2 overall pick, to put it nicely.
Throughout the course of the game, Levshunov definitely picked up his play, and the Blackhawks actually led 13-11 in shot attempts, 6-5 in shots on goal, and 1-0 in goals for at even strength when he was on the ice. But the mistakes that he made early on were hard to ignore, and the lack of consistency was something that plagued him during the preseason. Levshunov ended the game with four giveaways, second-most on the team, in 16:36 of ice time.
For Levshunov to pick up his play, he needs to simplify his game altogether when on the ice, both with and without the puck. It seems like he tries to do too much at times, which isn’t unusual for a 19-year-old player entering the NHL. As a rover-style defenseman, Levshunov loves to float around and make as many plays as possible, but I believe he needs to be a little more structured to have success right now. BTW, this isn’t an opinion that I’ve cooked up after only one contest. This has been prevalent in Levshunov’s game since he hit the professional scene, and I don’t think it’s an overreaction following opening night.
Kaiser had some bumps in the road during the first period, mostly while trying to recover for his defensive partner. Aside from that, the 2020 third-round pick put together a strong first outing, as he registered four hits, two shots on goal, and one blocked shot in 16:34. He was also the only Blackhawks defenseman without a giveaway.
With Kaiser on the ice, the Blackhawks had a 15-10 advantage in shot attempts, while also leading 6-5 in shots on goal, 1-0 in goals for, and drawing even 5-5 in scoring chances at even strength. Not very much course correction needed for Kaiser after the first game.
Del Mastro & Murphy
Del Mastro being named to the final roster over Nolan Allan was somewhat surprising, considering how much he struggled during the preseason. Unfortunately, Del Mastro wasn’t able to break out of his recent slump while paired with Connor Murphy against the Panthers.
Florida led 24-13 in shot attempts, 11-7 in shots on goal, 10-5 in scoring chances, 6-1 in high-danger chances, and 1-0 in goals for when Del Mastro was on the ice at even strength.
Del Mastro made a few poor decisions in the neutral zone that led to odd-man rushes for the Panthers in the opening 40 minutes, and he was also on the ice for the game-winning goal in the third period.
With Jesper Boqvist streaking through the neutral zone with under 11 minutes to play, Del Mastro didn’t properly address the threat in front of him and failed to clear out the crease. Boqvist managed to knock a centering feed out of midair and past Knight for the GWG.
There’s certainly some blame to be placed on Bertuzzi on this play, but it was still another haphazard moment for Del Mastro. That’s supposed to be the backside post that he protects, and he failed to do so in a crucial moment of the game.
On the bright side, Del Mastro did tally a team-high six hits and chipped in for two blocked shots in 17:35 of ice time. It was nice to see the physical side of his game be at the forefront, and that’s something he needs to provide consistently as a 6-foot-4, 210-pound defenseman.
Improvement-wise, it feels as if Del Mastro is still caught in between in certain spots. In both his preseason action and against the Panthers, he seemed overly aggressive at times, while also lacking a sense of urgency in other moments. There appears to be indecisiveness in his game, which could be a result of overthinking and not playing reactionary hockey.
That’s easier said than done with a new head coach coming in and implementing fresh systems, not to mention that Del Mastro is still only 22 years old. With Vlasic expected to suit up in the next Blackhawks’ game, EDM could be reassigned to the AHL when the team returns home. While it’s disappointing that he’s likely failed to cement himself as a full-time NHLer, this won’t be the end of the road for EDM with Chicago, by any means. I still believe he’s capable of being the third-pairing LHD long term — he just needs to clean up some things in his game.
Rockford is a great spot for him to do that, where he’ll be playing a sizeable role in all situations.
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