The road trip continues for the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, as they face the Los Angeles Kings for the first of two meetings in three days at Crypto.com Arena. Be on the lookout for CHN’s Game Day Preview dropping later today, breaking down the notes, projected lineups, and the goaltending matchup for the contest.
Also in Blackhawks news, GM Kyle Davidson discussed several Blackhawks players and prospects in a recent interview, Roman Kantserov is closing in on the KHL points lead, and a 2025 first-round pick was named to a World Junior Championship roster.
Around the league, Alex Ovechkin is once again on pace for a 40-goal season, Tyler Seguin suffered a season-ending injury, and Cole Caufield extended his point streak to nine games.
All that & more in the Daily!
Chicago Blackhawks Recap, News & Tidbits
Chicago Hockey Now: It’s been a slow-moving process over the years, but the Blackhawks’ rebuild is finally showing signs of major progress. With the team among the biggest surprises in the NHL this season, GM Kyle Davidson joined “Frankly Hockey” recently to share his thoughts on Connor Bedard, Jeff Blashill, and more up-and-coming players.
More CHN: The accolades and achievements are piling up for 20-year-old superstar Connor Bedard. On Tuesday, Bedard was named the NHL’s third star of the month for November after tallying 10 goals, 13 assists, and 23 points in just 14 games.
More CHN: ICYMI, the Blackhawks had some tough luck in Sin City on Tuesday, as they outplayed the Vegas Golden Knights only to lose 4-3 in a shootout. Two of Vegas’ three goals came off fortunate bounces, while Chicago was dominant in overtime. Carter Hart was the difference maker in his team debut and first NHL start in nearly two years.
In prospects news, Roman Kantserov had yet another multi-point game on Wednesday, scoring his 22nd goal of the season and adding two assists in Metallurg Magnitogorsk’s comeback 6-5 win. Kantserov has the KHL lead in goals by five and is tied for second with 38 points. The former second-round pick is only five points back of the league’s scoring lead.
Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov had another goal and two assists in the KHL today. That gives him 22 goals and 16 assists in 33 games.
Here’s the goal: pic.twitter.com/rxNvCCEwPy
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) December 3, 2025
In the OHL, Marek Vanacker continues his goal-per-game pace, with 24 goals now in 24 games for the Brantford Bulldogs. Vanacker, the 27th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, remains the league leader in goals. He has five more than Tristan Delisle, who’s in second place. Vanacker is also tied for third in the OHL with 38 points.
Also in the OHL, Jack Pridham scored his 14th goal of the season and third in the last two days in the Kitchener Rangers’ 4-3 win over the London Knights. It was also Pridham’s third shorthanded goal of the year. Pridham is 23rd in the league with 29 points through 25 games.
Last, but certainly not least, congratulations to 2025 first-round pick (No. 25 overall) Vaclav Nestrasil for being named to Team Czechia’s preliminary roster for the 2026 World Junior Championship, which is only a few weeks away. Nestrasil has been one of the top freshmen in all of college hockey this season, with 19 points (9G, 10A) in 16 games for UMass. Only one player must be cut to trim Czechia’s final roster to 25 players, so Nestrasil has surely made the team.
Czechia has released its roster for the World Juniors.
The list includes goaltender Jakub Milota (NSH) who has been out since mid-October.
There are 14 NHL prospects on the roster. Adam Novotný, Vladimír Dravecký, and Jakub Vaněček are players to watch for the 2026 draft. pic.twitter.com/qSmQTqTNi9
— Czech Prospects (@CZprospects) December 3, 2025
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
The Athletic: The future of the NHL is in good hands. Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini, and Leo Carlsson, all younger than 21, are each among the NHL’s top five in points through their teams’ opening 25 games. All three are doing what Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid did before them, going from good to special, turning potential into reality along the way. They’re making the leap.
NHL.com: Alex Ovechkin scored twice, while youngster Ryan Leonard recorded four points in the Washington Capitals’ 7-1 beatdown over the San Jose Sharks. Don’t look now, but Ovechkin is on pace for another 40-goal season. After having just two goals through 13 games, he’s now up to 14 tallies in 28 contests. Not too shabby for a 40-year-old.
Dallas News: While the Dallas Stars extended their franchise-best road point streak to 12 games on Wednesday night, the team received a brutal injury update before the puck dropped in New Jersey. Forward Tyler Seguin, who’s dealt with countless injuries in his career, is expected to miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season with an ACL injury.
Montreal Hockey Now: After the Montreal Canadiens honored legendary defenseman Andrei Markov, Cole Caufield extended his point streak to nine games to help the Habs defeat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2. Caufield also had the shootout winner for Montreal.
Philadelphia Hockey Now: The Philadelphia Flyers scored three goals in under one minute in a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. The Flyers, one of the biggest surprises in the NHL, are now 15-8-3 on the season.
Forever Blueshirts: With Adam Fox currently on the shelf with an injury, the New York Rangers are forced to rely heavily on Vladislav Gavrikov defensively. However, the Rangers are learning that Gavrikov has more to offer offensively, too, as he scored the overtime winner against the Stars on Tuesday.
San Jose Hockey Now: Michael Misa is heading to the AHL. The 2025 No. 2 overall pick has been out since Nov. 5 with a lower-body injury, but he’s finally healthy enough to return for a conditioning stint. The San Jose Sharks‘ top prospect could also be joining Team Canada for the 2026 WJC in a few weeks.
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