The Chicago Blackhawks sent their 2026 first-round pick (4th overall) to Buffalo for Bowen Byram, then turned around and signed him to a six-year, $12.5 million-a-year extension before he’d played a single game in a Hawks sweater. Plenty of people around the league were skeptical of both moves. Byram spent his preseason debut answering them, scoring three goals — including the overtime winner — in a 4-3 win over the Wild at the United Center.
Yes, it’s only preseason. But Byram showed a lot of flash for his new team on night one.
The Game
The Wild didn’t let the crowd get settled before opening the scoring — Bobby Brink tipped in a Spacek shot just 15 seconds into the first period. Chicago answered eight minutes later: Nick Lardis, fresh out of the box after a too-many-men penalty, stole the puck from behind the Wild’s defense and scored unassisted on the breakaway for his first goal of the preseason. It was 1-1 after 20 minutes, with the Wild holding a 7-6 edge in shots.
The second period got chippy. Stramel leveled Bertuzzi with a hit, then Greenway delivered one of his own against the Wild. Late in the period, Brink and Kaiser dropped the gloves. In between all of it, Byram put Chicago ahead 2-1 at 2:48, taking a pass from Greene and beating Pickard blocker-side with a wrist shot from the top of the circle. It was the only goal of the period, and the Hawks carried a 2-1 lead into the third.
We’ve seen this story before. How many times did an opponent claw back to tie a game last season before winning it? Tonight nearly followed the same script.
Byram struck again just 24 seconds into the third to make it 3-1, but the Wild answered with two goals to tie it. Shabanov got his first of the preseason, then Brink completed his own hat trick bid at 11:29 — Kaiser bobbled the puck, Brink recovered it, and this time it was Vlasic who played the puck instead of the man. Brink made him pay with a wrist shot that beat Knight clean. 3-3 after 60 minutes, and off to overtime we went.
That’s where the United Center crowd got loud. Just 29 seconds into the extra frame, Byram won a puck battle in the corner, skated the length of the ice, and beat Pickard with a wrist shot from the blue line for his third goal of the night and the game-winner. Final: Hawks 4, Wild 3.
My takeaway:
Bowen Byram’s night. He was the best player on the ice, and not just because of the three goals — he was flying all night, and every time he touched the puck, something happened. A genuinely impressive Blackhawks debut: 23-plus minutes of ice time, 5 shots on goal, plus-2. He was paired with Vlasic, and it wasn’t always perfect — they’ll need more time together to find real chemistry — but this is exactly the kind of night that buys patience for a new pairing.
Nick Lardis is “real.” A lot of people had doubts about his skating. He’s proving them wrong. I love watching Lardis play — he can score, and he can play in this league. Two points on the night (a goal and an assist), plus-2, close to 16 minutes of ice time, and a couple more good looks he’ll want back. This is a player worth paying attention to going forward.
The newcomers. This was Byram’s Hawks debut, but it was also the first game we saw from Kantserov and Greenway in a Chicago sweater. We already know what Greenway brings after his years in the league, but Kantserov stood out in his first taste of NHL hockey. I liked his game overall — he’ll need to adjust to the physicality and pace of the NHL, but he skated well and created good chances. I’m not worried about him at all.
Watching Rinzel and Levshunov. I paid extra attention to these two tonight, because they’re going to log heavy minutes for Chicago this season and they’re now fully into their second NHL year. It wasn’t always pretty, but that’s the process for young defensemen learning on the job. Korchinski, who had a solid game this past Saturday, is pushing right behind them. Rinzel and Levshunov can’t take their jobs for granted — they need to keep showing the coaching staff they belong on this roster.
The Rest of the Night
It was only a preseason game, and it wasn’t always pretty hockey — that’s normal this early in camp. The Hawks have two exhibition games left, and there are players who still need to show more if they want to lock down a roster spot.
Spencer Knight got the start in goal and finished at a .864 save percentage. Special teams were quiet on both sides — the Wild went 0-for-2 on the power play, and Chicago’s lone man-advantage chance came up empty as well.
In the end, everybody who was there saw a big night from Bowen Byram, and the Blackhawks head home with a smile after a 4-3 overtime win over the Wild.
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