Wedin gets look and assist vs. Bruins
Two days after complimenting the third line of David Kampf centering Brandon Saad and Dominik Kubalik, coach Jeremy Colliton gave newcomer Anton Wedin a look between Saad and Kubalik on Saturday.
In the Blackhawks’ 3-2 overtime victory against the Bruins, Wedin looked decent in the “3C” role, winning three of six faceoffs — a concern coming in, considering he’s typically more of a winger — and picking up a primary assist on Saad’s late secondperiod goal.
Operating as a setup man below the goal line, Wedin executed a savvy give-and-go with Saad to earn his first point of the preseason.
“He plays with a lot of energy, and he’s a conscientious player,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘He works hard on both sides of the puck, he’s got a little bit of skill and he’s a strong skater.
‘‘He’s shown well on the wing, and we wanted to rotate the lineup a little bit and see if he could fit in at center.”
Colliton said he tried to sign Wedin — a regular in the Swedish league before coming over to North America this summer — a few years ago when coaching Mora in Sweden but failed.
He’s getting a second chance to work the 5-11 forward into his lineup. Wedin is in the thick of the battle for the Hawks’ few open forward spots, competing with Brendan Perlini and Ryan Carpenter.
“I think I’m on the bubble,” Wedin said. “It’s a really hard competition, and [there are] a lot of good players here.
‘‘I just need to step up and be good every day and show the coaches I’m supposed to be on the team.”
Hawks cut camp roster to 33 players
Originally at 55, the Hawks have cut their training-camp roster to 32 players in a series of transactions the last three days.
They’re most of the way down to the regular-season maximum of 23, though they’ll be permitted to take a few extras on the European trip.
The most surprising cut Saturday was Dylan Sikura, who played in 33 games last season but did not score a goal. The formerly well-regarded prospect has seen his stock decline in recent years because of his inability to get to dangerous areas in the offensive zone.
Other notable cuts included forwards Brandon Hagel, Matthew Highmore and Alexandre Fortin, all of whom likely will get some call-up opportunities during the season.
Goaltender Kevin Lankinen was sent down after the game.
Potential future cuts Jacob Nilsson, John Quenneville, Philip Holm and Carl Dahlstrom would require waivers.