The Chicago Blackhawks initially brought Taylor Hall in via a trade with the Boston Bruins so that he could play with and mentor Connor Bedard. A former first-overall pick himself, Hall has played with numerous other first-overall picks, including Connor McDavid, Jack Hughes, and Nico Hischier, so he has great experience in that arena.
During his Blackhawks tenure, Hall hasn’t played with Bedard much. He was injured for most of 2023-24 and hasn’t been on his line much in 2024-25. They haven’t even shared power play ice much either.
With each guy looking to break out, head coach Luke Richardson finally put them on a line together. Philipp Kurashev is the third man to complete the trio. There is a ton of potential with those three incredibly skilled players.
In their
6-2 victory
over a Stanley Cup contender in the Dallas Stars, this was the best line for either team. Hall scored a hat trick, Bedard had a goal, and Kurashev had an assist. Being together in practice for a couple of days, they had the big game that they needed to have to win.
After the game was over, both Bedard and Hall were in incredibly good moods chatting with the media. Of course, each of them spoke about playing with one another in this one.
Developing Connor Bedard is the most important thing that this franchise can do right now. Because of his offensive potential as a result of his skill, the Hawks must get him to his highest level. If that means gluing Taylor Hall to his wing for a while, then so be it. That will also help Hall in the long run as well.
Coach Luke Richardson has been changing up the lines a lot. Based on his post-game comments, however, it sounds like this could be a trio that sticks for a while.
You shouldn’t mess with a good thing so these two must play side by side at even strength. It may even be wise to get Hall with Bedard on the power play as often as they can.
Is Hall the second-best forward on the team? An argument can be made for him but it’s an open discussion. With that said, he has the highest ceiling based on what he’s done in the past.
Winning makes everyone better. If the Hawks continue to make smart decisions with the lineup, they might just do a little bit more winning.
Now that Bedard is on the board again, he can get some rest and be ready to open the floodgates on Friday against the Minnesota Wild.
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