Blackhawks Send Promising Young Defender Down

One certain thing is that things constantly change.

For the Chicago Blackhawks, that's definitely been the case.

After a poor result in Tuesday night's season opener, the coaches decided to mix up the lines at Thursday's practice. Nic Foligno rode shotgun to Connor Bedard while Ilya Mikheyev was bumped down to third-line duty.

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After that practice, the Blackhawks announced a couple of moves.

Isaak Phillips was sent down to the Rockford IceHogs. In a corresponding move, the team activated Wyatt Kaiser off of injured reserve.

Phillips played 33 games for the Blackhawks last season. He gathered six assists while averaging 17:04 of ice time per game. So far in his 53-game NHL career, he has 11 points and has averaged 16:14 of ice time.

Similarly, Kaiser played 32 games with the NHL team last year. He averaged 17:19 of ice time and produced seven points.

Phillips will return to the IceHogs, where he scored 14 points in 29 games last season. He will undoubtedly play a big role on the team and earn a lot of ice time.

The Blackhawks approach this weekend preparing for their first back-to-back of the season. On Friday night, they will face the Winnipeg Jets, who just humbled the Edmonton Oilers last night. On Saturday, the Blackhawks will face Connor McDavid and the Oilers themselves.

This back-to-back will certainly be the first big test of a very long season for the team looking to prove something.

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