After sustaining a concussion on Sunday against the San Jose Sharks, the Blackhawks placed Corey Crawford on injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 16 and will not be eligible to return until Dec. 23, meaning he'll miss at least the next three games while he goes through the league's concussion protocol.
In a corresponding move, Collin Delia was recalled from the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis. And it's a great opportunity for the 24-year-old to showcase himself to the Blackhawks as their potential No. 1 goaltender of the future.
Delia has done everything asked of him this season and more in the AHL, where he leads the league among qualified goaltenders with a .933 save percentage and is tied for third with a 2.34 goals against average in 17 appearances despite holding a 7-5-4 record. He's allowed two goals or fewer in seven of his last 10 appearances, and is coming off a game in which he stopped 37 of 38 shots (.974 save percentage) in a 2-1 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins.
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Delia, who signed with the Blackhawks as an undrafted free agent on July 28, 2017, made a strong impression under Jeremy Colliton last season down the stretch and during Rockford's Western Conference Final run in the Calder Cup Playoffs by winning seven of 10 games and recording a 2.34 GAA and .924 save percentage.
Delia picked up right where he left off this season and is starting to provide a large enough sample size in the AHL to show that his game could translate to the NHL level, where he's appeared in only two games and has an .889 save percentage. He's likely to split time with Cam Ward as the Blackhawks look to fill the void with Crawford out.
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