Artemi Panarin is still a day or two away from getting back on the ice but coach Joel Quenneville said the young forward should be ready for the regular-season opener.
The Blackhawks had hoped Panarin would practice on Monday but he did not. Panarin has been sidelined by an upper-body injury since the Blackhawks departed the University of Notre Dame. Quenneville reiterated that the injury is not considered serious.
Bryan Bickell also missed Monday’s practice for what Quenneville said was “a personal matter.”
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Michal Rozsival (ankle) and Kyle Cumiskey (lower body) skated on their own following Monday’s practice. Both players are still some time away from getting up to game speed.
“Those two guys are on the same timeline. It’s probably looking at a couple of weeks before they’re likely good to go and get some contact in practice, and that might be the long end of it,” said Quenneville, who added that, as of now, he wasn’t sure if long-term injured reserve was an option for either or both.
The Blackhawks also said goodbye to two more players, releasing Lubomir Visnovsky and former Blackhawks forward Tomas Kopecky from camp on Monday. The roster is now down to 34 players.
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“I think that they both played OK. It comes down to sometimes a little bit of economics on the business side of it with the hockey side as well. We’ve got some young guys here who have helped us make that decision as well,” Quenneville said. “A lot of different parts played into the decision. We wish them well. Both guys were professional and I hope they find a place.”