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Frank Nazar makes his Chicago Blackhawks debut — and scores 1st NHL goal — in Sunday’s home finale

phil thompson, chicago tribune
·5 min read

You couldn’t pitch a scene like Frank Nazar’s first goal to a Hollywood director because it would be brushed off as unbelievable. Too Cinderella.

Really, what rookie makes his NHL debut and scores his first goal on his first shot?

Nazar, who looks young enough to be hockey’s answer to Henry Rowengartner, did just that during the Chicago Blackhawks’ home finale against the Carolina Hurricanes.

According to NHL Stats, Artemi Panarin (Oct. 7, 2015) and Dennis Rasmussen (Dec. 8, 2015) are the most recent Hawks rookies to score on their first shot in their debuts.

It started in the Hawks’ defensive zone, with Nazar flipping a puck back and bouncing to Seth Jones.

Jones broke out on a three-on-two with Nazar and Joey Anderson. Jones backhanded from the left flank to Nazar charging down the middle — past the Canes defense.

Dmitry Orlov gave chase, but it was too late: Nazar leaned on one leg and launched a rocket past Calder Trophy candidate Pyotr Kochetkov.

“It was a nice play at the blue line and I was able to go in and I was kind of shooting for whatever was open,” Nazar said.

After scoring, Nazar broke into a flashy celly, dropping to a knee and pantomiming stroking that brunette flow like he was posing for the paparazzi.

“A few of my buddies do it, so I kind of stole it from them,” he said.

That wasn’t just Nazar’s first shot Sunday. It was the Hawks’ first shot. They ended up with a 4-2 loss despite Nazar’s goal and one by Andreas Athanasiou in the third period.

It has been a big year so far for Nazar.

He won a gold medal with the United States national team at the IIHF World Junior Championship in January and helped the Michigan Wolverines reach the Frozen Four last week.

Also in January, he had a milestone birthday — at least a milestone in his mind.

“It’s a weird one, turning 20. Getting out of the teens,” Nazar told the Tribune back then. He added that he felt “not too great. Getting old. It means another step toward my future.”

Well, after the NCAA tournament, he decided his future had arrived.

He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Hawks on Saturday, with a $950,000 annual salary cap hit.

“It was a really hard decision,” Nazar said. “Me and my family had to put things together, pros and cons, and just look at what we needed to look at and it just all came down to what was best. I know I made the right choice.”

Nazar, a Detroit native, had relatives make the drive to Chicago on short notice to support him, but he still felt anxiety.

“Who wouldn’t have any nerves going into their first NHL game?” he said. “It was nice to get one early there to kind of calm it and play a little bit more poised.”

Arriving at his big moment, Nazar took his rookie lap to cheers, he was in the starting lineup for puck drop and won the faceoff against Jordan Staal.

“I got a nice bounce there so I was thanking the ref after,” Nazar said.

Coach Luke Richardson announced before the game that Nazar would dress and Colin Blackwell would be scratched.

“We have no problem putting him at this level,” Richardson said of Nazar. “It’s going to be a lot of information for him today.

“Really for him (it’s) keeping it simple. We don’t need for him to do anything extra special, let it happen and when he gets into a position where it’s wide open, he’ll see it because he’s a good player.”

The Hawks drafted the 5-foot-10, 181-pound forward with the No. 13 pick in 2022, six spots behind soon-to-be teammate Kevin Korchinski.

Richardson saw some of Nazar’s play in the college playoffs and World Juniors and was impressed.

“He looked great,” he said.”Complete kind of player, looks very intelligent out there and positional, (and) has the ability to make big plays.

“You saw that one goal in the playoffs in Michigan making a between-the-legs sauce pass for a goal. It wasn’t really risky. It was just the right move and he can make those big plays at the right time. We’re hoping to see what kind of transition he can bring here to the NHL.”

Nazar centered a line with Jason Dickinson (left) and Joey Anderson (right), and he also saw time on the power play and penalty kill.

“He killed penalties in college as well,” Richardson said. “He’s an intelligent guy with a strong stick.”

Earlier this year, Nazar expressed how important those other aspects of the game are to him. He felt critics had knocked him for his defense while with Michigan.

But he got the chance to prove himself in Sweden.

“Just being able to play on the PK and playing those positions where if we need to keep the puck out of our net, just the coach’s trust in my linemates and myself to go out there and be able to get the job done,” he said.

After his Hawks debut, Richardson gave his approval.

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“Really happy for him,” he said. “He had a nice chance on the power play actually before that (goal), but they made a good stick play on him.”

Nazar is one of the first acquisitions in the rebuild’s speed movement, but Richardson said other elements of his game stood out as well.

“Part of it is his positioning and his hockey knowledge,” the coach said after the game. “He can read plays as they happen. (Alex) Vlasic’s very good at that on the defensive side. … (Nazar) gets to people very quick and probably surprises them.

“I liked when he came out of our zone once in the third period and he used his body as a shield and stretched that puck out and kind of protected it. That’s a hockey player. Not everybody does that. … He’ll be a guy who’s versatile.”

As speedy as Nazar is, “it definitely felt pretty fast” in his first taste of the NHL.

And he admitted he was dragging by the third period.

“I was feeling a little tired,” Nazar said. “But I think that’s just jet lag.”