Brent Seabrook ‘unfit’, Zack Smith waived, others absent as Blackhawks begin training camp

A number of expected participants were missing as the Blackhawks held their first official training-camp practice Monday.

Veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook, European import forward Pius Suter and prospect forward Evan Barratt were ruled ‘‘unfit’’ to practice, a term that will cease when the regular season begins Jan. 13 but for now provides little specificity. Suter was working out off the ice at Fifth Third Arena.

Seabrook, who participated in camp in July and said then he was nearly game-ready, will be a storyline to follow. Coach Jeremy Colliton declined to give more details about his status.

Newly signed forward Carl Soderberg has immigration issues and will join the team soon. Colliton said he is ‘‘trying to include him in some of the things we’re doing’’ until he arrives.

Veteran Zack Smith, whose agent said days ago he would attend, wasn’t invited and instead was put on waivers. It remains to be seen whether he’s interested in playing this season in the American Hockey League and would accept such an assignment.

‘‘Ultimately, it’s more about trying to give young guys opportunity,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘We only have a certain number of spots in camp.’’

AP Photos

Indeed, the roster features 36 skaters, as mandated by the NHL — the Hawks chose to invite 22 forwards and 14 defensemen — and five goaltenders.

The full breakdown is as follows:

Forwards: Suter, Dominik Kubalik, Alex DeBrincat, Mattias Janmark, Dylan Strome, Ryan Carpenter, Philipp Kurashev, Matthew Highmore, Brandon Hagel, Cam Morrison, John Quenneville, Reese Johnson, Michal Teply, MacKenzie Entwistle, David Kampf, Andrew Shaw, Matej Chalupa, Lucas Wallmark, Brandon Pirri, Tim Soderlund, Andrei Altybarmakyan and Patrick Kane.

Defensemen: Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Nikita Zadorov, Adam Boqvist, Chad Krys, Calvin de Haan, Lucas Carlsson, Wyatt Kalynuk, Ian Mitchell, Anton Lindholm, Nick Seeler, Michael Krutil, Nicolas Beaudin and Alec Regula.

Goalies: Collin Delia, Malcolm Subban, Kevin Lankinen, Matt Tomkins and Cale Morris.

Not participating: Seabrook, Barratt, Soderberg, Jonathan Toews, Kirby Dach and Alex Nylander.

Not invited: Smith, Mikael Hakkarainen and Brad Morrison.

The Hawks must trim their numbers to a maximum of 23 players on the main roster and four to six more on the newly created taxi squad before the season opener Jan. 13.

Krutil, the Hawks’ 2020 fourth-round pick, was invited despite not yet having signed his entry-level contract. Morris, the fifth goalie in camp, is only on an AHL contract. Colliton said their inclusions were to increase the number of goalies and defensemen in camp.

The Hawks needed all the guys they could find to run full lines and pairings during drills Monday. They split the 41 attendees into two groups with separate hourlong practices.

‘‘The response today was really good,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘The mood has been excellent. The work ethic is what we were looking for. That’s Day 1, but we have to keep that mentality.’’