Blackhawks helping prospect Oliver Moore learn new ways to employ, fluctuate speed

Blackhawks forward prospect Oliver Moore will get his first taste of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, when Minnesota faces Omaha.

Regardless of how long the Gophers’ run lasts, this will mark the end of a successful freshman season for the Hawks’ 19th overall pick, whose game improved significantly as the season progressed.

“I got off to a little bit of a slower start in the first half [of the year],” Moore said. “I wasn’t producing as much as I wanted to. Once the world junior [championships] happened, I had a great time there, winning the championship. The second half has been better for our team and individually, as well.”

Hawks assistant general manager Mark Eaton recently described Moore and fellow Minnesota freshman Sam Rinzel as the Hawks’ two most-improved prospects from the start of the season to now.

In 19 games before leaving for the world junior championships, Moore tallied 12 points and Rinzel tallied 11. In 18 games since returning, Moore has tallied 21 points and Rinzel has tallied 16.

Both of them will return to Minnesota for at least one more season in 2024-25, but the Hawks have nonetheless worked closely with them to accelerate their developmental process. Although Moore’s world-class skating speed and agility are well-known, there’s still even more he can do with those skills.

“His speed is ... such a weapon, but it’s still raw in the forms of how he uses that speed,” Eaton said. “We’ve had a lot of conversations with him about how he can use it more effectively, creating offense and entering the zone.

“Especially early on in games, [we want him] driving wide and forcing the defensemen to recognize that speed, which then maybe creates more space later in the game. Instead of driving down deep and cutting to the net, the defenseman is forced to back off to respect his speed, and it opens more space around the blue line.”

Matt Krohn/Minnesota Athletics

That concept is nothing new to Moore because, in a funny and ultimately beneficial coincidence, his offseason skills coach during the two summers preceding the 2023 draft was Brian Keane, a Hawks skills coach during the season.

“I don’t think there’s one thing that I look for,” Moore said. “It’s all a read, and it’s something you get more comfortable with as you practice it. You can play the game-within-the-game sometimes with defenders, especially in a conference where we’re playing [the same] defensemen so much. You try to change up what you’re doing ... based on what they’re giving you.”

In addition to using his speed in various ways to manipulate and exploit a defense, the Hawks have also discussed with Moore the importance of varying his speed itself. They’ve noticed he occasionally moves too quickly laterally across the neutral zone, which leads to him ending up facing the wall.

“Whereas [if you] vary your speed a little bit, [you can] slow down so you have the puck toward the middle of the zone, which then gives you more space to enter left and right,” Eaton said.

“It’s about little things like that [in terms of] calibrating his speed and how to use it: when to use top speed, and when to use third or fourth gear. That’s a process that will continue through the rest of this year and into next year that will make him a more complete offensive player.”

Meanwhile, Moore and Minnesota coaches identified on-ice communication as another area for him to improve.

Eaton didn’t mention that, but considering how frequently Hawks coach Luke Richardson laments the quietness of this generation of hockey players, he’ll likely appreciate Moore’s efforts down the line.

“Sometimes I was leaving my wingers and guys on the ice a little bit isolated, just because I wasn’t letting them know where I was,” Moore said. “As the season has gone on, I’m communicating all over.”