Could Carl Dahlstrom be Blackhawks’ seventh defenseman?

With only a week and a half left before the Blackhawks’ season opener Oct. 4 in Ottawa, Carl Dahlstrom is among the few candidates battling for the No. 7 defenseman spot.

It’s a familiar situation for him.

“This is just a natural position for me,” Dahlstrom, 23, said of fighting to make the roster. “This is something that every guy goes through at some point in their career, and I’ve been in this position many times in my career. It’s the same pressure all the time. And I handle it very well.”

Last season, Dahlstrom had a shaky regular season with Rockford (28 points in 64 games). He redeemed himself in the postseason with nine points in 13 games.

He made his NHL debut Feb.  10 and played in 11 games with the Hawks, notching three points.

One of Dahlstrom’s biggest competitors for the seventh spot is Brandon Davidson, who’s in training camp on a pro tryout.

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Unlike Dahlstrom, Davidson has a decent amount of NHL experience, playing in 152 games in four seasons.

Last season, Davidson had seven points in 51 games with three teams.

Even if Dahlstrom doesn’t make the roster, he still wants to make an impression.

“[I’m] trying to do my best and show that I can play with these guys,” he said. “I showed last year that I can. So I’m just trying to build off that.”

Hawks make cuts

The Hawks announced Saturday that they assigned the following players to Rockford: defensemen Andrew Campbell, Dennis Gilbert and Luc Snuggerud and forwards Matheson Iacopelli, Graham Knott, Anthony Louis, Jordan Schroeder and Tyler Sikura.

The Hawks also assigned forwards Radovan Bondra and Terry Broadhurst and goaltender Matt Tomkins to Rockford after releasing them from their pro tryouts.

The moves put the training-camp roster at 33 (17 forwards, 12 defensemen and four goaltenders).