Blackhawks’ John Hayden goes on the offensive in new role

ST. PAUL, Minn. — John Hayden left college last spring and promptly landed on a line with Jonathan Toews, so his head isn’t exactly spinning now that he’s playing with established veterans Patrick Sharp and Artem Anisimov.

But Hayden is still aware of the chance he has, and he has been making the most of it.

‘‘It’s a great opportunity with two great players,’’ he said. ‘‘I think this line is capable of a lot of offense, and I want to contribute to that. It’s nice playing with those guys, and I can learn from both of them.

‘‘Obviously, Sharpie’s had so much success, and then Artie just plays that big-body, below-the-goal-line, front-of-the-net game. There’s definitely a lot to learn.’’

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Hayden entered the Hawks’ game Saturday against the Wild with a short-handed goal and two assists in his last four games. The Yale graduate is a 6-3, 223-pound wrecking ball who spent the first few weeks of the season on the ‘‘energy line’’ with Lance Bouma and Tommy Wingels, doing most of his damage in the hits column, not the points column. But Anisimov said he quickly realized Hayden has a lot more skill than he initially thought.

And as Hayden has gotten more comfortable in the NHL, he has gotten more comfortable using that skill.

‘‘One thing we’ve noticed this year is his patience and play recognition with the puck,’’ coach Joel Quenneville said. ‘‘Hopefully he gets more comfortable with the puck and [more] confident taking it to the net. It’s not easy to teach that, but he’s willing to do that. That’s a big step forward in his game.’’

With two finishers to his left, Hayden has been more of a playmaker than a shooter so far. In fact, he has only 13 shots on goal in 13 games this season. It hasn’t been a conscious effort to defer more, however. It’s all just part of his development 25 games into his NHL career.

‘‘I don’t think it would be beneficial to change how I play based on my line,’’ Hayden said. ‘‘You start to change and you start to get away from your game, and my game’s the reason I’m here. I’m comfortable now, but my goal is to be a much better player at the end of the season than I am now.’’

Creating magic

The Hawks brought Brandon Saad back largely to give Toews the left wing he had been searching for since Saad left.

But Toews wasn’t the only Hawks forward who benefitted from having Saad on his line. During the 2014 playoffs, Saad and Patrick Kane had a prolific stint together with Andrew Shaw at center.

With Saad scuffling after a brilliant start, Quenneville has put the two back together with Nick Schmaltz at center. Saad entered the game Saturday against the Wild with no goals and one assist in his last seven games. He had six goals and two assists in his first six games.

‘‘Always be ready for the puck,’’ Saad said about the key to playing with Kane. ‘‘That guy creates magic out there, and . . . he’ll bring guys to him and find you open.’’

In the blood

The current incarnation of the Hawks is markedly different from the one Bruce Boudreau faced in the 2015 Western Conference final as coach of the Ducks. It’s quite different from the one he faced last season as coach of the Wild. But despite the roster upheaval, Boudreau said he sees a constant in the Hawks.

‘‘Kane, Toews, [Brent] Seabrook, [Duncan] Keith, [Corey] Crawford — that doesn’t change,’’ Boudreau said. ‘‘They’ve got the core of great players, and I was telling [my] guys they’ve got championship blood in them. . . . That’s why they’re great players.’’

Double dip?

Quenneville didn’t rule out playing Crawford against the Canadiens on Sunday, as well. Crawford is 8-0-2 with a .954 save percentage against his hometown team.

Follow me on Twitter @MarkLazerus.

Email: mlazerus@suntimes.com