Maybe the hype was a tad premature.
On Thursday, Chicago sent ballyhooed prospect Teuvo Teravainen to AHL Rockford, just two weeks after he made his NHL debut in a 4-2 win over Dallas.
All told, the 19-year-old appeared in just three games for Chicago prior to his demotion, going pointless while registering just four shots on goal (all of which game in a Mar. 30 loss to Pittsburgh.)
He’s been a healthy scratch in each of the last four games -- all Chicago wins, coincidentally -- as ‘Hawks head coach Joel Quenneville made it clear the team’s focus was on points and playoff positioning, not letting a rookie learn on the job.
“It’s a big league, it’s a hard league,” Quenneville said, per NWTimes.com. “We want to make sure that we’re going along here. We want to make sure that we’re helping ourselves get points.
“At the same time, I think [Teravainen’s] learning as well.”
Prior to joining the ‘Hawks, Teravainen was considered to be one of the best players outside the NHL. He starred for the gold medal-winning Finnish team at the ’14 World Juniors — making the All-Star team while leading the tournament in scoring — and tore it up with SM-liiga team Jokerit following the Worlds, finishing the year with 44 points in 49 games.