VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Less than a year ago, Blackhawks defenseman Wyatt Kaiser was in the AHL. Less than two months ago, he didn’t have a contract. Now, he’s getting compared to Duncan Keith.
“I have a friend on Boston, and when we played them…he told me he was caught off-guard because he doesn’t expect a ‘D’-man to be that quick and agile,” Hawks veteran Connor Murphy said Sunday.
“You’re used to a guy being steady and maybe heavy-footed…and then you go against him and he’s very quick and jittery. It’s kind of like that Duncan Keith ‘quick feet’ style where forwards are caught off-guard.”
Kaiser’s unique skill set and fantastic play so far this season has rapidly changed the narrative.
After bouncing in and out of the NHL during his first two pro seasons, the 23-year-old Minnesota native has suddenly become one of new coach Jeff Blashill’s most trusted players. Kaiser actually leads the Hawks in five-on-five ice time per game.
“I didn’t know him great before I got here,” Blashill said. “I started watching [him] this summer, and he just looked like a guy who does a lot of things well. He defends pretty good. He moves the puck well. He’s got smarts to him.
“I felt like he could be a good player for us. I did. How good, I didn’t know. But I did feel he could be a big piece to help us win.”
Different player
The Hawks’ March 1 win against the Ducks last season marked a turning point in Kaiser’s young career.
Having just been called up from Rockford, he had a ridiculously good game, not only scoring his second-ever NHL goal but also making savvy, athletic plays in all three zones for all three periods. That propelled him into a momentum-building final two months of the season.
“[When] he got sent down and came back up…I thought he was a completely different player,” Alex Vlasic said. “[He began] using his feet to get out of trouble, and the confidence with the puck he had was definitely noticeable.”
Despite struggling to reach an agreement with the Hawks about his monetary value as a restricted free agent over the summer, his decision to sign the night before training camp opened proved wise, allowing him to carry that momentum into this fall without disruption.
“He’s a good…example that, especially for defensemen, experience sometimes is what they need,” general manager Kyle Davidson said. “He came in this year more experienced, more battle-tested and more prepared to handle the NHL game. Knowing what to expect and knowing how he needs to play to be effective, it’s just a natural progression.”
Although Kaiser’s improvement has been comprehensive across the board, there are two key areas that stand out. The first is his consistency.
In previous years, he was prone to occasional disastrous games, in which one or two early mistakes spiraled into more and he turned into a liability — particularly in road environments. He knew it, too. But those meltdowns aren’t happening anymore. Perhaps he’s not quite getting straight As yet, but he’s no longer failing any tests.
“I think the high end has been there,” Kaiser said. “When I play my best, I feel like I can be one of the best [defensemen] out there. And then that low end was really low.
“Whereas now, even if I’m not happy with my game…I’m still [playing] a B or C game and not hurting the team. I’m just finding confidence in continuing to bring that level of consistency.”
An example is the second period last week against the Senators. Kaiser made mistakes on consecutive shifts — first miscommunicating with frequent partner Artyom Levshunov, then losing a race to a puck in the neutral zone — that led to goals against.
In the past, that could’ve doomed him. This time, he regrouped and played clean hockey the rest of the way.
“It’s maybe maturity,” he said. “I’m only 23, so maybe not super mature. But playing for a while, I realize there are going to be mistakes, but there’s still a game to win. … You say [to yourself], ‘How do you not let those spiral?’ And then the next shift, you go out there, make a good play, advance the puck and help the team win. It comes with experience.
“I’m hoping that, as I continue to play, it’ll be more and more experience. Instead of back-to-back goals, it’ll be one goal and then I bounce back.”
Putting out fires
With Jason Dickinson sidelined, Oilers star Connor McDavid likely believed he had a juicy matchup Saturday against the Hawks. Kaiser’s efforts changed that. When Kaiser and McDavid were on the ice together, the Hawks outshot the Oilers 6-0.
Kaiser stifled the world’s best player by darting all over the ice to put out fires or cover for teammates, then darting back into position like he had never left — the same thing Murphy’s Bruins friend observed weeks earlier.
Then, after forcing dump-ins with tight gaps at the blue line or forcing turnovers with aggressive plays along the boards, he deftly found ways to exit the zone with possession.
“He always had the footwork and the skating ability, and he’s always had that defensive intensity,” Murphy said. “But now, when he kills plays or is confident to get physical into a guy, he’s making a lot of plays with the puck after that.
“He’s doing a great job in corners. When he’s retrieving pucks or winning battles, he’s finding guys up the middle of the ice, or he’s holding onto it and skating and being confident with it. It really stands out.”
I love how Wyatt Kaiser uses his skating ability. Murphy’s gap is terrible here so Kaiser pressures the puck, then gets himself back in position to retrieve the dump-in and make the breakout pass pic.twitter.com/GVpciVYZET
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) November 2, 2025
Wyatt Kaiser’s skating helps the Blackhawks stay out of trouble during this shift late in regulation against the Oilers: pic.twitter.com/gSWjsCT0KW
— Ben Pope’s Video Clips (@BenPopeCSTclips) November 3, 2025
Kaiser insists this skating ability is nothing new, but rather he has learned how to best utilize it.
“I’ve always had those three quick strides and that edgework to put forwards into quicksand,” Kaiser said. “I’ve figured out, ‘Do I make a simple play, or is this the time to try to escape or hold the puck?'”
His box-score production doesn’t yet reflect his excellence — he entered Wednesday with zero goals and two assists in 13 games — but he does rank second among Hawks defensemen with nine individual scoring chances (during five-on-five play). And if the NHL awarded tertiary assists, he would have quite a few.
“If you can get the puck in the forwards’ hands at the right time, that leads to offense, [even if] it doesn’t always lead to points,” Blashill said.
Considering Kaiser’s prior issues with consistency, early November might be too soon to definitively conclude he has established himself as a top-four NHL defenseman. Nonetheless, he’s trending in that direction.