Breaking: Blackhawks demote rookie Jokiharju

The Chicago Blackhawks announced earlier today that rookie defenseman Henri Jokiharju has been assigned to the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. 

The Finnish blueliner has 12 points in his first 37 NHL games and put up five points in seven games en route to a gold medal championship in the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships earlier this month.

Read below for the full press release announcement of this transaction, courtesy of the Blackhawk’s official website: 

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that they have assigned defenseman Henri Jokiharju (yoh-kee-HAHR-yoo) to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.

Jokiharju has 12 assists in 37 games with Chicago during his rookie campaign this season. A native of Oulu, Finland, Jokiharju helped his country to a gold medal at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship earlier this month. He notched five points (2G, 3A) in seven games for Team Finland during the tournament. Jokiharju was originally drafted by the Blackhawks in the first round (29th overall) of the 2017 National Hockey League Draft.

The Blackhawks travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres tomorrow at KeyBank Center at 6 p.m. That game can be seen on NBC Sports Chicago, streamed on NBCSportsChicago.com and on the My Teams by NBC Sports app and heard on WGN Radio.