In the March Central Division Notebook, we noted the Blackhawks had a young cohort starting to show it’s NHL mettle this season. It’s a work in progress, but there is plenty of reason for optimism. The Blackhawks clearly feel the same way as they extended GM Kyle Davidson at the end of the season.
Yes, the Blackhawks finished the season in 31st place in the NHL. It’s the same position as a year ago, although they did find a 9 point improvement this season. It’s a long hill to climb from they depths they sunk to and there are signs that the early part of the recovery has progressed and may be ready to pop into the development phase.
The Blackhawks NHL roster is a dichotomy. A group of older veterans exiting their prime and a group of young guns approaching theirs. The current prime cohort is a barren wasteland between the two. at the back edge of the younger group is the leading edge of the Blackhawks contention cohort, headlined by Conor Bedard.
While Bedard put up his best NHL season to date with 75 points in 69 games, we also saw others from the 2023 and later drafts make their initial imprint on the NHL. Oliver Moore, Nick Lardis and Artem Levshunov saw enough NHL action to get projections in the model and Sacha Boisvert and Anton Frondell got their first cup of coffee.
Seeing the Blackhawks young prospects in the NHL before the D+5 mark is a great sign. Chicago has piled up draft picks in recent seasons and their draft profile suggests they should see at least one NHL Contributor rising from each of the last four draft classes. What we’re seeing so far suggests they may outproduce that.
The Blackhawks remaining vets are nearly all on short term contracts, leaving Davidson plenty of flexibility to work the young guns into the NHL roster. 2022 draftee Frank Nazar got the first big extension that extends into the Blackhawks contention window last summer. Connor Bedard will presumably join him in that regard this summer as the contention cohort starts to really take shape.
The Blackhawks are on an upward trajectory with a prospect pipeline that looks ready to burst. The Blackhawks are at a point on the contention timeline where a big jump back into the playoff race next season would be a great sign for the direction of their rebuild and there are plenty of reasons to think they may do just that.
