Inside look at Chicago Blackhawks

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Chicago Blackhawks got a glimpse of what some of their up-and-coming young players could do at the end of last season. Now they’ll be looking for those players to take on more prominent roles as their rebuild continues.

“We’re heading into a new stage where we’re starting to see and we’re leaving open spots in the NHL for some of these young players that we have drafted and have developed to enter the NHL and start making up a larger or large, depending on the point of the year, portion of the roster,” general manager Kyle Davidson said.

“So, I think we’re seeing them graduate. We’ve seen some of them graduate to pro, now we’ll see some of them graduate into the NHL and into the NHL full time. That’s a meaningful step from not having any of them here or just a very small subset of our draft and prospects here over the last couple of years, to where we’re starting to see them almost take over this team a little bit and take over that locker room to some extent. We still have a veteran-laden roster but there’s going to be a much larger contingent of young players that could be here for a very long time, breaking camp with us this year.”

The Blackhawks were 25-46-11 last season, finishing eighth in the Central Division for the second consecutive season.

Connor Bedard continues to be the centerpiece for Chicago, which selected him No. 1 in the 2023 NHL Draft. The 20-year-old won the Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the League’s top rookie, in 2023-24 and has 128 points (45 goals, 83 assists) in 150 games.

Defenseman Artyom Levshunov, selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, is expected to make a bigger impact this season after playing 18 games with the Blackhawks in 2024-25. Frank Nazar, taken No. 13 in the 2022 NHL Draft, is expected to make a bigger splash after the forward had 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 53 games.

Chicago’s rebuild continues with Jeff Blashill, who was hired as coach on May 22. The 51-year-old takes over for Anders Sorensen, who was interim coach since Dec. 5 after Luke Richardson was fired. Sorensen will remain on the staff.

Blashill, who coached the Detroit Red Wings from 2015-22, was an assistant for the Tampa Bay Lightning the past three seasons. He’s well-versed in working with a team trying to get back to its past glory.

“I’ve gone through in seven years of a hard rebuild in Detroit and I know the pain that this group’s gone through over the last couple of years, and I also know the pitfalls that are potentially ahead,” Blashill said May 27. “So, we’ll work like crazy to avoid those pitfalls as we go to lead this team into a better tomorrow.

“It’s going to be hard. It’s going to take more sacrifice and more work than most people are willing to give, but for those who are willing to give it, I think the reward’s going to be great. In time, this great city of Chicago and our great Blackhawks fans, we can deliver a championship-level team and I look forward to getting to that moment.”

The Blackhawks did add this offseason, including Sam Lafferty, who they acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on July 1. Lafferty played for Chicago from 2021-23.

They also acquired forward Andre Burakovsky from the Seattle Kraken for forward Joe Veleno on June 21. Burakovsky won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018 and the Colorado Avalanche in 2022.

“Obviously, there are a lot (of young players) in Chicago; I think I’m going to fit in where I can help them to be better and to create more opportunities for them, set up some plays,” Burakovsky said. “Just doing my thing to try and help them out and become better and help the team be better. There’s a lot of talent, a lot of really good players on the team that are young who can really take the next step, and we can become a contender here.”

The Blackhawks knew entering free agency they weren’t going to make a splash. It’s time for their prospects to have a bigger hand in the rebuild.

“Trading for Burakovsky, I think Lafferty was more so a reaction to the market where we can get someone we know, a little shorter term, a little more flexibility there. And then we didn't want to put any players in front of some of the young guys that we do think are ready,” Davidson said.

“Now we have enough young players that there aren't enough spots for all of them to play, so there will be battles there and they'll keep each other accountable, keep each other honest on earning spots here in the NHL. But we do feel that a couple of them are ready to really take a role and run with it and be a positive impact on the team.”