Last week, I previewed the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase by putting together a possible lineup of the Blackhawks’ top prospects for this weekend’s games. That lineup looks a bit different now that Artyom Levshunov and Alex Pharand are still out, but Chicago is still putting out a great group. A few pieces are different than expected, and it will be intriguing to see whether the Blackhawks’ decisions are proven correct.
In practice Wednesday, the coaches gave us a first look at what the lines might be for this weekend. Here’s how they were grouped at Fifth Third Arena.
Landon Slaggert — Frank Nazar — Colton Dach
Gavin Hayes — Paul Ludwinski — Samuel Savoie
Nick Lardis — AJ Spellacy — Martin Misiak
Marcel Marcel — Jalen Luypen — Ryder Rolston
Ethan Del Mastro — Nolan Allan
Lucas Brenton — Tnias Mathurin
Ty Henry — Wyatt Kennedy
DJ King
Drew Commesso
Ben Gaudreau
First things first, I love how these forward lines are grouped up. They’re the definition of balanced, with a healthy combination of skill and physicality on each line. In the top group, Slaggert will be a great veteran presence while providing more than enough physicality while outworking efforts. That bodes well for him pairing with Nazar and Dach, two of the best offensive talents in Chicago’s system. On the second line, Hayes brings the offensive firepower while Savoie can bounce between opponents like a pinball.
There weren’t too many glaring differences between this group of forwards and the projection I put out last week. The biggest was Ryder Rolston, who I had on the second line with Slaggert and Spellacy because I’d like to see him with the puck on his stick as much as possible due to his high-caliber scoring ability. However, with Chicago clearly going for a more balanced approach, I’m fine with him providing the firepower to this bottom line. With Hayes and Ludwinski on that second line, they could use a more physical player next to them, and Savoie is the man for the job.
The defensive side of this lineup is obviously a bit jumbled with the sudden loss of Levshunov. The Blackhawks were fairly predictable in filling in the gaps in his absence, with Allan sliding up to the top slot. Even without the second-overall pick, this top defensive pairing is exciting, and one we could certainly see in Chicago a year or two from now.
It’s hard to develop much of an opinion beyond the top blue line pairing because all of those players, with the exception of sixth-round pick Ty Henry, are all free-agent invites. Without Levshunov, it’s a fairly thin defensive group, but that’s not a cause for concern – much of Chicago’s defensive pipeline is currently in the NCAA ranks like Sam Rinzel.
It’ll be exciting to see Commesso once again in net against some of the top talent the Blues and Wild have to offer. He was terrific in his first professional season last year in Rockford, and will be headed back there this year. But he still has a long way to go to be an NHL goaltender, and that process continues this weekend.
