As plenty of you have heard by now, highly touted prospect Dylan Sikura made his Chicago Blackhawks debut in Thursday night’s home game against the Winnipeg Jets. In a 6-2 win, Sikura was on a line with Victor Edjsall, the young forward we recently acquired from Nashville in exchange for Ryan Hartman, and Alex DeBrincat. He would go on to record two assists in that game. After such an exciting debut, here’s what you need to know about this potential All-Star:
His Last Two Years in College Were Stellar
Sikura was a sixth-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014. At the time he was drafted, not a lot of people gave him a fair look because of his small stature (5’11, 174 lbs) and his limited production in his first two years of college hockey at Northeastern University (35 points in 64 games with a -6 rating). In his final two years in college though, Sikura took a massive step forward, scoring 111 points in 73 games with a plus/minus of +28.
Sikura Should Help The Blackhawks Power Play Woes
As Blackhawk fans know, one of the many reasons why the Blackhawks have failed to make the playoffs this year has to do with their lack of scoring with the man advantage. On the year, the Blackhawks have a power play percentage of 16%, which is ranked 28th in the entire NHL. In Sikura’s final year of college hockey, Sikura scored 14 power play goals, which led all NCAA players in that category and assisted on 12 more power play goals giving him a total of 26 power play points. If Sikura can bring just a touch of that power play prowess to the Blackhawks beleaguered power play, that will help them exponentially in their quest to get back to the playoffs next season.
Overall, Dylan is a great prospect who could have an incredible impact on the Blackhawks next season after signing a two-year entry-level contract with the team over the past weekend. With names like Alex DeBrincat, Nick Schmaltz, and now Dylan Sikura, the Blackhawks’ youth movement is alive and well and it is hard not to be excited about the Blackhawks, despite one down year. Alongside Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, a healthy Corey Crawford, and improved play from Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, these young stars could make next year be one of the more exciting years in recent memory for Chicago Blackhawks fans.
