With the Blackhawks motoring along at the bottom of the NHL standings and headed for another high pick in this summer’s draft, we’re rapidly approaching the point in the season where Chicago will be switching up its lineup to give other players a crack at the big club. As collegiate seasons wrap up and the Blackhawks shift their focus to next year’s roster, we should see a flurry of changes to the nightly lineup as early as March.
While most of Chicago’s focus is on AHL prospects like Artyom Levshunov, Kevin Korchinski, Landon Slaggert and more, it’s no secret that the Blackhawks boast one of the best collegiate groups in the league. That strength was revealed to the rest of the NHL on Wednesday, when the nominees for the NCAA’s Hobey Baker Award were released. The list included four Blackhawks who are lighting things up at their respective schools – Sam Rinzel, Aidan Thompson, Ryan Greene and Sacha Boisvert.
On Friday, Chicago got even better news from the collegiate level. Scott Powers of the Athletic reported that the Blackhawks could be getting more help soon.
“The expectation is for at least Moore, Rinzel and Greene to join the NHL team when their college seasons end.”
– Scott Powers, the Athletic
The Blackhawks’ roster should be getting a lot more fun soon, with multiple collegiate skaters apparently headed to the NHL. Oliver Moore, one of the fastest skaters in the entire sport, should be taking his talents to Chicago before the end of the season. He’ll be joined by Sam Rinzel, who figures to be a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, and Ryan Greene, a point-per-game star and co-captain at Boston University.
While the team should be getting more entertaining in a hurry, the fact that so many prospects are about to be signed could force the hand of the Blackhawks’ front office. Chicago signed standout AJ Spellacy this week, putting their number of contracts at 42, well below the maximum of 50. However, those three college skaters will bump the number to 45, and there’s a good chance that Thompson, Dominic James, Taige Harding and more also put pen to paper.
That won’t necessarily force the Blackhawks to make any specific moves, but it does mean that we’ll see a youth movement happening soon. We’ve been waiting throughout the past few years for Chicago to transition into a younger team, moving on from its current veteran placeholders. With several high-profile prospects “coming of age” at the same time, they could force the Blackhawks’ hand in the best way possible.
