The Chicago Blackhawks enter play against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night with the second-lowest point total in the NHL. Through 49 games, the team has a 15-29-5 and 35 points, just one point ahead of the San Jose Sharks.
It hasn’t been the season that the fanbase and those around the organization had originally anticipated that it would be. While the Blackhawks weren’t supposed to be in the hunt for a playoff spot, hanging out in the league’s basement for another season wasn’t the main expectation.
Despite the struggles, the plan in place is still one that the organization has the highest belief in. What Chicago has in their prospect pool is special, it’s just all about playing the waiting game and giving these young players time to develop before hitting NHL ice. General manager Kyle Davidson went into further depth on where the rebuild stands right now in a press conference held on Monday.
Kyle Davidson provided a statement on the state of the rebuild
Davidson acknowledged the fact that this season of Chicago Blackhawks hockey has been a disappointing one. The ups and downs have been apparent, and having to fire head coach Luke Richardson wasn’t apart of the plan. Either way, his vision remains locked in on the future and what the front office has done in the past few drafts.
“In terms of a rebuild and building up through our young players, a lot of the players are still in amateur hockey, so we’re not out of that,” Davidson said. “We can’t lose sight of that. Did I expect us to be better than second last? I did. But that doesn’t at all mean that I’m concerned about the bigger picture here, about the bigger process at play here in terms of where we’re headed and how good this group and this young group coming up can be. That hasn’t changed at all.”
Despite the down year, Davidson remains positive about what Chicago has internally. If anything, he is in a better place mentally about the trajectory of the franchise now than over the summer.
“I’m probably more optimistic having seen the years our young players are having throughout the organization,” he said. I’m probably more optimistic now than I was in the summer in that respect.
Davidson’s second first round draft choice that he made over the summer likely is a major part of that optimism. Sacha Boisvert is enjoying a successful freshman season at the University of North Dakota after being selected 18th overall in the draft.
Boisvert has nine goals and nine assists through 23 games in his first season of collegiate hockey. After averaging over one point per game in the USHL last year, the 18-year-old has adjusted well to NCAA competition. The hope for Boisvert is that he can center one of the top two lines in Chicago for a very long time.
The Chicago Blackhawks prospect pool is just getting started
Along with Boisvert, the Chicago Blackhawks have other prospects that are thriving. Forward Nick Lardis is another fantastic player that has been lighting up the OHL this year. A third round pick in 2023, Lardis has 41 goals and 31 assists (72 points) in just 42 games this season. The 19-year-old was the first player in the OHL to hit the 40 goal mark this season and he has done so with ease.
Oliver Moore is showing tremendous strides in his second season at the University of Minnesota and should be signing his NHL entry level contract relatively soon.
On the defensive side of things, Artyom Levshunov is currently developing nicely in Rockford. The number two overall pick in the 2024 draft is playing well with his frame and has been seeing plenty of opportunities to get better everyday. Sam Rinzel is working on his game along with Moore at Minnesota. The 2022 first round pick has 25 points in 28 with the Gophers and has been a shutdown guy defensively. His offensive uptick elevates his ceiling as to what he could be at the NHL level.
Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard has put up plenty of impressive 5 game point stretches
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