Under the direction of Connor BedardThe Blackhawks have assembled an impressive collection of talent and young NHL players, but does Chicago have the best group of young players in the league?
This week, Corey Pronman at The athlete has released its updated rankings of the NHL organizations’ U23 player groups after the summer. And the Blackhawks’ pipeline landed at number 1 in the entire league!
Here’s what Pronman wrote about Chicago’s under-23 roster:
Chicago’s system is characterized by 1) the top talent being top heavy and 2) the system being deep overall. The Blackhawks have made a lot of picks in recent years. The result is 17 candidates who are considered real NHL players and represent the number 1 of the entire pipeline. They are led by a potential star center in Connor Bedard and a potential star defenseman in Artjom LevshunovChicago probably needs a few more high-profile picks to round out the top talent in this organization and help Bedard score on offense, but the foundation is steadily being laid here for a potential contender.
Ranking of Blackhawks talents
Pronman mentions that there are 17 young players in the Blackhawks system who are considered “real NHL players,” but that’s not all the depth the system has to offer. He evaluated those 17 and then (honorably?) mentioned a few more who “have a chance to play in the NHL.” It’s notable that Pronman graduated Alex Vlasic for that reason… which makes the group even more impressive considering he just turned 23 in early June.
Here’s how Pronman ranked the Blackhawks’ best talents:
- Connor Bedard, C
- Artjom Levschunov, RHD
- Kevin Korchinski, LHD
- Lukas Reichel, W
- Sacha Boisvert, C
- Oliver Moore, C
- Sam Rinzel, RHD
- Roman Kantserov, RW
- Colton Roof, C/W
- Ethan Del Mastro, LHD
- Nolan Allan, left-hand drive
- Isaac Phillips, LHD
- Marek Vanacker, LW
- Frank Nazar, C
- Gavin Hayes, LW
- John Mustard, C
- Drew Commesso, G
“Have a Chance to Play” (also known as Honorable Mention, listed alphabetically):
My thoughts: I’m always fascinated by how national/league-level evaluators rate the Blackhawks’ prospects. I’ve noted before that Pronman still rates Reichel much more highly than I think most Blackhawks fans currently do. And he’s never been a huge fan of Nazar. But I think if I were to throw those names on the board and rank them on the fly, I’d flip those two in the order of the top 17.
It’s also interesting that Pronman ranked Boisvert ahead of Moore. No doubt this is influenced by whether Moore will remain in the pro ranks as a center and Boisvert is more of a physical center, but it’s a reminder of how highly many people think of the Blackhawks’ second first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
I was a little disappointed that Greene and Lardis only got honorable mentions. I think Greene has the right skills and physicality to be a solid bottom-six center with some offensive power at the next level (and I think the organization feels the same way). I’ll admit that Lardis still needs to mature physically and work on his frame, but he’s a real scorer. I thought Mustard was ranked ahead of both of them was interesting.
In closing, I’m glad Phillips has gotten so much attention in the rankings. I think there’s a lot to like about his character and skill set. We just have to remember that not every player is ready for the NHL at 21 or 22. He’s still young – turns 23 at the end of September – and has shown tremendous development in four years as a pro. He signed early and moved to the AHL because of COVID’s impact on the CHL, but his growth curve is far from complete. And if we’re being honest, it’s nice to have another 6’3″, 200-pound defenseman in a system full of big bodies.
Rest of the ranking
The only other Central Division teams to make the top ten overall are Minnesota (10) and Utah (7).
Here are Pronman’s complete 1-32 rankings of the U23 pipelines in the NHL (with the Central Division in italics):
- Chicago Blackhawks
- San Jose Sharks
- Anaheim Ducks
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Senators of Ottawa
- Montreal Canadiens
- Utah Hockey Club
- New Jersey Devils
- Seattle Kraken
- Minnesota Wild
- Buffalo Sabres
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Detroit Red Wings
- New York Rangers
- St. Louis Blues
- Nashville Predators
- Dallas Stars
- Calgary Flames
- Washington Capitals
- Los Angeles Kings
- The Toronto Maple Leafs
- Florida Panthers
- Winnipeg Jets
- New York Islanders
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Vancouver Canucks
- Boston Bruins
- Edmonton Oilers
- Colorado Avalanche
- Tampa Bay Lightning
