With so much talent in the organization, the Chicago Blackhawks’ farm club will be very good next season and should contend for the AHL championship.
The Chicago Blackhawks have quickly built one of, if not the best farm systems in the NHL and it is deep and filled with talent at every position. That being said, several prospects are already pushing for spots in the NHL.
The Blackhawks loaded up with free agent talent on July 1, signing eight players. This not only creates a lot of competition for just 23 spots in Chicago in 2024-24, but a lot of skilled players will be forced down to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL, whether that be prospects or even veterans.
General manager Kyle Davidson said that the young players will have to earn their spots and really prove that they belong in the NHL if a veteran is going to be sent through waivers and either picked up or land in the AHL in training camp or later.
Assuming that the veterans that are expected to make the Blackhawks do, there will be a lot of very good young players on the cusp of the NHL filling the Rockford IceHogs lineup.
So a year after Connor Bedard won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie, the IceHogs figure to be in the running for the Calder Cup, the trophy awarded for the AHL’s championship since 1937.
The IceHogs’ forward group could have Frank Nazar, Landon Slaggert, Cole Guttman, Colton Dach, rookies Gavin Hayes and Nick Lardis after very strong OHL seasons, as well as returning veterans in Zach Sanford and AHL star Brett Seney. That forms a very formidable top-9 as long as the Blackhawks and IceHogs remain healthy.
Blackhawks’ Strong Defensive Depth
The defensive depth in the Blackhawks organization is very exciting. One of Artyom Levshunov, Wyatt Kaiser, Ethan Del Mastro, Nolan Allan, Isaak Phillips or Louis Crevier will make the Blackhawks out of training camp so that the roster holds seven D-men.
If it’s Levshunov, at least for a nine-game trial, that means the IceHogs will have five talented young defensemen all on the team for nearly the first month of the season. If the 2024 second overall pick sticks around and burns the first year of his entry-level deal, Rockford will be stacked defensively for the entire season.
Kaiser, Del Mastro, Phillips, and Crevier all have NHL experience from last season and any of them could be the seventh d-man that makes the Blackhawks out of training camp. If Del Mastro and Allan are both back in the AHL, it would make a lot of sense for them to play together again.
Since Kaiser would do better with regular playing time and his potential is higher than Phillips and Crevier, I can see one of the latter two being the seventh defenseman for Chicago for the year, whether they swap or one sticks. That means as a top-4 in Rockford, teams will have to contend with at least two strong pairs all season.
The goaltending for the IceHogs is interesting and got a lot better. Laurent Brossoit was signed for two years to back up Petr Mrazek on the Blackhawks. This pushes a waiver-exempt Arvid Söderblom back to the AHL to work on his game and split time with talented goalie prospect Drew Commesso next season.
While Soderblom struggled on a bad Blackhawks team in 2023-24 with only a .880 SV%, he should be able to do much better against less skilled players in the AHL. He played 32 games and can handle at least a 50-50 split in Rockford next season. The 24-year-old had a .905 SV% in 33 games for the IceHogs in 2022-23 and the team wasn’t as well built in front of him.
Commesso had a strong rookie season in the AHL at 21 years old, finishing with a .906 SV% and a .915 SV% in the playoffs where he stepped up. The Blackhawks are hopeful for him in the future, but for now this duo in net gives the IceHogs a chance to win every night.
The Rockford IceHogs are definitely a group to pay attention to in 2024-25. As the Blackhawks will rise in the standings, the IceHogs should put on a show every night. There will be tons of talent competing for the next shot in the NHL and will make for a great season.
