Turning to the younger side of the roster, the next player grade in our series for the Chicago Blackhawks is Notre Dame product Landon Slaggert.

Picking back up with the 2023-24 Chicago Blackhawks player grades, we stumble across a youngster who spent a considerable amount of time in the NHL this past season. Following an early conclusion to his collegiate career, Landon Slaggert joined the Blackhawks in mid-March after Notre Dame’s season ended, concluding his senior campaign.

Slaggert came to the Blackhawks via the 2020 NHL Draft after being selected with the 79th overall pick in the third round. The first-year forward elected to pass on signing with the team at the end of his junior season with intentions of signing following his senior year. Thanks to Notre Dame being a family affair (dad is a coach, brother is on the team), it made sense for Slaggert to return to South Bend. Oh, he also captained the Irish during his senior year.

Story of the Season

After Notre Dame was eliminated from the Big 10 tournament, Slaggert signed with the Blackhawks, debuting on March 15 at home against the Los Angeles Kings. Having grown up in South Bend, Indiana, Slaggert had a lot of family and friends in attendance for his first NHL game.

Throughout the home stretch of the 2023-24 season, Slaggert received several opportunities to strut his stuff. He saw time with Jason Dickinson regularly and played a healthy amount of minutes to acclimate to the sport’s best league.

In 16 games, Slaggert tallied one goal and three assists. Despite the lack of offensive prowess out the gate, Slaggert played hard and was consistently noticeable for positive reasons. He had his rookie moments but was always a hard-working player with a gritty want-to sense about him.

Entering 2024-25, Slaggert will almost certainly start the season with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. There, he’ll get to play top-line minutes with the likes of Frank Nazar to further develop his game. Ideally, Slaggert will become a fixture in the Blackhawks’ bottom six in short order.

Player Grades

Jonnie Nonnie’s Grade: B-

Landon Slaggert looked engaged in his first taste of NHL action. As with any youngster, development time is required, but Slaggert displayed a nose for the puck in his limited playing time. So long as he continues to be a student of the game and matches the NHL’s speed and intensity, which he has all the tools to accomplish, I envision him as a player the Blackhawks will want in their bottom six for the foreseeable future.

Tony Marchese’s Grade: C

Slaggert got his first look at NHL action in 2023-24 and had a solid showing. Albeit a small sample size of only 16 games, he was able to find the scoresheet four times with one goal and three apples in his first stint. It was a nice start to an NHL career, but he’ll need to show more soon to grade him above average.

Ron Luce’s Grade: C+

The C+ would be a B- like Jonnie Nonnie if not for some near misses on the scoring side. Slaggert could’ve potted a handful of additional goals on chances that either found the post or simply missed the net. Regardless, Slaggert played hard and demonstrated the willingness to take on any role asked of him. He was a scorer in his final collegiate season but turned into quite the energy player in his first 16 NHL games. Seasoning in the AHL is going to do wonders for Slaggert as he looks to cement himself as a full-time NHLer in the near future.