Chicago Blackhawks: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about

It is no secret that the Chicago Blackhawks are in a transition period right now.

In fact, they even said so in an odd statement to their fans recently that admitted the fact they are rebuilding. While this reportedly did not sit well with some of the Chicago Blackhawks veterans, General Manager Stan Bowman does not have many options given some of his players’ lofty salaries along with some of the questionable moves he has made the past few years.

This is a team who will look much different heading into the 2020-21 season, given that their longtime netminder Corey Crawford will no longer be with the team. The Blackhawks instead have decided to go with a tandem of Malcolm Subban and Collin Delia, which does not have many feeling very optimistic.

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They will more than likely struggle this upcoming season. However, given the fact that they are rebuilding, placing near the bottom of the standings and getting a high draft pick for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft is what Bowman is hoping for at this point.

The good news for the Chicago Blackhawks is that they have a decent prospect pipeline. Assuming at least some of these players turn out as hoped, the team should be able to become a playoff contender again in the next couple of seasons.

As mentioned in every other Top 8 Prospects articles throughout this series, any player who has played in more NHL games than any other league in a season, regardless of the season, will not be included. With that being said, here are the top 8 prospects in the Chicago Blackhawks organization.

8. Wyatt Kalynuk

Though Wyatt Kalynuk was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the Seventh Round (No. 196 overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, he elected not to sign there and instead inked an Entry-Level deal with the Blackhawks this past July. The Manitoba-born defenseman has spent the last three seasons playing for the University of Wisconsin.

The 2019-20 was Kalynuk’s best statistically in his three years of college hockey, as he posted seven goals and 28 points in 36 games. He was extremely consistent throughout his three years of college, posting two 25 seasons along with the previously mentioned 28. It remains to be seen how he will fare at the professional level, which we will soon find out, but as of right now this looks like a terrific signing for the Chicago Blackhawks.

7. Nicolas Beaudin

Given that he was taken in the First Round (No. 27 overall) in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Nicolas Beaudin has been somewhat disappointing for the Blackhawks to this point. The 21-year-old was drafted after his third season in the QMJHL, one in which he posted 12 goals and 69 points in 68 games played for the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The following season (2018-19) was more of the same, as in his fourth and final year of junior hockey he had seven goals and 56 points in 53 games.

Considering the numbers he had posted during his junior career, the Chicago Blackhawks, along with many others, were expecting him to continue that trend in the AHL last season.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, as the now 21-year-old Beaudin struggled with the Rockford IceHogs, recording just three goals and 15 points in 59 games. Given that he is just five-foot-eleven and 168 pounds, he will never be a great defensive defenseman, meaning his numbers will have to pick up. Hopefully that can happen in the 2020-21 season, otherwise he may fall off this list.