Chicago Blackhawks: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about

6. Alec Regula

When the Chicago Blackhawks announced they had acquired 2018 Third Round pick (No. 67 overall) Alec Regula from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Brendan Perlini, no one thought too much of it. After all, the now 20-year-old defenseman was coming off a fairly modest 11 goal, 39-point season with the London Knights of the OHL and didn’t appear to be much of a prospect.

That changed shortly after the trade, as Regula had a hot start to the 2019-20 season and continued that great play throughout, putting up a very impressive 27 goals and 60 points in 56 games, along with a plus/minus rating of +39. Given that the Red Wings elected not to re-sign Perlini after he had just four points in 39 games for them, it seems safe to say General Manager Steve Yzerman may be kicking himself for making that deal.

5. Evan Barratt

Another impressive third-round prospect the Blackhawks have is Pennsylvania State University forward Evan Barratt, who was taken by Chicago with the 90th pick of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old had a solid junior season statistically for Pennsylvania State this past year, posting 12 goals and 34 points in 34 games. Despite the decent stats however, it was a bit of a disappointment considering he was coming off of a 16 goal, 43-point performance the season prior.

Despite the slight regression, Barratt still remains one of the Blackhawks’ better prospects. The one scary thing for organizations when drafting college players is that often times that said player decides against signing a contract and chooses to instead become an Unrestricted Free Agent in three years. Thankfully, that didn’t turn out to be the case with Barratt, as he agreed to an entry-level contract with the Blackhawks back in April. Once the 2020-21 AHL season begins, Barratt will look to prove he is able to continue putting up points at the professional level.