3 reasons for hope after Blackhawks playoff elimination

Bedard was touted as a possible generational talent well before he ever became draft eligible. So when the Blackhawks won the draft lottery to select him first overall last summer, there were huge expectations. That said, you never know how a player will transition to the NHL, and there will always be top prospects that never quite reach their hype.

However, Bedard’s first NHL season has met all expectations. Despite missing 14 of the team’s games this season, Bedard leads Chicago in both goals and points. This also comes without a lack of quality talent around him, with Taylor Hall, who could’ve acted as one of the team’s key forwards, missing most of the season.

The reality is a lot of Chicago’s future hopes and plans rest on Bedard’s shoulders. It’s a lot to put on an 18-year-old, but if the forward didn’t turn into the franchise player he was expected to, it would be a huge blow for the organization. But now concluding his first season where he’s already averaging nearly point-per-game numbers, Bedard has cemented himself as the team’s future, and is poised to lead the Blackhawks into a new era.

Stockpiled draft capital

The biggest challenge of a rebuild can be effectively developing and integrating young talent into a lineup. In order to reach that stage though, draft capital is often going to be the clearest path to acquire that top young talent.

Over the last couple of seasons, the Blackhawks have benefitted from extra picks. In 2022, the team had eight picks through the first three rounds, followed by seven picks across the first three rounds last summer. Looking ahead to this year, it’s a similar story. Chicago has another two first-round picks this year, along with three second-round picks and two third-round picks. That’s also not to mention that their own first-round pick is locked in to be top-five overall. Another lottery win, and adding Macklin Celebrini would be a game-changer.

Even for future years as well though, the Blackhawks are still loaded. In 2025, they’ll have two first-round picks, along with two second-round picks. In 2026, they’ll have three second-round picks as well. That’s also not factoring in any trades over the coming years, which could ultimately boost those numbers.

Essentially, the Blackhawks will have doubled their early-round draft capital for a stretch of half a decade. In the midst of a rebuild, both quantity and quality are going to matter, but they’re certainly going to have their chances to build to their prospect pool.

Other young talent

Since fully committing to their rebuild, the Blackhawks have managed to build up their pool of young talent. With focus on Connor Bedard this year though, another forward who quietly put together a great year was Philipp Kurashev. The winger exploded offensively this season, having managed 51 points in 70 games so far. For comparison, Kurashev played 70 total NHL games last year, managing only 25 points. Just 24 years old, the winger has established himself as a piece that could be around for the long haul.

Lukas Reichel is another name to watch. After a great season in the AHL last year, along with a promising 23-game NHL stint last season, there were some expectations for the forward. Unfortunately, the season didn’t go quite as planned for the former 17th overall pick. Reichel’s suited up for 60 games with Chicago but has only ended up scoring only 14 points so far. That said, the winger has shown flashes of huge upside since making the jump to North America, and at just 21 years old, Reichel is still one of the organization’s most promising pieces.

On the blue line, we also saw a few other prospects make the jump to the NHL this year. Alex Vlasic took on the largest role, averaging over 21 minutes per game with Chicago this season. Both Kevin Korchinski and Wyatt Kaiser also worked their way into the defense group, leaving the team with some promising, young pieces who could be part of the blue line long-term.

Then there’s the prospects who are still a little ways off. Between the last three drafts, Chicago still has four players selected in the first round alone who have yet to play a game for them, in Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, and Nolan Allan.

So while Chicago isn’t close to competing yet, they’re putting the pieces in place to build back into a contender.