The Blackhawks youth movement has taken full effect

The Chicago Blackhawks are 2-0 since Connor Bedard’s return, and it seems like the team is heading in the right direction. Expectations this season were that the Blackhawks would contend for a playoff spot. It got off to a slow start, but two straight wins have helped the Hawks slowly turn their playoff hopes around. 

Although it’s early in the season, fans can’t help but notice the youth movement has taken the reins. Patience has finally paid off for the rebuild. The team is finally delivering the results fans have wanted since the rebuild began in 2022. These past few seasons have not been easy for Hawks fans, but the patience has paid off. 

The rebuild was a slow and painful process

When General Manager Kyle Davidson took over, he finally gave fans the direction they needed to turn the franchise around. For years, fans wondered what the Hawks were doing, and the results left them as a middle-of-the-pack team. Davidson decided to tear it down. Gone were fan favorites Alex DeBrincat, Kirby Dach, and Brandon Hagel. Opinions on Dach were mixed, but you get the picture. It was time to rebuild from the ground up. 

Fast forward four years, and the Hawks have one of the best farm systems in the league, plenty of draft picks, and guys contributing at the NHL level. It has finally paid off. Guys like Anton Frondell, Artyom Levshunov, and Frank Nazar are the players leading the way for the Hawks this season. They are living up to the expectations that fans wanted to see. 

Frondell has proven a dominant force early in his career and has shown flashes of what he can do this season. The goal scoring, the passing, the penalty kill, and yes, the toe drag are all glimmers of hope that he can provide for the Blackhawks for years to come. The center group will be deep. Bedard, Frondell, Nazar, and Greene were all draft picks made by Davidson.

After being taken second overall in the 2024 draft, many fans grew impatient with Levshunov and his lack of immediate impact. Let’s remember that NHL defensemen take longer to develop than forwards; so it was weird to see those takes. Many were already calling the 20-year-old player a bust after Ivan Demidov (who many thought the Blackhawks should've drafted instead) played at a high level. That can now be put to rest. He has been one of the main reasons the Hawks are playing well so far. With Bedard out, Levshunov had to carry the team and still is, even after Bedard’s return. His movement and puck control are super smooth. He defends well, and he is aggressive on offense. That led to a game-winner in overtime against the Winnipeg Jets. Levshunov is becoming the player fans have hoped for.