Hey all,
I know it’s year one of what’s (probably) going to be a longer rebuild process, but there is some good news. Scott Wheeler of the Athletic has been doing a “NHL prospect pool rankings” and, kind of shocking, but he’s got Chicago in at least a top 7 ranking. As of today, he posted the number 8 team, and that was Anaheim. It’s apparent that he’s rather high on some of the prospects in the system now, such as Korchinski, Reichel and Nazar.
But what’s even more exciting is that this is before the Hawks start trading some of their veterans (looking more like McCabe, Lafferty, MAYBE Raddysh as a dark horse) and obtain more assets/draft capital. As it’s supposed to be a deep draft, even if Chicago doesn’t get Bedard, they’re going to get some more fantastic players.
I don’t remember the last time the Blackhawks had such a strong prospect pipeline, which I do believe was one of Davidson’s goals when he became the permanent GM. It’s bleak now, but if most of these guys pan out, future is looking bright.
EDIT: Link to latest post
https://theathletic.com/4146196/2023/02/03/kings-nhl-prospect-pool-rankings-2023/?source=user_shared_article
by soxfan10
6 Comments
Is this hope and direction I’m feeling?
Every day I check, and every day it’s not the Hawks, and then I just get more excited.
Fuck yes. Can’t wait to see Korchinski
I think the Hawks have a surprisingly deep prospect pool right now. Along with the top guys that have been mentioned (Korchinski, Nazar, Reichel) so many of the players in the system that are projected as middle/bottom-six forwards or 2nd/3rd pairing defenseman have been great this year. Forwards like Ryan Greene, Samuel Savoie, and Gavin Hayes are all on track to be pretty solid players, and defenseman like Ethan Del Mastro and Isaak Phillips have been pleasant surprises. This is super exciting because now that we’re truly in the heart of the rebuild and should have some high draft picks for the next few years, we’re entering the stage where they can start drafting the future stars, so to already have so many quality “depth” guys to build with (along with the potential top-line/top-pairing guys I mentioned at the start) means we have a chance of having a seriously talented and deep lineup in the future.
Top 5 with him posting the Kings at number 6 today.
We’ll get more and better chances in the lotto next season but we’ll be in for a lot more pain. Get ready.
Also another thing to keep in mind, as the salary cap inches higher, Chicago at this point in time is going to struggle to just reach the cap floor. So they’re going to be called upon for salary dumps, which based on the past, have netted some more draft capital. Probably some 2024 picks, but every little bit helps