One in 100 (blackhawks)

2022 Future Watch

Here is THN's Top 20 for the entire NHL:

1. Ower Power (Sabres) 2. Quinton Byfield (Kings) 3. Matty Beniers (Kraken) 4. Mason McTavish (Ducks) 5. Jake Sanderson (Senators) 6. Kent Johnson (Blue Jackets) 7. Simon Edvinsson (Red Wings) 8. William Eklund (Sharks) 9. Marco Rossi (Wild) 10. Luke Hughes (Devils)

11. Dylan Guenther (Coyotes) 12. Jack Quinn (Sabres) 13. Alexander Holtz (Devils) 14. Jesper Wallstedt (Wild) 15. Lukas Reichel (Blackhawks) 16. Kaiden Guhle (Canadiens) 17. Iaroslav Askarov (Predators) 18. Alex Turcotte (Kings) 19. Thomas Harley (Stars) 20. Brandt Clarke (Kings)

Last year, Lukas Reichel and Henrik Borgstrom were the only Blackhawks prospects who cracked the Top 100. Although it didn't make a difference, that list was developed before Borgstrom was acquired from the Panthers. This year, Reichel is the lone Chicago prospect on the list.

In the Future Watch edition, THN also lists each team's farm system and Top 10 prospects. THN rated Chicago's system as 24th in the league with a C letter grade. The Ducks, Sabres, and Devils are ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The worst systems are the Islanders, Lightning, and Penguins.

Here is THN's Top 10 Blackhawks prospects:

1. Lukas Reichel (ETA to NHL: 2023-24) 2. Nicolas Beaudin (2022-23) 3. Nolan Allan (2025-26) 4. Colton Dach (2024-25) 5. Drew Commesso (2025-26) 6. Evan Barratt 7. Alec Regula 8. Arvid Soderblom 9. Wyatt Kaiser 10. Isaak Phillips

(ETA to NHL was stated for only the Top 5)

For comparison, here is THN's Top 10 Blackhawks prospects a year ago:

1. Lukas Reichel (2023-24) 2. Evan Barratt (2022-23) 3. Alec Regula (2023-24) 4. Drew Commesso (2025-26) 5. Wyatt Kalynuk (2022-23) 6. John Quenneville 7. Slava Demin 8. Chad Krys 9. Michal Teply 10. MacKenzie Entwistle

A few things that stand out from THN's 2022 Top 10 for the Hawks:

* Ian Mitchell and Jakub Galvas are the top D prospects in Rockford and Nicolas Beaudin is arguably the worst D prospect for the Hogs so it's a head scratcher how he's ranked 2nd in the system across all positions while the other two are not even on the list.

* THN wrote the following description for Isaak Phillips: "Stay-at-home type plays a punishing, physical game and can add a dash of offense." While most of that assessment is spot on, Phillips doesn't play a punishing style, at least not yet and not consistently either.

As a compare and contrast to THN's Top 10 for Chicago, here is my Top 10:

1. Lukas Reichel 2. Ian Mitchell 3. Jakub Galvas 4. Alex Vlasic 5. Alec Regula 6. Wyatt Kaiser 7. Drew Commesso 8. Arvid Soderblom 9. Nolan Allan 10. Michal Teply

And for each team's section, there is also a 5-year trend of league rank. During that span, the Hawks were as low as 29th to start this 5-year swath, then 3 straight years in the teens before heading south again into the 20's range. Here is Chicago's 5-year trend:

2018, 29th 2019, 19th 2020, 12th 2021, 11th 2022, 24th

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Blackhawks Game Summary

Sunday Boxscore

Kurashev - Toews - Kane DeBrincat - Strome - Raddysh Reichel - Dach - Lafferty Katchouk - R Johnson - Entwistle

Stillman - S Jones de Haan - McCabe Vlasic - Gustafsson

Lankinen Delia

Scratches: Borgstrom, T Johnson, Kubalik, C Jones

1st Goal (0-1): Benn (Heiskanen, Suter) PP 2nd Goal (1-1): Kurashev (Kane) 3rd Goal (2-1): Toews (Kane, Dach) PP 4th Goal (2-2): Pavelski (Seguin, Klingberg) PP 5th Goal (2-3): Hintz (Pavelski) 6th Goal (3-3): Katchouk (Gustafsson, R Johnson) 7th Goal (3-4): Robertson (Hintz) 8th Goal (3-5): Robertson (Hintz, Suter) 9th Goal (3-6): Seguin (Benn, Heiskanen) 10th Goal (4-6): Dach (Lafferty, Entwistle)

SOG For/Against: 40/30 PP: 1-for-2 PK: 0-for-2 Faceoffs Won: 47%

Highlights

Blackhawks Notebook

* With the playoffs no longer attainable, the remaining slate of games should be "tryouts" for next season. Bottom 6 forwards Sam Lafferty, Boris Katchouk, Reese Johnson, and MacKenzie Entwistle are proving their case to carve out spots on the 2022-23 roster. None of them are world beaters but their energy and grit can aid those who are.

* In his third cup of coffee, Reichel is still continuing to get his feet wet as an NHL pro being neither an impact player nor a liability defensively. Getting used to the NHL rigor, speed, and physicality when the stakes are low -- or even non-existent -- should help boost his own trust in his elite skill that has made him an AHL standout.

* Kevin Lankinen isn't doing himself any favors to instill confidence in management to tender him a new contract as his rebound control has been mediocre most games and horrendous in too many. Collin Delia came in relief in Sunday's game after Lankinen gave up 5 goals on 20 shots with an abysmal save percentage of .750 on the night.

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IceHogs Game Summaries

Saturday Boxscore

Altybarmakian - McLaughlin - Teply Hardman - Slavin - Connolly Barratt - Yetman - Busdeker Morrison - G Mitchell - Gabriel

Phillips - Galvas Kalynuk - Regula Stanton - Beaudin

Soderblom Morris

1st Goal (1-0): Beaudin (Stanton, Busdeker) 2nd Goal (1-1): Broadhurst (Chau, Theisen) PP 3rd Goal (1-2): Theisen (unassisted) PP 4th Goal (2-2): Regula (unassisted) 5th Goal (3-2): Gabriel (Morrison, G Mitchell) 6th Goal (4-2): Stanton (McLaughlin) EN

SOG For/Against: 28/16 PP: 0-for-2 PK: 2-for-4

Highlights

Sunday Boxscore

Altybarmakian - McLaughlin - Teply Hardman - Slavin - Connolly Barratt - Yetman - Busdeker Osipov - G Mitchell - Gabriel

Phillips - Galvas Kalynuk - Regula Stanton - Beaudin

Soderblom Morris

1st Goal (1-0): Gabriel (G Mitchell, Osipov) 2nd Goal (2-0): Barratt (Yetman, Stanton) 3rd Goal (3-0): Connolly (Slavin, Hardman) 4th Goal (4-0): Regula (Connolly) 5th Goal (4-1): Lewandowski (Estes, Harper) 6th Goal (4-2): Emberson (Somerby, Nielsen) 7th Goal (4-3): Fasching (Chau, Estes) 8th Goal (5-3): Slavin (Barratt) EN

SOG For/Against: 29/37 PP: 0-for-1 PK: 3-for-3

Highlights

IceHogs Notebook

* D.J. Busdeker signed an AHL contract extension to stick around Rockford through the 2022-23 season. He's been a versatile winger who can play in all situations from Line 1 to Line 3 bringing energy and offensive flair while not sacrificing defense along the way. Dylan McLaughlin should get rewarded with a renewal soon, too.

* Arvid Soderblom seems to be bouncing back to regain stability in his crease and giving his team a chance to win each game. He's in the AHL's top 20 in GAA with 2.76 and is top 10 in save percentage with .917. In shootouts, he's #1 in the league with an .875 save percentage for goalies facing at least 10 shooters. He's 18-11-2 overall.

* Jaxson Stauber, who signed an NHL contract on March 23, will start his pro career in the minors after inking an amateur tryout with the Hogs. It remains to be seen whether Stauber will get a start as he does plan to return to Providence College to finish the spring semester. Soderblom and Stauber are the probable Hogs goalie duo for next season.

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See you on the boards!

Sources: Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, NBC Sports Chicago, The Athletic Chicago

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