In the field of astronomy, there's a term called the Goldilocks Zone which is the habitable zone where a planet could harbor life because it's not too close to or too far away from its star. Plainly speaking, the temperature is just right: not too hot and not too cold.
When thinking about a team's prospects, there are ideal conditions for when they are ready to matriculate to the NHL. After being drafted, development in their current leagues such as juniors, NCAA, or European ranks is generally a must for a vast majority of them.
Once they go pro in North America, additional marination is needed in the minors primarily in the AHL before they get the call to the NHL. However, there is a small subset who can make the quantum leap from the draft to the pros with little to no time elsewhere.
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Recent Leapsters
Taken 14th in the 2003 draft, Brent Seabrook went on to play two more years for the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL, logged 9 games for the Norfolk Admirals (3 regular season and 9 playoffs), and debuted for the Blackhawks the following season in 2004.
Jonathan Toews stayed one more season at the University of North Dakota after being drafted 3rd by Chicago in the 2006 draft. 2018 1st rounder Adam Boqvist devoted one year to the London Knights then played 15 games in an IceHogs uniform before jumping to the NHL.
Patrick Kane went from being the 1st overall pick in 2007 straight to the Blackhawks starting lineup a few months later. After being selected 3rd overall in 2019, Kirby Dach spent a few games in Rockford first before making his NHL debut and never looked back.
Whether prospects were drafted, traded for, or signed in the past few years, do any of them command an expedited timeline like the aforementioned players or do they have a slow-and-steady cook time to get them ready for the NHL?
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Factors at Play
One factor that could impact prospect development timelines is the pandemic, particularly how it has postponed and truncated seasons for virtually all leagues, forced some teams to temporarily sit out the year, and/or stricken players with symptoms and illness.
So is there now a new world order in terms of timeline to the pros compared to the pre-pandemic period? In other words, are franchises starting to rethink the development itinerary and location for each prospect whether a 1st rounder or 7th rounder?
A prevailing perspective in the pandemic era could be why have a prospect play a limited amount of games -- or none at all -- in juniors and the NCAA when they could play games and have pro-caliber training with either the big club or the minor league affiliate.
There is a boon-or-bust dichotomy to this line of thinking. On the one hand, prospects could shave off a season or two in their time horizon by going pro earlier than planned. However, on the other hand, that strategy could backfire and stunt their growth.
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Rookie Crop
Taking a look at the present Blackhawks roster, there are several rookies that have been given the chance to play and have done reasonably well and even exceeded expectations so far rather than treading water or just sinking immediately.
For instance, forwards Philipp Kurashev and Brandon Hagel were projected to be at least a season away from cracking the Hawks roster. They are now playing top 9 and excelling. Ailments to Toews, Dach, and Nylander also play a role in creating roster openings.
On the blueline, Nicolas Beaudin was in the same boat with 2021-22 being the season when he would grace the starting lineup regularly. He's now back in the AHL for more playing time to further his growth but he has also acquitted himself fairly well with the Hawks.
Wyatt Kalynuk is another D prospect who may have the goods to get into NHL games sooner rather than later and be a productive and reliable contributor. That opportunity has evaded him, though, due to a numbers game on the back end which is a nice problem to have.
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Prospect Pipeline
On to prospects who are not yet in Chicago or Rockford, there are several worth noting who could have recalibrated development schedules: Lukas Reichel, Landon Slaggert, Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser, and Drew Commesso. All but Vlasic (2019) are 2020 draftees.
Lukas Reichel
Reichel stated himself that he would be in the NHL in two years upon being drafted this past October. That would put him in the starting lineup in the 2022-23 season. That timeline could be fairly sensible given his immense maturation this year in the DEL.
Last year as a 17-year old in a men's league, Reichel was performing at a PPG pace just above 0.50. This year, he's closing in on a PPG clip with 17 points (6 goals and 11 assists) in 20 games so far. Plus, he's playing on the 1st line and lately as a center.
It's not out of the question to imagine him crossing the pond to at least get acclimated on the bigger North American ice sheet while a member of the Hogs but could be advanced enough to dive head first into the NHL as a winger, even if starting out in the bottom 6.
Landon Slaggert
Slaggert has been on a rocket to the moon ever since returning from the World Junior Championships two months ago. With just 7 points (4 goals and 3 assists) in his first 13 games, he has taken off in the last 9 games registering 12 points (3 goals and 9 assists).
Even though his 19 points in 22 games as a freshman at the University of Notre Dame is remarkable, his play without the puck is just as phenomenal with his relentless forechecking, defensive awareness, and physicality at both ends of the rink.
While at least one more college season would be more realistic, his stellar two-way game and Hagel-like work ethic could be parlayed into an ELC as early as this spring once the Fighting Irish are done for 2021. If that happens, time on the farm is still a likelihood.
Alex Vlasic
After a pedestrian freshman year at Boston University, Vlasic has also elevated his game of late to put more exclamation marks in his sophomore campaign. He's now up to 8 points (3 goal and 5 assists) in 13 games. Last season, he had only 4 assists in 34 games.
Despite the surge in offensive production, Vlasic's calling card to the NHL is as a shutdown defender to clear creases and neutralize plays with his long reach while having the mobility to escape the zone with the puck and start the attack up ice.
Prior to this current season, Vlasic was projected to be with the Terriers through at least his junior year. Like Slaggert, however, he could be on a fast track to the pros with a season or two with the Hogs before pressing for a role on the Hawks D corps.
Wyatt Kaiser
The most impressive prospect could very well be Kaiser who is shining at one of the nation's top college programs at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. As a freshman, he's playing on the top D pair and on both special teams.
Kaiser's greatest strength is his skating which has been praised as being NHL level. His gap control is superb. And using his vision, he moves the puck without hesitation and with precision plus can wire the puck from anywhere in the offensive zone.
Given how deep the D prospect pipeline is for the Hawks, it's doubtful that Kaiser spends only one year in the NCAA and earns his first pro contract. Yet, he's the quickest riser up the ranks and could make it tough on management to decide on where he should be.
Drew Commesso
In 8 games with Boston University, Commesso is 6-1-0 with a 2.75 GAA and .923 save percentage. Similar to Reichel, he was asked how long he would be in college before heading to the pros and he said three years. That timeline seems reasonable for a goalie prospect.
Even with the surprising play of Kevin Lankinen and Malcolm Subban to form a dependable goaltending duo for the Hawks, the pipeline for netminders is pretty dry. Collin Delia is slowly playing his way out of the system. The rest could be career minor leaguers.
If the Lankinen-Subban ticket holds up for around five years, then that should allow Commesso to develop at a comfortable rate. But if their sustainability is a concern, Commesso inking his ELC after his sophomore season instead of junior season could be a possibility.
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