The Hockey News recently came out with the annual fantasy guide for the 2021-22 season. While there are many great sources out there that also do projections whether for individual players or teams, THN does a comprehensive job covering multiple areas of interest to fans.
So let's take a look at THN's forecast for the Blackhawks and guess on the over or under for key projections. We won't use exact betting parlance for this exercise so over means I feel THN's projection is too high, under means too low, and even means just right.
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Individual Players
For the point projections below for players listed after Tyler Johnson, it's not clear how many games they're expected to play this season. Including Jonathan Toews (70 games), all players listed above Alex Nylander are projected to play in the range of 70-82 games.
* Patrick Kane, 90 points (25 G, 65 A), Even
* Alex DeBrincat, 76 (40, 36), Even
* Kirby Dach, 66 (21, 45), Over
* Seth Jones, 53 (12, 41), Over
* Dominik Kubalik, 50 (25, 25), Under
* Jonathan Toews, 50 (20, 30), Even
* Dylan Strome, 42 (17, 25), Even
* Tyler Johnson, 36 (13, 23), Under
* Alex Nylander, 30, Even
* Brandon Hagel, 28, Under
* Henrik Borgstrom, 22, Under
* Connor Murphy, 21, Even
* Adam Gaudette, 20, Under
* Caleb Jones, 19, Even
* Wyatt Kalynuk, 19, Under
* Jujhar Khaira, 18, Even
* Brett Connolly, 17, Under
* Nicolas Beaudin, 17, Even
* Ryan Carpenter, 16, Even
* Philipp Kurashev, 16, Under
* Jake McCabe, 16, Even
* Ian Mitchell, 16, Even
* Riley Stillman, 16, Even
* Calvin de Haan, 12, Even
* Marc-Andre Fleury, 28 wins, 2.65, .915, 5 SO, Under
* Kevin Lankinen, 14 wins, 2.89, .906, 2 SO, Even
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Former Blackhawks & Other Notables
* Adam Boqvist, 38 points (5 G, 33 A)
* Drake Caggiula, 17
* Phillip Danault, 42 (12, 30)
* Dougie Hamilton, 55 (15, 40)
* Kevin Hayes, 45 (20, 25)
* Vincent Hinostroza, 22
* Henri Jokiharju, 16
* David Kampf, 9
* Duncan Keith, 28
* Nick Leddy, 32 (4, 28)
* Olli Maatta, 13
* Artemi Panarin, 103 (32, 71)
* Brandon Saad, 43 (23, 20)
* Nick Schmaltz, 41 (14, 27)
* Pius Suter, 37 (15, 22)
* Teuvo Teravainen, 72 (22, 50)
* Nikita Zadorov, 15
* Robin Lehner, 40 wins, 2.20, .918, 4 SO
Dominik Kahun is rumored to be signing a 3-year contract to play in the Swiss elite league.
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Depth Charts
The depth charts aren't too surprising for the forwards and defensemen. However, one thing that's noteworthy is Wyatt Kalynuk ranked ahead of Caleb Jones. Alec Regula is also rated 10th although I would rate Jakub Galvas and Chad Krys ahead of him. The rest of the D depth is accurate.
1. Seth Jones
2. Connor Murphy
3. Jake McCabe
4. Calvin de Haan
5. Riley Stillman
6. Wyatt Kalynuk
7. Caleb Jones
8. Ian Mitchell
9. Nicolas Beaudin
10. Alec Regula
Additionally, the goalie depth chart is noteworthy for who THN lists as the 3rd string behind Marc-Andre Fleury and Kevin Lankinen. Malcolm Subban got the nod over Collin Delia. Does that mean Delia is sent through waivers to the IceHogs or traded to gain a draft pick?
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Top 10 Prospects
1. Lukas Reichel, LW
2. Nolan Allan, D
3. Henrik Borgstrom, C
4. Evan Barratt, C
5. Colton Dach, LW
6. Alec Regula, D
7. Drew Commesso, G
8. Stanislav Demin, D
9. Chad Krys, D
10. Taige Harding, D
It's assumed that THN doesn't consider Kalynuk, Ian Mitchell, and Nicolas Beaudin to be prospects anymore. Also, Brandon Hagel and Philipp Kurashev shouldn't be eligible due to already playing a full season -- albeit shortened by the pandemic -- in 2020-21.
Observations:
* Nolan Allan is ranked too high although top 10 isn't far fetched.
* Stanislav Demin isn't even a top 10 blueliner in the system.
* Taige Harding has a long way to go to even be AHL material.
Based on the assumption that Kalynuk, Mitchell, and Beaudin are no longer eligible to be considered prospects, here is my top 10 based on potential for greatest impact on the team. If this trio is included, then prospects ranked 8th, 9th, and 10th get bumped off the list.
1. Lukas Reichel, LW
2. Henrik Borgstrom, C
3. Wyatt Kaiser, D
4. Alex Vlasic, D
5. Drew Commesso, G
6. MacKenzie Entwistle, C
7. Evan Barratt, C
8. Colton Dach, LW
9. Landon Slaggert, C/W
10. Nolan Allan, D
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Lukas Reichel
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See you on the boards!
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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