10 Blackhawks prospects worth monitoring in Rockford this season

The Chicago Blackhawks will not be the only team in the organization rolling out the red carpet for their home opener tonight.

The Rockford IceHogs, the team's AHL affiliate, also kicks off their 2025-26 season at home when they host the Milwaukee Admirals.

Since the Blackhawks are destined to miss the playoffs again this season, wins and losses do not matter.

Success will be measured by how well the young players at the NHL level and the prospects at the AHL level develop this season. It is important that the organization gets a better idea of who will be a part of its core that gets the franchise back into contention, along with the supporting cast who will assist in the club making the playoffs.

That is why monitoring what is going on in Rockford will be worth your time.

Not every player on the IceHogs roster is going to be a part of the next great roster. Some of these players are organizational depth players who are only around in case injuries ravage the NHL roster, as they did in 2023-24.

Others are just AHL lifers, not good enough to be a permanent member of an NHL roster, but not bad enough to where they need to start pursuing a career in selling insurance or real estate.

They provide critical mentorship to the young players on things like how to be an adult in professional hockey. Most of these kids are coming from the juniors, where they lived with host families who took care of everything for them. Now that they are on their own, they need guidance on simple daily tasks, such as cooking a meal. That is what guys like Marcel Marcel and Brett Seney provide to the IceHogs.

Since those guys are not going to be NHL contributors, it is not worth getting excited if they play well or concerned if they struggle.

There are 10 players that I think you should keep your eye on this season. I would say 11. However, I got a feeling that defensemen Ethan Del Mastro and Louis Crevier will be bouncing back from Chicago and Rockford as the team's seventh defender.

Kevin Korchinski

It was disappointing to see the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 draft fail to make the team out of training camp. However, the defenseman's development has been all out of whack.

What is even more concerning is that the front office decided to send him to Rockford so early in camp. The good news is Korchinski is still just 21, and defensemen take a while to develop.

Korchinski starting another season in Rockford is actually the right path for him to take in his development. General manager Kyle Davidson believes the promising blueliner still needs to be more physical in game action. He should gain that experience in the AHL.

He is still a highly-regarded young player. Chicago Sun-Times Blackhawks beat writer considered Korchinski the team's fourth-best prospect in his most recent rankings.

Oliver Moore

The speedy forward was the team's other first-round pick in the 2023 draft. That was the same draft where the Blackhawks took Conor Bedard No. 1 overall.

Moore's elite speed provides the promise that he can someday skate with Bedard on the top line or be an effective top-six forward. I feel like the club is following the same development path it took with Frank Nazar.

Nazar did not make last season's Opening Night roster. He performed well in Rockford during the first two months and earned a permanent call-up to the NHL roster in December.

Pope ranks him as the team's fifth-best prospect.

Nick Lardis

He scored 71 goals in the OHL last season and put up 117 points. The undersized forward hopefully develops into a consistent 40-goal scorer, much like Alex DeBrincat did with the organization (who also had a 70-goal season in the OHL).

Since the Blackhawks are surrounding Bedard and Nazar with veteran players on the top six, he had no chance of breaking camp on the NHL roster unless he was putting up hat tricks in the preseason.

I expect him to possibly debut this season if he is scoring goals at a high rate in the AHL. Pope ranked him the sixth-best prospect.

Samuel Savoie, Martin Misiak, Aidan Thompson, Paul Ludwinski, and Gavin Hayes

These youngsters all can be solid third or fourth-line forwards that the next competitive team needs. Savoie is an undersized forward whose game is reminiscent of Andrew Shaw. He was Pope's 16th-best prospect.

Misiak and Hayes are wings with some decent size. Ludwinski and Thompson have the potential to bottom-line centers. Although Ludwinski had a terrible first season in Rockford last season. He must have a bounce-back season; otherwise, he is looking at spending most of his career in the AHL.

Nolan Allan

He flashed some promise last season during his NHL call-up. The young defenseman was unable to make the Blackhawks' first roster out of training camp. He will likely be on the team at some point to fill in when injuries inevitably occur.

He must prove this season that he is more than depth in the organization.

Drew Commesso

Goalie Spencer Knight signed a short-term extension, and Arvid Soderblom is under contract through next season. So, Commesso's development in goal is still important to the organization's long-term health, as he may one day be called upon to at least be the team's No. 2 netminder.

If Knight or Soderblom misses time, you will likely see Commesso this season getting the call-up since he did briefly fill in last season.