Chicago Blackhawks: Motte, Schmaltz In NHLPA Rookie Showcase

Motte, Schmaltz will represent the Chicago Blackhawks at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase

On Tuesday afternoon, the NHLPA announced the 27-player roster that will be attending its eighth annual Rookie Showcase. This year, the Chicago Blackhawks will be represented by two former NCAA standouts in Tyler Motte and Nick Schmaltz.

The showcase is a unique event that allows the young talent to test their skills against each other prior to NHL training camps opening. The event is also a chance for trading card company Upper Deck, official partner of the NHLPA and NHL, to photograph and get video content of the players to use for upcoming trading cards, digital productions and other various memorabilia.

Here is the full list of attendees for this year’s showcase:

Mathew Barzal – New York Islanders, Riley Barber – Washington Capitals ,Thomas Chabot – Ottawa Senators, Kyle Connor – Winnipeg Jets, Lawson Crouse – Florida Panthers , Anthony DeAngelo – Phoenix Coyotes, Thatcher Demko – Vancouver Canucks, Pierre-Luc Dubois – Columbus Blue Jackets, Christian Dvorak – Phoenix Coyotes, Jon Gillies – Calgary Flames, Vladislav Kamenev – Nashville Predators

More from Blackhawks Prospects

• Chicago Blackhawks: A Lukas Reichel Promotion is the Long Term Goal
• Blackhawks News: Hardman recalled, Mitchell sent down to Rockford
• Blackhawks unexpected offseason will impact the Rockford IceHogs
• Blackhawks: What position does the team need to focus on at the draft?
• Blackhawks: Adding Colton Dach in the 2021 NHL Draft Makes Sense

Travis Konecny – Philadelphia Flyers ,Kevin Labanc – San Jose Sharks, Ryan MacInnis – Phoenix Coyotes, Timo Meier – San Jose Sharks, Brandon Montour – Anaheim Ducks, Tyler Motte – Chicago Blackhawks, Brayden Point – Tampa Bay Lightning, Ivan Provorov – Philadelphia Flyers, Nick Schmaltz – Chicago Blackhawks, Evgeny Svechnikov – Detroit Red Wings, Matthew Tkachuk – Calgary Flames

Alex Tuch – Minnesota Wild, Jakub Vrana – Washington Capitals, Zach Werenski – Columbus Blue Jackets, Pavel Zacha – New Jersey Devils, Jakub Zboril – Boston Bruins

In previous showcases put on by the NHLPA, the Blackhawks have been represented by Ryan Hartman (2015), Teuvo Teravainen (2014), Adam Clendening (2013), Mark McNeill (2013), Marcus Kruger (2011) and Kyle Beach (2010).

Check it out: Possible Top-Line Combinations For Chicago

For Motte and Schmatlz, the 2016-17 season is going to be filled with immense opportunities to make an impact at the NHL level. Motte spent a short time with the Rockford IceHogs last season after completing his time at the University of Michigan, while Schmaltz is joining the organization fresh this year.

In three years at the University of Michigan, Motte skated in 107 games and tallied 105 points (50 goals, 55 assists) for the Wolverines.

Motte was named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey last season, helping Michigan to its first Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship.

Schmaltz is coming off a successful two-year run with the University of North Dakota where he skated in 75 games and scored 72 points (16 goals, 56 assists) for the Fighting Hawks.

In his time at North Dakota, Schmaltz helped the Fighting Hawks to back-to-back Conference titles, back-to-back NCAA Frozen Four appearances, and a National Championship this last season.

The 2016-17 season is just around the corner, and the Chicago Blackhawks will be front and center as one of the top contenders for the Stanley Cup. With Motte and Schmaltz attending the NHLPA Rookie Showcase, the Blackhawks will again be front and center in the world of prospect hockey.