3 Blackhawk’s players with the most to prove in 2026-27

General manager Kyle Davidson made some solid offseason additions this summer in an effort to make the Chicago Blackhawks a better team. As we know, he added Patrick Kane and young Russian prospect Roman Kantserov at forward, as well as some depth players in Cole Smith and Jordan Greenway.

He also enhanced the blue line with the additions of Bowen Byram and veteran Ian Cole. All this, along with the hope that many younger players will take the next step in their development, leaves Blackhawk’s fans excited for a strong 2026-27 campaign.

But some players are in a position where, for different reasons, they’ll have more to prove than others. Here’s three players who will have some extra pressure on them this season.

Bowen Byram

The most obvious player with a lot to prove is Byram. Much of this stems from what the Blackhawks sacrificed for the young defenseman. They gave up their fourth overall pick in the 2026 draft, and stalwart right-handed D-man Louis Crevier mind you, to acquire Byram.

Not only that, but then the Blackhawks signed him to a lucrative six-year contract extension with an average annual cap hit of $12.5 million. This briefly made the 25-year-old the highest paid defenseman in the league. That is until Cale Makar inked his mega eight-year, $20.4 million AAV deal.

This alone puts the pressure on Byram to live up to his big contract. But there’s no denying he’s a very talented player. He was drafted fourth overall in 2019 by the Colorado Avalanche and won a Stanley Cup with them in 2022. He logged a career-high 42 points last season (11 goals, 31 assists), plus added four goals and seven points in 13 playoff games with the Buffalo Sabres.

The only problem is Byram has always lined up in more of a second-pairing role in the first six seasons of his NHL career. In Colorado he played behind the aforementioned Makar, and in Buffalo he was second fiddle to Rasmus Dahlin.

In Chicago, Byram will finally be stepping into the No. 1 defenseman role. He’ll be expected to play on the top pairing, quarterback the top power play unit and contribute on the penalty kill. He’ll play heavy minutes and be tasked with being on the ice during critical situations for the Blackhawks.

For all these reasons, Byram will be feeling the heat to live up to the investment the organization has made in him. But he feels he’s ready for it. In his introductory press conference, he said, "I feel I've had pressure my whole career. I was a fourth-overall pick six years ago, whatever it is. I've played in a lot of big games, World Junior games, Western (Hockey) League final games, Stanley Cup Final games, Game 7s in the playoffs. I feel like for being a young guy, only playing around 300 games in the NHL, I've got a lot of experience. So I'll definitely draw on that. But like I said, I don't think pressure's anything that I'm not totally used to. I feel I've been under the gun my whole career, whether it's trade rumors or pressure to perform or underperforming, whatever it might be. It's something I'm used to, for sure."

He also sounds super motivated about the opportunity that’s in front of him. “Now the ball is in my court to perform, so I'm excited for that opportunity. I'm excited for that challenge but it means the world. I'm super excited.”

Frank Nazar

Nazar is another player who people will have high expectations for, at least higher than last season. This dynamic forward was drafted 13th overall in the 2022 draft, and he scored a goal in his first-ever NHL game. He spent the first part of the 2024-25 season with the Rockford IceHogs, but then joined the Blackhawks and posted an impressive 12 goals and 26 points in 54 games. This led to high hopes for the Michigan native to find immediate success in the 2025-26 campaign.

Unfortunately, Nazar hit a bit of a sophomore slump last season. His 15 goals and 41 points was respectable enough, especially since he suffered a broken jaw in late December and only suited up for 66 games altogether.

But it seemed like the 22-year-old just couldn’t seem to put it all together on a consistent basis. He went through a number of stretches throughout the season where he had a tough time producing. His longest stint was 21 games in November and December without a goal.

Head coach Jeff Blashill, however, was quick to point out this was Nazar’s first full season in the NHL, and that he was doing a lot of things right. Here’s what he said in early March about the young center.

"But Frank has high expectations, and we have high expectations of Frank. And those are going to be high again next year. He’s a second year NHL player. It's not an easy league. I can go through a number of guys, including guys I've coached through second years, were tough years. Sometimes things go kind of your way, and then sometimes they don't. You got to learn how to react to that. And what I love about what Frank did tonight is how hard he competed on the puck. He won tons of pucks. The hit he took in the third to make a play. All that stuff matters a ton. I think he understands that good process results will follow from. He's a talented person.”

“So if he has good process results will follow. None of this stuff is ever going to go smooth all the time. That's what life is. And you're going to get knocked down. Do you get back up? And he's had some moments, I'm sure, where he's felt like he got knocked down. He gets back up well. He's a confident kid. (I have) a lot of belief in the success he’ll have in the future.”

To add to the pressure Nazar might be feeling, his new contract kicks in this season, a seven-year deal with a $6.59 million annual cap hit. All eyes will be on Nazar to prove he’s worth that commitment, and can take the next step in his progression.

Artyom Levshunov

When you’re drafted second overall, that comes with super high expectations, whether it’s fair or not. Such is the case with Levshunov, whom the Blackhawks selected in that position in the 2024 draft. Right-handed defensemen are hard to come by in this league. The organization valued that very highly, feeling it was important for their future as a contender.

Many thought they should’ve drafted the talented Russian Ivan Demidov instead, to be a running buddy with Connor Bedard. Demidov, by the way, has turned into one of the Montreal Canadiens most promising young forwards.

By comparison, that certainly doesn’t help Levshunov’s cause. He hasn’t had that same kind of trajectory, enduring a multitude of ups and downs throughout his short NHL career. He spent most of the 2024-25 season with the IceHogs. But he spent the entire 2025-26 season with the Blackhawks. Even when people thought he might be better off with a stint in Rockford, that didn’t appear to be an option from the standpoint of the Blackhawks. It seemed like they wanted to keep Levshunov nearby, so they could have a close hand in his development.

This wasn’t always pretty. There were times when the young blueliner looked completely lost on the ice, especially in the defensive end. When he attempted to help out offensively, he would often-times pinch at the wrong times and leave easy chances available for the opponent. His team-worst minus-41 plus/minus rating was a reflection of that.

Then there were other times when Levshunov used his strong legs and body to outmuscle guys. Where he looked calm, cool and collected and skated his way out of trouble with ease. Where he was a great distributor on the power play.

The point is the potential is certainly there with Levshunov. It’s just taking the 20-year-old time, which is often the case with defensemen. His offensive stats last season were good; his 22 assists led all blueliners and his 24 points were second among D-men only to Crevier (25 points). 

Levshunov made the decision to spend most of his summer in Chicago, training with Blackhawk’s director of skill development Brian Keane. They’ve developed a specific training program just for Levshunov, focusing on his mobility and improving his shot, to name a few things. “Small details”, as Levshunov refers to them.  

It will be super important for this Belarusian prospect to take big strides this season. He only has 86 NHL games under his belt, but fans and pundits alike are losing patience based on the Jekyll-and-Hyde aspect of his game from last season.  

For Levshunov, he has to gain consistency and show steady improvement, in an effort prove his worth and live up to his high draft spot.

It’s true the Blackhawks might be in more of a position to succeed this upcoming season. But some players will be under more scrutiny than others to make it happen. These three players top that list.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow