3 Blackhawks prospects to get excited about potentially making their NHL debut this season

The spotlight was on the Chicago Blackhawks prospects this past weekend at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase.

Defenseman Sam Rinzel and forward Oliver Moore impressed, while last year's No. 2 overall pick, Artyom Levshunov, was inconsistent. The showcase did provide a glimpse of all three having the potential to make an impact for the Blackhawks this season. Those three have already made their NHL debuts, where they flashed the impressive talent that made all three of them first-round picks.

Two other prospects skated in the showcase, who I am excited to see possibly make their NHL debut this season. There is another prospect who played in last year's showcase that would also be entertaining to see play some NHL games this season.

Nick Lardis

The 20-year-old forward dazzled in his final OHL season with the Brantford Bulldogs. He scored an eye-popping 71 goals. Alex DeBrincat was the last Blackhawks prospect to lead the OHL in scoring. If Nick Lardis can follow DeBrincat's path, that would be a huge boost to Chicago's offensive attack.

DeBrincat is not the only impact player Lardis has been compared with. He has shown some similarity to the Blackhawks' current rising star, Frank Nazar, and the New York Rangers' Vincent Trocheck.

He showed off his playmaking ability in the showcase by setting up Moore for the game-winning goal against St. Louis.

I would love seeing Moore and him do that on a nightly basis. Lardis would also be fun to watch skating on the same line with Connor Bedard or Nazar.

I am interested to see if he can follow the same development path that Nazar did last season. It would not shock me to see Lardis start the season in Rockford but produce enough early to get a call-up in December.

AJ Spellacy

AJ Spellacy impressed last preseason. If he has another impressive camp, it would not be crazy to think he could make the Opening Night roster.

At least, he could make the case to start the season with Rockford. That depends on whether the CHL and AHL can agree to an immediate implementation of one 19-year-old player being allowed to skate in the minors, as stipulated in the new CBA agreement that kicks in next season.

If no agreement is reached for this season, Spellacy could still push for a nine-game trial, like the Blackhawks did with Kevin Korchinski two seasons ago. If Spellacy impresses much like Korchinski did to earn a full season, the Blackhawks could use Spellacy's physical game.

Samuel Savoie

If Spellacy and Lardis still need a full season of development in the AHL (or possibly the juniors for Spellacy), then it would be nice to see Samuel Savoie debut at some point this season.

Savoie has drawn comparisons to Andrew Shaw. He is undersized like Shaw and can annoy opponents with his gritty play, much like Shaw did last decade during those Stanley Cup runs.

The Blackhawks could use that pesky style of play on the third or fourth line on a nightly basis. However, Savoie faces an uphill battle among his fellow prospects to crack Chicago's first 23-man roster. If he plays well enough in Rockford, he could eventually earn a call-up.