3 Blackhawks prospects who could be traded soon

When Kyle Davidson parted ways with Louis Crevier and the fourth and 45th overall picks in the 2026 NHL Draft to acquire and then promptly extend Bowen Byram, he did not just tell the rest of the league that he wanted his no. 1 defenseman. He also turned the corner on his five-year rebuild and signaled that the Chicago Blackhawks are trying to contend. 

This was obviously long-awaited (and perhaps overdue) music to Blackhawks fans’ ears, and it makes sense. Davidson firmly believes that he has his franchise center in Connor Bedard, his established starter in Spencer Knight, and his top-end defenseman in Byram. With a supporting cast of Patrick Kane, Frank Nazar, Anton Frondell, Artyom Levshunov and recent first-round picks, the Blackhawks' future looks bright. 

But, to make that future and the Blackhawks’ playoff chances more realistic, Davidson will need to acquire more NHL-caliber contributors over the course of the next couple seasons. 

That means more prospects and young players such as Crevier will need to be traded to round out this roster and make it a real contender. Trading prospects is an unfortunate and, at times, risky business, but it must be done if a team is making a genuine effort to be competitive. 

So with that being said,

Blackhawks prospects that could be dealt in the near future

Kevin Korchinski

It feels as if Korchinski’s name has been on the trade block for over a year now, and the player may need a change of scenery, too. Selected seventh overall in the 2022 Draft, Korchinski was rushed into the league at the age of 18 and has yet to find his footing in the NHL due to a lack of physicality and shaky confidence and decision-making.

He’s spent the majority of the past two seasons with the Rockford IceHogs, and his output of 53 points and a -38 plus/minus rating in 109 AHL games has left a lot to be desired from a player once imagined to be a dynamic offensive threat from the blue line. At 22 years old, Korchinski still possesses decent upside and draft pedigree, which makes him an ideal project for a rebuilding team that can offer him more minutes and responsibility than Chicago will anytime soon. 

Ethan Del Mastro

Del Mastro, a fourth round pick in 2021, had an impressive junior career with the Mississauga Steelheads and Sarnia Sting capped off by two World Junior gold medals with Team Canada. He carried that momentum into his first season of professional hockey when he earned an AHL All-Star game invite in 2023-2024. Unfortunately for Del Mastro and the Blackhawks, his development appears to have stalled since then.

Despite receiving 24 and 19 game NHL call-ups over the past two seasons, Del Mastro has not been able to endear himself to the Blackhawks coaching staff. Along with Korchinski, he is currently unsigned and is no longer waiver-exempt, so the Blackhawks will risk losing him for nothing on waivers next season. With Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, and Wyatt Kaiser ahead of him on the depth chart, Del Mastro could be moved in short order.

Adam Gajan

The Blackhawks made Gajan the first goaltender picked in the 2023 Draft, and his development has progressed well since then. He finished last season in Rockford after two solid seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and a selection to Slovakia’s Olympic team. The 22-year-old has good size at 6’3” and he plays an athletic style. 

The Blackhawks are not necessarily in a rush to trade Gajan, but as of now, he is behind Knight, Arvid Soderblom, and Drew Commesso in the organizational depth chart, and he has more competition in Rockford with 24-year-old Stanislav Berezhnoy. With this glut of young goalies, the Blackhawks could move Gajan as part of a deal to land an impact player without worrying about their future at the position. 

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