4 young Blackhawks with a great shot at making their 1st Opening Night roster

It will be interesting to see just how many players from the Chicago Blackhawks' impressive youthful talent pipeline earn a spot on the team's NHL Opening Night roster.

General manager Kyle Davidson did not make many offseason moves to upgrade the roster. One reason for that is that the free agent well ran dry quickly. The other reason for the lack of moves is that Davidson is banking on the improvement of the young players he already has on the roster to help the Blackhawks climb out of the Central Division cellar.

That does not mean youth will be fully served this season.

He does have veterans still on the roster who are blocking young talent from getting regular NHL ice time. Sam Lafferty, Jason Dickinson, and Connor Murphy all will likely force youngsters like Colton Dach, A.J. Spellacy, and Nolan Allan to start the season with the team's AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.

Four young players should be on the roster when the Hawks play their first regular-season game on October 7 against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers.

Artyom Levshunov

Last year's second-overall pick in the NHL Draft was inconsistent during his first professional season. He did show some promise at times to earn a call-up late in the season.

He skated in 18 games with six assists. The hope is for him to provide offensive support from the blue line.

He will still be just 19 if he makes the Opening Night roster (he turns 20 later in October). Levshunov should make the roster based on his high upside. He should also break camp on the Hawks' initial 23-man active roster because there are not many veteran defensemen blocking his path.

Davidson did not add any veteran blueliners in the offseason. Murphy and Alex Vlasic are the only players on the defensive unit that has played multiple full NHL seasons.

If Levshunov starts the season in Rockford, it will mean he had a terrible camp.

Sam Rinzel

He is the other former first-round pick who made his NHL debut last season. Rinzel was the third of three first-round picks Davidson made in the 2022 draft.

Rinzel honed his skills so well at the University of Minnesota that there is a belief he will not need to go to the IceHogs to refine his game. Rinzel did have five assists in the nine NHL games he skated in after signing his entry-level deal.

Daily Faceoff is already projecting Rinzel to start the season as first-pair defensemen. Levshunov is projected to be on the second pair.

Oliver Moore

Moore was Rinzel's teammate at the University of Minnesota. Both signed their entry-level deals at the same time.

Moore's calling card is his skating. He can fly on the ice. While that normally translates better to a top-six spot, he will likely be battling for a spot on the third- or fourth-line wing spot in training camp. He could be an ideal third-line center since he is more of a natural center.

The Hawks still have Dickinson and Lafferty on the roster, so he likely moves over to forward to ease his way into the NHL.

Having elite speed is something the Hawks could use to start the season. That will likely give him a chance to make the Hawks' first active 23-man roster.

Landon Slaggert

Slaggert has the potential to play up and down the Hawks' forward lines. His ability to fight for pucks and decent size makes him more of an ideal third- or fourth-line winger. It can also allow him to move up for some stretches if new head coach Jeff Blashill needs a forward in the first- or second-line willing to go get the puck to get to his more skilled guys like Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar.

He nearly made his first Opening Night roster last year, but the front office decided to go with veterans instead.

His solid play in Rockford was good enough to earn a promotion. He had six points in 33 games. While it would be great for him to increase his offensive production, the Hawks need a player willing to do the dirty work for 82 nights. Slaggert seems willing to bring that effort every night.