Blackhawks announce Prospect Showcase, plus notes on Kane, Soderblom, Smith & more

The calendar has officially flipped to September, meaning there will be Chicago Blackhawks hockey this month! Yes, it’s not until Sept. 29 while we’re only at Sept. 1. But the Prospect Showcase (more on this below) and Blackhawk’s training camp will be here before you know it! While we wait, let’s dive into the latest content from the last few days.

Recent content from Blackhawk Up

Rhys Jones reflects on how the Blackhawks might have looked if they had drafted forward Ivan Demidov instead of defenseman Artyom Levshunov with their second overall pick in 2024.

The legendary Patick Kane will definitely be a solid addition to the team this season. But there could be some drawbacks as well. I look at the pros and cons of Kane’s return.

Ryan Gagne examines how despite the return of Kane, the presence of Connor Bedard and the allure of this young team, the Blackhawks surprising rank near the bottom of Original Six teams for fewest nationally broadcasted games.

Brooke LoFurno continues with her season storylines series. On Sunday she outlined that Arvid Soderblom will look to continue as the backup goaltender. On Monday, she discussed how Cole Smith can be a solid depth forward for the Blackhawks.

Greg Boysen wrapped up his Blackhawks Number History series, and what a journey it was! For his final two posts, he highlighted Nos. 81-90, as well as Nos. 91-98. I think we all know who No. 98 is!

Farewell to Greg

Speaking of Greg, he has officially “retired” from Blackhawk Up and will now be headed back over to CHGO full time. Be sure to follow him and his linemates, Jay and Mario, for their daily podcast and stellar all-around content.

Greg will be greatly missed, but we will continue to see him in the press box and collaborate with him from afar. We wish him the best at CHGO!

Blackhawks announce 2026 Prospect Showcase

The Blackhawks announced on Monday that their annual Prospect Showcase will take place from Sept. 11 through Sept. 15, with games against the St. Louis Blues’ prospects on Monday, Sept. 14 and Tuesday, Sept. 15.

An exciting update to this year’s showcase is that it will take place at the new Blackhawks Ice Arena! All practices and games will be open to the public, with details in the provided link. Notable prospect attendees include Sacha Boisvert, A.J. Spellacy, Marek Vanacker, 2026 draftee Ryan Roobroeck and goaltender Adam Gajan.

Opening Night Countdown Reaches the 20’s!

It’s appropriate we can highlight a new player in our countdown as we flip the calendar to Sept. 1. It’s officially Ian Cole days until Blackhawks opening night. He will wear No. 28 this season with the Hawks.

This 37-year-old veteran defenseman should stabilize an otherwise very young Blackhawk’s blue line this season. He’s a stay-at-home defenseman that has experience playing on both the left and right side, plus he should be a key contributor on the penalty kill. His reliability and consistency will be welcomed by his teammates and the coaching staff.

That’s all for this Blackhawk Up roundup edition. Keep it right here for all the latest news and updates, as the 2026-27 season is just around the corner! 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow