Blackhawks fans won’t be seeing much of top goalie prospect any time soon

The Chicago Blackhawks are in a good place despite being 10 points out of a playoff spot. The rebuild is chugging along, with a glut of high-end prospects graduating to the NHL in the near future.

That situation has made the club’s current crop of rising stars could make numerous veterans redundant. But there’s one position that might remain as-is moving forward.

The Blackhawks have found stability in the crease with Spencer Knight as the starter. Knight’s emergence from seeming “bust” status in Florida has given Chicago another reason to be hopeful about the future. But if Knight is entrenched as the Blackhawks’ starter, what’s the fate of top goaltending prospect Drew Commesso?

That’s a question that Blackhawks insider Scott Powers tackled in a recent mailbag in The Athletic. In his response, Powers succinctly stated that the Blackhawks are in no rush to bring Commesso to the NHL. The fact that Knight has stabilized the crease has drastically reduced the need for a backup goalie who could chew up starts. That situation means that, for the time being, Arvid Soderblom is an adequate backup. 

Meanwhile, Commesso, the Blackhawks’ second-round pick from the 2020 NHL Draft, won’t have to jump to the NHL anytime soon. Moreover, Knight’s grasp on the starting role means that Commesso wouldn’t get nearly as many starts as he would in the AHL. That’s why, for the time being, having Commesso in the minors is the best path forward for the 23-year-old’s development.

Blackhawks could have elite goaltending tandem

Now, let’s suppose that Commesso simply becomes too good for the AHL. That situation could make Soderblom redundant. As such, Soderblom could head back to the AHL or become a valuable trade chip for a club seeking goaltending help.

A Knight-Commesso tandem could become one of the NHL’s best. Having Commesso ready to play in the NHL could reduce the pressure on Knight to start a large number of games. In fact, the two goalies could share the crease, with Knight getting the lion’s share. It wouldn’t be a wild proposition to consider Knight starting about 50 games, with Commesso getting the rest.

There’s one other thing to consider. Next season, the NHL will be moving to 84 regular-season games. While two additional games may not seem like a tremendous leap in workload for goalies, the fact is that teams will need at least two solid NHL-caliber goalies more than ever.  

For now, the Blackhawks are set with Knight and Soderblom. But it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Commesso getting a long look at training camp next fall. Who knows, a strong end of this season and a great camp could mean Commesso makes the NHL next year.