Blackhawks prospects fall 3-1 to Blues in Game 1 of the 2026 Prospect Showcase

The Chicago Blackhawk's prospects and the St. Louis Blues prospects matched up at the prospect showcase on Monday, Sept. 14.

Blackhawks lineup, including special teams

The Blackhawks went with a set lineup for this contest, based on what management was looking for from the prospects. Unsurprisingly, they featured their top prospects in the areas where they'll receive the most game time and reps. Here's how the roster played out.

Forward lines, defensive pairings & goaltending

Ryan Roobroeck - Sacha Boisvert - A.J. Spellacy
Marek Vanacker - Jiri Felcman - Martin Misiak
Marcus Joughlin - Paul Ludwinski - Aiden Young
Rowam Henderson - Chase DaFoe - Parker Holmes
Noah Aboflan

Taige Harding - Jake Furlong
Ty Henry - Brayden Hislop
Ashton Cumby - Lachlan Getz
Hayden Barch

Adam Gajan
Jason Schaubel

Power play units

Vanacker (net front)
Boisvert - Felcman - Roobroeck
Furlong (quarterback)

Spellacy (net front)
Ludwinski - Misiak - Harding (2nd D-man)
Hislop (quarterback)

Penalty kill units

PK1: Boisvert, Spellacy, Furlong, Harding

PK2: Misiak, Felcman, Henry, Hislop

Other participants: DaFoe, Cumby, Joughin, Getz

Blackhawks Game Notes

Here's are some highlights and notes from the game.

• Three members of the Rockford IceHogs served as the leadership group for this game. 24-year-old defenseman Taige Harding, one of the oldest prospects, served as captain. Forward Paul Ludwinski and defenseman Jake Furlong were the alternates.

• The game got off to a fast and furious pace. Just a few minutes in, Lachlan Getz was called for a holding penalty. But a strong penalty kill led to a shorthanded goal, courtesy of Martin Misiak. He was assisted by Jiri Felcman, putting the Blackhawks up 1-0.

• The Blackhawks didn't have a whole lot of discipline in the first frame. They committted three penalties, with the third resulting in a power play by the Blues. It was scored by Jakub Stancl. The two teams went into the first intermission tied 1-1. Shots were 9-4 for the Hawks.

• There was lots of physicality in this game, with players hitting and finishing checks at will. It finally culminated in a fight towards the middle of second frame. Ashton Cumby came to the defense of teammate A.J. Spellacy. It was quite the altercation.

• Unfortunately, the second period wasn't the best for the Blackhawks. They gave up two goals, one on a Blues' power play and one just a few seconds later. They headed into the second intermission down 3-1. Shots on goal in that frame were 13-4 for the Blues.

• The Blackhawks weren't able to rally in the third, despite pulling their goalie with 1:25 to go in the contest. All in all, they only managed six shots on goal to the Blues' nine shots. They looked like they had run out of gas. It was a disappointed second half of the game after a strong start.

Quotable Quotes

Misiak scored the only goal in this game, which was a shorthanded tally in the first period. It turns out that was the first time the coaches had used him on the penalty kill, despite him playing with the IceHogs last season. It obviously ended up paying off.

Here's what he saw on his goal. "We got a little turnover in the neutral zone. I saw I got a little space. Jiri (Felcman) made a nice pass to me, and then putting my head up, I saw a little space short side, so I just let her I rip. Went through, so it was nice." For an area to improve on Tuesday, Misiak said, "Scoring one more goal than St. Louis. We want to win."

Spellacy on Cumby coming in to defend him with his fight, "That was awesome. That just shows how good of a teammate he is, and coming in to fight. Obviously, I thought I was going to go there and then turn around and he's got his gloves off and he's going. So props to him. That was that was an unreal job from him. Yeah, I was grateful for that.

Spellacy also expounded on his style of play. "I try to fly out there, play the body, make it hard to play against me. And I think I did a pretty good job of that tonight. But obviously, there's definitely some work to do, and I can always improve. Obviously, just try and make it easy for my teammates. Try and get on the body on the forecheck, and try and get that puck back. And hopefully, I'm a little better at that tomorrow."

Cumby agreed the scrap he got in was probably one of his best ever. He indicated he hadn't watched the fight yet, but he had a bunch of buddies sending him texts; so he was excited to see it. On the mindset of sticking up for your teammates, he said, "I feel like that's a big thing in a team sport like that, and especially with hockey. Being able to stick up for your teammates when something doesn't seem right to you. And just being able to show them that you can't just go and do that. There's going to be consequences when that stuff happens, for sure."

Regarding the game overall, head coach Jared Nightingale used the word "sloppy" numerous times in his post-game interview. He did indicate he saw a lot of skill and good compete, though. The coach gave kudos to Spellacy and Misiak, saying they could benefit more if the team played better as a whole. "I thought we didn't execute on many passes, leaving our zone or regroups. We saw how many icings there were. So I think when we can execute passes and keep it on our sticks, I think a guy like Spellacy can stand out even more."

One final thought from Nightingale, looking at the big picture. "We'll regroup, and you know, at the end of the day we want to win hockey games. But our job as coaches is to help them get better for tomorrow and teach a little bit and get them ready for main camp."

The prospects will get right back to work tomorrow, Tuesday, for the second and final matchup of the tournament. It will be at 4 p.m. Hopefully the Blackhawks can pull out a win this time.

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