Blackhawks Prospects of the Week: Moore, Nestrasil & Vanacker

For the first time in years, the Chicago Blackhawks have an intriguing team at the National Hockey League level. They’ve played fast, scrappy, and competitive hockey through the first four games of the young season. While we are starting to see signs that Kyle Davidson’s plan is coming to fruition, there is still a long way to go in the rebuild.

With that in mind, every Tuesday, we’re going to feature three Blackhawks’ prospects who had a big week for their respective teams.

Oliver Moore Makes a Great First Impression

Heading into rookie camp in September, Oliver Moore said that he needs to work on finishing his scoring chances. All the work he put into that during the summer paid off Sunday night against the Iowa Wild. He scored his first two professional goals in the Rockford IceHogs’ 6-2 victory, as they are off to their first 2-0-0 start in eight years.

Moore’s first goal showed off why Davidson tried to trade up to draft in 2023. He used his speed to create space, then buried his shot over the right shoulder of goaltender Samuel Hlavaj and under the crossbar.

Later in the game, Moore entered the zone on a 3-on-1 rush, looked off Nick Lardis and Kevin Korchinski, and put the puck in the same spot of the net as his first goal.

Moore capped off his three-point night with the secondary assist on Dominic Toninato’s first goal with the IceHogs. Moore was one of the last cuts of training camp, and getting off to a good start in Rockford will help him make his case to get back to Chicago sooner rather than later.

Vaclav Nestrasil Nets Hat Trick, Award

Vaclav Netsrasil’s stock rose heading into the draft this past summer. Davidson using the 25th overall pick to select him did not come as a big surprise. After a nice draft season in the United States Hockey League, Nestrasil headed to UMass this fall.

The 6’6 power forward started his NCAA career off with a bang, scoring four goals in his first three games. Three of those goals came in a hat trick against Stone Hill College on Friday.

Nestrasil was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week for his big game over the weekend. He’ll be back on the ice this weekend as the Minutemen take on Northeastern on Friday and Bentley on Saturday.

Marek Vanacker’s Hot Start Continues

Marek Vanacker got to participate in the Blackhawks' rookie and training camps this year for the first time. He took what he gained from his time in Chicago to get off to a great start in the Ontario Hockey League.

He started his week with two goals in the Brantford Bulldogs’ 7-4 win over the Niagara IceDogs.

After having his four-game goal streak snapped on Friday, he bounced back with a hat trick and an assist on Saturday against the Ottawa 67’s. His third goal made him the 10th player in the Bulldogs franchise history to score 150 points.

Vanacker and Jake O’Brien are the two top offensive producers in Brantford now that Lardis is playing in Rockford. The Blackhawks' 2024 first-round pick is making the most of his opportunity with eight goals and 11 points in six games to start the season.