Looking back at early predictions for the 2024-25 Blackhawks season

Prediction Three: This season's "Fan Favorite" Hawk will be Alec Martinez

Sometimes I really wonder about myself. Why I thought a 37 year old defensemen with more miles than a 2003 Toyota Corolla (midnight blue obviously), would be Hawks fans' favorite player is beyond my current comprehension. I like Martinez and it was nice to see him and Pat Maroon get a little send off for their respective retirements this season. But honestly, I would say Maroon was the one who endeared himself to Hawks fans more. Martinez is a great guy who seems to have a joyful and lively personality. However, he simply didn't stay healthy enough to leave a lasting impression on Hawks fans. Rather than being a fan favorite, he will likely be a logical answer to the question "who had the most forgettable Blackhawks tenure of all time."

This is probably a C-.

Prediction Four: Frank Nazar and Kevin Korchinski Will Both Spend a Large Portion of the Season in Rockford

Finally one that I got mostly correct. I was dead on with Korchinski, and Nazar spent the beginning of the season in Rockford too. Both players certainly benefited from their time there as Nazar proved by the end of the season that he is ready to take on a full time top 6 NHL role, and Korchinski showed that he was taking direction and working on the little things that plagued his rookie season. Honestly, I think Korchinski may still spend part of next season in Rockford as well as he is turning out to be much more of a project than initially planned, but I'll save that for next season's predictions.

Finally, I can give myself an A.

Prediction Five: Lukas Reichel Will Score 20 Goals

Okay, I know this will sound insane to some, but this is not a horrible prediction in retrospect. Let's get to the obvious first, Reichel did not sniff 20 goals. However, he improved a lot this past season, and I actually really liked his overall game. I still see him as an NHL caliber player, but the writing is on the wall (in German) that his time here may be up. His name has been circulating in trade rumors and I wouldn't be shocked to see him moved at the draft or prior to free agency.

Personally, I wouldn't mind him playing out his contract for the final season. Remember that all of us were ready to launch poor Arvid Soderblom into orbit after his disastrous 2023-2024 season, and then he turned it around in 2024-2025. Why couldn't Reichel build on this season next year? Even if it's a moderate improvement and he scores 13 goals and 29 assists, that would make him a 40+ point player on a very cheap contract. Just saying, it might be worth it to wait on trading him for now.

I'll give myself a C on this one because he didn't score 20 goals, but my sentiment that he would improve upon his 2023-2024 season was correct.

Well, that was very humbling. It is important to remember that none of us can see the future and that we are all human. Hopefully my predictions next season will be closer to reality when the season ends, and I won't have to show my parents yet another terrible report card.