3 Chicago Blackhawks storylines to follow for next season

What is an NHL storyline? I feel that for the sake of this article, it will be useful to clarify that right off the bat. An NHL storyline is an interesting trend, story, or theme that can be observed across the course of the regular season.

For example, some storylines last year included: Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov trying to be just the third and fourth players ever to reach 100 assists in a season, and Which terrible team would win the Macklin Celebrini sweepstakes?

There will be a plethora of storylines for the 2024-2025 Chicago Blackhawks. Here are three that I think are the most interesting...

Connor Bedard's Sophomore Season

This one may be obvious, but next season everyone will be watching closely to see how the now 19-year-old (happy birthday kid!) phenom will follow up on his impressive rookie campaign. Will he have the dreaded sophomore slump? Or, will he defy all expectations and break 100 points in the year?

Either way, people will be watching and discussing Bedard, as he is officially one of the new faces of the NHL.

An underrated aspect to watch in Bedard's second season will be how he takes advantage of a much improved Blackhawks roster. It is entirely plausible that next season could open with Bedard on a line with Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi.

That would be a MASSIVE upgrade from any line he rolled with at any point last season. So, the question will be can he capitalize on this influx of new talent? I will be curious to see early in the year if Bedard defers to his teammates and tries to feed them the puck, or if he attempts to assert himself out of the gate by taking more shots.

I intend to do a "points prediction" at some point this summer, so I won't give my prediction here for Bedard's end-of-season point total.

However, I will say that I am probably on the more conservative side of that game. Yes, the roster is greatly improved, but even a greatly improved Blackhawks team may still really struggle to be much better than, say 27th in the league standings.

So, in terms of watching Bedard, I will be curious to see if he is developing into the player we all expect. In other words, even if the team isn't yet near the playoffs, is Bedard consistently the best player on either team? Is he taking over games? How many multi-point games does he have? These things will indicate to me whether Bedard is truly taking the next step in 2024-2025.

Who Will Be This Year's Breakout Performer?

Last season, many people expected Philip Kurashev to play a significant role on a not-so-talented Blackhawks team. However, I don't think anyone could have predicted just how large of an impact he would end up having on the team.

Kurashev's previous season high in points was 25 points. This past season he more than doubled that number with a 54-point campaign. He was truly a bright spot in a mostly bleak season.

So, who will be this season's Kurashev? I don't know if I can provide a definitive answer to that question. (Sorry for the cliffhanger) But I do have a few candidates to watch.

I think we could see a really big jump from Kevin Korchinski in year two. For one, he will now have the benefit of experience. He went through the grind of an NHL season last year, and while his play left much to be desired, he now knows exactly what he is preparing for as he trains all summer. I expect him to continue putting on size and muscle and to polish up the little details that Richardson was looking for him to improve upon.

Furthermore, Korchinski may actually be in a more sheltered role in his second season in Chicago. I could see the Hawks rolling out the following defensive pairs.

These pairings would allow the first two lines to play the big minutes against the other teams top lines, while Korchinski could develop his game in fewer minutes alongside a reliable NHL veteran like TJ Brodie.

Another potential breakout candidate to watch is Lukas Reichel.... (don't laugh).

I know many fans are down on Reichel and I can't blame them for feeling that way, but hear me out. Reichel is still so young, and he still possesses all the tools that the Hawks saw when they drafted him. Furthermore, look at other 2020 NHL draft picks around the league.

Many of them are just now finding their game in the NHL. Alexis Lafreniere and Quinton Byfield both began to look like number one and two picks this past season after struggling for years, and I believe that Reichel could finally show up next season in a similar way.

So what do you think will be the biggest storyline to watch for next season? Will you be following Bedard's every move and tracking his stats each game? Or maybe you'll be watching the new guys and trying to find your new favorite player. Whatever your reason for watching, enjoy! Remember that this is all just a game and that it is supposed to be fun! We are blessed to have a hockey team in Chicago to root for and to have storylines to follow.