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3 top Chicago Blackhawks Prospects to get excited about in 2024

By Todd Welter |
/ Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
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The Chicago Blackhawks are finishing off another losing season. Losing is going to happen as the Hawks go through the early stages of a massive rebuild.

The good thing is Connor Bedard is the real deal. All that is left to put a bow on his amazing rookie season is the official announcement he won the Calder Trophy.

Philipp Kurashev also established himself as a future piece. Young defenseman Kevin Korchinski got valuable NHL experience. It will be interesting to see if he goes to the AHL to get some further development or stays with the Blackhawks next season.

Alex Vlasic also shined in his first full NHL season. He has established himself as a top pair defenseman and a cornerstone piece on the blue line.

The Hawks were able to lock up veterans Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson, and Petr Mrazek for two more seasons to guide the young but talented players coming up.

Speaking of young players, the Blackhawks have three prospects that you should be excited about next season...

Frank Nazar

Talk about a way to make a debut. Nazar scored a goal in his first career NHL game.

What is even more impressive is that Nazar went from playing in the Frozen Four for Michigan to playing in the NHL a few days later.

Scott Wheeler of the Athletic ranks Nazar as the team's second-best prospect (subscription required to access the link). He was an assist machine for the Wolverines, so it would be interesting to see him and Bedard on the wing one day to see how many goals can be scored.

Nazar will probably start the season with the Rockford IceHogs as the front office wants to be patient with a young player's development. He still should be given a shot to make the NHL club during the preseason.

Ethan Del Mastro

He made the AHL All-Star Game and had a good season in Rockford. It went so well he was rewarded with a late-season call-up.

The defenseman held his own in two NHL games. He graded out as the best player in last Friday's loss to the Nashville Predators according to HockeyStatCards.

He had 30 assists in 66 games for the IceHogs. Del Mastro can add more as he is going to help Rockford with their playoff push.

The Hawks have shown with Vlasic that they do not want to rush their blueliners' development. It would not be shocking for Ethan to play another mostly full season in Rockford. He will have competition to make the team out of camp with Wyatt Kaiser, Isaak Philips, and Louis Crevier trying to make the team as well. Philips and Crevier are restricted free agents, so if they are not tendered, it may open up a path for Del Mastro to possibly make the opening night roster.

The Hawks could end up adding some veterans as well since Nikita Zaitsev and Jarred Tinordi are set to be free agents and not likely retained.

Landon Slaggert

The forward out of Notre Dame has been with the team since March. He has a goal and two assists in 14 games.

Whereas Del Mastro and Nazar might face some more development time with the IceHogs, Slaggert has a real shot of making the club out of camp.

He was the one prospect the Hawks felt had a legit shot of being NHL-ready and he has shown it so far. Slaggert's floor is a solid third or fourth-line player.

He does have some skill to be a top-six player. He is also willing to go after pucks, so maybe he could be a player on the top-two lines willing to stand in front of the net or charge to it for a goal.

The Blackhawks hope to do better in the standings next season, but they are not going to make moves that deviate them from the long-term plan of developing the prospects they have drafted. The Hawks have signed some of those talented players at the end of the season like Nick Lardis along with Martin Misiak and Paul Ludwinski on with the IceHogs right now on an amateur tryout.

Those three are headed back to the juniors for another year of development. That is another reason these three prospects listed above are the ones to be excited about because they are officially in the NHL fold.

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