5 players that were outstanding for the Chicago Blackhawks this season

The Chicago Blackhawks finished second to last in the NHL standings this season.

That gives the Hawks the second-best odds to win the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft Lottery. It would be the second consecutive year that the Hawks would up with the top pick. History repeating itself would be nice to see, but it is really hard to see the odds being in the Hawks' favor again.

Otherwise, this was a tough season to get through.

The Hawks did not win three straight games. Injuries ravaged the team during the winter to the point that the Blackhawks were constantly at the bottom of the Tankathon standings.

The Hawks had the worst offense when it came to average goals for a game. Three young players disappointed big time in goalie Arvid Soderblom along with forwards Lukas Reichel and Taylor Raddysh.

It was not all bad.

Five players had an outstanding season...

Connor Bedard

He lived up to the hype. Bedard is a generational player that should be the face of the franchise for a decade and then some.

Davidson on Bedard:
“The expectations & weight on his shoulders walking into the season was incredible. Probably higher than any player walking into the league, ever.
I was really impressed. I don’t think there are many players who could come in & do what he did this season.”…
— CHGO Blackhawks (@CHGO_Blackhawks) April 20, 2024

Bedard finished with a team-high 61 points with a team-leading 39 assists. He tied for the team lead in goals with 22. All that is left for him to accomplish is to be officially named the Calder Trophy winner.

Philipp Kurashev

Talk about a career turn around. Kurashev went from just being known as a fast skater to a legit player worthy of being among the team's top six.

He established great chemistry with Bedard. Kurashev was second on the team in points with 54--a career-high. He racked up 18 goals and 36 assists. He had 46 points total the past two seasons.

The hope is he can continue to improve his numbers and be on the top line with Bedard for years to come.

Jason Dickinson

Dickinson scored a career-high 22 goals this season. That earned him a two-year contract extension. He was one of the few consistent offensive threats throughout the season.

He was also the only play to skate in every game this season. Dickinson also emerged as one of the team's leaders this season.

Jason Dickinson on players “walking the walk” playing their roles:

“There’s no hiding. We see the videos. We get to analyze it.”

There’s a sense I’m getting as more players talk that there was a division between players who were and were not doing their jobs#Blackhawks
— CHGO Blackhawks (@CHGO_Blackhawks) April 20, 2024

Hopefully, this is not a career season, and he can continue to add more offense next season.

Alex Vlasic

He emerged as a player worthy of being a top-pair defenseman in his first full NHL season. He earned a huge long-term contract in the offseason as he became a blueliner the team can build the defense around.

He still has to work on his offensive game, but he was outstanding in his primary objective--playing defense.

Petr Mrazek

The goalie avoided his traditional stay on IR. While his numbers were not exactly dominant, he finished with a 3.05 goals-against average and a .908 save-percentage, he made critical saves all season long to keep the Hawks in games.

Doing that and staying healthy, along with Soderblom being one of the worst goalies in his first full NHL season, got Mrazek a two-year extension. That means he is the bridge to when the next good goalie prospect, Drew Commesso, is ready.

Mrazek was the team's second most valuable player after Bedard.