Blackhawks prospects pool’s high ranking shouldn’t be overtly important for fans

Hey, I get it. When you root for a hockey team that’s been an eyesore on the ice for a while and is still rebuilding, it feels great to see major outlets recognize them for something. For the Chicago Blackhawks, it’s their prospects pool, which David St. Louis of EP Rinkside ranked second in the NHL.

Great news, right? Yeah, maybe. It means the Blackhawks might be a good team in a few years, and without a doubt, some of those prospects will see time in a red sweater this year. But there are no guarantees that a good prospects pool transforms teams into eventual contenders, and it’s why you need to exercise caution here. 

Look at the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings. Both teams’ prospects pools enjoyed high rankings from various outlets since the decade began, but they own the longest and second-longest playoff droughts in hockey, respectively. Yeah, you can have the best list of prospects in the league for years, but there are no guarantees that they will translate into transforming a rebuilding effort into a winning program. 

Okay, now that I got the pessimistic side out of the way, let’s look at why Hawks fans can be a little more optimistic than Sabres or Red Wings fans. For one, neither Buffalo nor Detroit ever had a star player to build around like the Hawks do. 

Blackhawks fans should still be optimistic about its prospects pool

In Buffalo, Jack Eichel never took over games like Connor Bedard has the potential to, and Eichel still isn’t a top-tier star in Vegas. You can say the same for current star player Tage Thompson, who is a great but not an elite player. 

Over in Detroit, the top guy in the lineup is Dylan Larkin, even if Lucas Raymond could take the No. 1 spot at some point. Raymond has star potential, but he’s probably not in the same league as Bedard now that the latter has more talent around him to work with.

So, just as I said to temper expectations for Bedard this season, I’m saying the same for the prospects pool. But you’re also free to increase those expectations for Bedard as he grows as a player, and ultimately, into one who will elevate everyone around him. 

This means the Blackhawks prospects pool has more potential to deliver better returns than what we’ve seen from franchises like Buffalo or Detroit, at least as of 2023-24. There’s more top-end talent with someone like Bedard and new defenseman Artyom Levshunov, so I would say something like being “cautiously optimistic” is the ideal mindset here.