Chicago Blackhawks farm system: Most improved Rockford IceHogs players since January

Brett Seney

Coming from Toronto two seasons ago, it was evident Seney was looking for a top spot to play in. As Rockford's top wing playing alongside Cole Guttman and Sem Pitlick, Seney is one of the most consistent players in the 815. Last season, Seney tallied 54 points in 59 games. This season, it was a little different with the slow start to the 2023-2024 contest.

Seney posted 21 points in the first 29 games of the 2023 calendar first half. However, the reason he is on this list is his outstanding 35 points in 34 games since January. Being a point-per-game player, he is exactly what the team is looking for to opt for a deep postseason run. It's evident at 28, Seney will be fighting for a consistent NHL roster spot within the next few years. Having signed a one-year deal last March (for the 23-24 season), it will be interesting to see what the Blackhawks organization does in terms of Seney for the following year. If he stays around, do his numbers justify a bottom 6 role with Chicago?

To look in-depth at how Seney's points have contributed to the IceHogs' success, two main areas stick out. Out of his 21 goals so far, more than half (11) have been on the power play. This has been crucial for the IceHogs' special teams' success this year which is tied for the league's sixth-best power-play percentage. Furthermore, the second key is his shot percentage, which is the highest it's ever been at 17.2%. For reference, the highest NHL shooting percentage amount for all active players is 18.37%, by Brayden Point. In short, almost one in five shots Seney takes, ends up in the back of the net.

Cole Guttman

The 25-year-old California native, who fittingly acquired the nickname "Goal Guttman", is second on our list. Guttman has been the top center on the IceHogs for the past two seasons, since coming from the University of Denver. We saw a promising stint with the Blackhawks out of Guttman last season, with four goals and two assists in 14 games during the 2022-2023 campaign. Much like Seney, Guttman's contract is up at the end of the season. Due to his play, it's evident an extension will be worked out for the coming years.

What makes Guttman so special is his noticeably fast skating used in full-on tight turns. This leads him to the ideal passing option from the corner out to the slot, the middle of the ice slowing the defender down in his tracks on the initial turn. Starting the year in Chicago with four goals and four assists in 27 games, it's evident Guttman's days in the Stateline are limited. Cole is on the list for the fact that he has 31 PTS in 27 games skated in since the new year.

Starting his AHL year with nine points in 12 games before heading up to Chicago for his November-January stint, Guttman saw more time in Chicago than Rockford to start the season. However, coming back to the Stateline mid-January earned him the March AHL Player of the Month with 22 points in 12 games. His time with the Blackhawks has shown how well he can play at both levels in the NHL and American League. With Guttman picking up the pace since January (31 PTS), he ranks second on our list.

Jaxson Stauber

Stauber has dramatically improved his numbers since the new year. Playing for Chicago in two stints last season, he posted a 5-1 record, a .911 save percentage, and a 2.81 goals-against average in six NHL games, many thought he could've earned the backup job behind Petr Mrazek to start this season. That was not the case, as Commesso and he have been the two in goal for Rockford for the good majority of the 2023-2024 stretch.

Many may remember from December 31st to February 2nd, Stauber had either been a backup or a healthy scratch. With Weeks and Commesso in the rotation, a mysterious yet internal situation turned out to be Stauber working with the IceHogs goaltending coach on simple, yet key changes to his game. Through December, Stauber had an 889 SV% in 12 games. After the new year, Stauber has had a 916 SV%.

Considering all things, Stauber's stats have drastically improved since not only last calendar year but the 2022-2023 campaign where he had a .894 in 14 games. Now at a .900 SV%, along with his GAA below 3.00 (2.90), the most impressive stat is that Stauber has not lost since January 26th (~2 1/2 months) and as of now, is on a 12-game winning streak. Along with the memorable goalie goal, this stat earned Jaxson 3rd on the most improved IceHogs Players since January.

While we wanted to keep it to the top three players, you cannot go without mentioning forward Rem Pitlick. With an outstanding 27 points since his transfer down to Rockford after going pointless with the Hawks in nine total games. The 27-year-old was acquired in a trade on January 6th from the Penguins organization.

Will our top three players continue these runs in the playoffs? With just six games left, and the addition of Ludwinski and Lardis, a big testament to how the playoffs will at least start is the momentum building off of the final week of the regular season.