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

The Rockford IceHogs have been off to a strong start since the beginning of 2024.

Every part of the team has contributed to the outstanding 22-11-3 record following December. There has been no lack of scoring from every line of offense. The back end has been consistent since the departure of Wyatt Kaiser, to Chicago. Goaltending has been consistent throughout 2024, with Jaxson Stauber taking over the franchise record for the longest winning streak by any IceHogs goalie in the history of the franchise, at eight straight wins. Drew Commesso has been just as hot, with a .912 SV% in the new year.

Having a 34-24-7 record thus far, Rockford is third in the Central Division, trailing only Grand Rapids for second by five points. Theoretically, the IceHogs could clinch the second spot, however, they will have to win the last seven games for 14 points, and Grand Rapids would need to lose their last six remaining games.

While second and third place face-off in the second round of the playoffs no matter what (top three Central are excluded from the first round), what's the big deal with second and third? What's at stake, is home-ice advantage. Something the IceHogs would gladly appreciate with the advantage of playing in front of the Rockford faithful.

With IceHogs having seven games remaining in the 2023-2024 regular season, Rockford must bring the New Year's momentum into the playoffs for a deep postseason run for the men in red. For the fans who remember last season, it came down to the final day of the regular season for the Hogs to clinch the final spot in the playoffs. It's a whole new story this year as the Hogs clinched with nine games remaining in the year.

Although it's a well-rounded IceHogs team, let's look into the most improved players since January.

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.