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.

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.

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.