Which Chicago Blackhawks players will see time in Rockford this season?

The Chicago Blackhawks learned the hard way last season that lacking roster depth can spell doom for an NHL team.

When the team was struck by lightning...sorry, flattened by God himself with the number of injuries they suffered last season, the team was forced to turn to non-NHL caliber players to fill the void.

General manager Kyle Davidson made it a point this offseason to ensure that such a desolation of the roster is impossible this season.

By adding Craig Smith, Pat Maroon, Alec Martinez, TJ Brodie and Laurent Broissoit, Davidson has stocked the Hawks with depth options that can play any given night, and even play higher up in the lineup in the case of injuries.

While this depth ensures that the floor doesn't fall out from beneath the team, it also makes it significantly more difficult for some of the Hawks young an exciting players to sniff the NHL roster.

So who will be the odd man out? Who will start the season in Rockford and who will ride the Hawks bench? I think I have the answers--okay fine, I have an educated guess--okay, an uneducated guess...

Starting in Rockford

It will no doubt pain some fans to hear this but I really don't see Frank Nazar beginning the season on the Hawks opening night lineup.

I think the plan here is to give Nazar the Reichel treatment. Allow him to over-mature in Rockford and dominate at the AHL level and bring him up when he is truly ready to play a top 6 role.

Nazar isn't the kind of player that you want playing on the 4th line in limited minutes to get his feet wet at the NHL level.

If he is in the NHL he needs to play a top 6 role to be most effective, and while I, like everyone else, was greatly impressed by his end-of-season NHL stint, I still think he will benefit from at least part of a season in the AHL.