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

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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.

Another player I see in the AHL this season is Landon Slaggert.

If you just count the NHL spots available, Slaggert is pretty much pushed out. Think, Joey Anderson who has far more NHL experience and impact, is likely going to be riding the bench much of this season, so I don't see Luke Richardson handing Slaggert a starting opportunity over Anderson or Craig Smith (The one who most likely has healthy scratches).

Much like Nazar he will benefit from playing in Rockford, where he can likely play top minutes and improve his game. Imagine a line with Nazar, Slaggert and Colton Dach. That might be worth driving up to Rockford to see!

Ok, this one is a major dark horse option, but Kevin Korchinski may see time in Rockford this season.

This would not be the route that I would take personally, as I think it's better for Korchinski to just stay in his current position at this point.

However, it is worth noting that the only reason Korchinski stayed in the NHL last season was because he was not eligible to play in Rockford. Had he been eligible there is no question that that is where he would have played.

If you send Korchinski to Rockford, you can play Wyatt Kaiser in Korchinski's spot to really see what you have with him. I think Kaiser is NHL-ready at this point and I would like to see him get a long look there this year. Again, I think it's unlikely but not impossible.

On The NHL Bench

I think that the most likely candidates from the forwards group to start on the bench would be Joey Anderson, Craig Smith, and Pat Maroon.

I don't know which of them will start on opening night (though I lean towards Maroon), but I do think that Davidson brought these players in to add to the team's depth and I don't see any of them playing close to 82 games this year.

I think that the team will cycle through these three players as injuries or other unforeseen circumstances arise.

For the defensive corps, I see Isaak Philips and Wyatt Kaiser starting on the bench with TJ Brodie the most likely candidate to see some time as a healthy scratch as well.

I actually like the Hawks' defensive depth this season as Brodie is a really flexible player. He had a down year last season but he has experience playing anywhere in the lineup from D1-D6, and I think that versatility will benefit the Hawks greatly.

For Philips and Kaiser, they will both see time in the NHL and I think both can take advantage of that opportunity to show that they belong there. I don't know if either of them factor into the long-term plan, but both are young enough to prove to Davidson that he should factor them in. I'm rooting hard for both players.

All things considered, with injuries or poor play of a few players, I could see all the players mentioned above seeing NHL games this season.

Hopefully, when they do see those NHL games, the environment is right for them to come in and thrive. We do not want a repeat of last season, and the depth this team has currently should prevent such a situation from happening.

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