Cole Guttman's Season Ends for the Blackhawks on a High Note

We all knew the Blackhawks were in for a rough season the minute the 2022 NHL Entry Draft began. They made several moves to ship out big pieces of the core in an attempt to revitalize the future. What little of the roster remained prepared to sit at the bottom of the standings for the 2022-23 season, but the Blackhawks had a plan.

While the ultimate prize for a disappointing year could be Connor Bedard, the Hawks were not content to rely only on a pipe dream. They began to stock up on young prospects through the draft. However, one of the biggest prospect signings they got came from free agency in a player the Tampa Bay Lightning released the rights to.

That player is Cole Guttman.

Guttman is a player that seemingly came out of nowhere this year. When he became a member of the Blackhawks organization, he was projected to be a player that would primarily stay with the Rockford IceHogs. However, Guttman quickly proved he was ready to play in the big leagues.

In 39 games in the American Hockey League, Guttman put up 30 points, 16 of which were goals. When the Blackhawks began dismantling as they looked to the future, Guttman got the shot to play in the NHL, and he quickly began to turn heads. While he only had six points in 14 games, his faceoff capabilities and 200-foot game shined. However his impressive season, in traditional Blackhawks fashion, had to come to an end with a whimper as Guttman sustained a shoulder injury.

While Guttman is gone for the remainder of the year, his limited time in the NHL showed how promising he could be in a full 82-game campaign. Most likely, he will get to spend a lot of the year with the Blackhawks next year if he can maintain the same pace. He may not have been a player that got a lot of eyes right off the bat, but he could certainly find himself as a mainstay on the future Blackhawks squad.