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These Are the Six Most Important Players for the Chicago Blackhawks at the Season’s Midpoint

By Todd Welter |
/ Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports
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The Chicago Blackhawks have officially reached the halfway point of another lost season. You can thank injuries decimating the roster for that.

The forward group is the walking wounded right now. Connor Bedard, Nick Foligno, Anthony Beauvillier, Andreas Athanasiou, Taylor Raddysh, Joey Anderson, and Tyler Johnson are all on injured reserve with Taylor Hall lost for the season. Colin Blackwell missed the first two months of the season as he recovered from an injury that knocked him last February.

Top defenseman Seth Jones has also been on IR since early December. Injuries briefly did a number on the blue line last month with Jared Tinordi spending time on IR. Alex Vlasic missed a game as well. Kevin Korchinski had to be away from the team after the passing of his father.

Add up all that missed time and that is a big reason the Chicago Blackhawks sit at the bottom of the Central Division.

Hopefully, the Blackhawks start to get some of these forwards back soon. Still, it is going to be hard to win games even when the roster returns to full health as it was deficient in elite talent to begin with.

This season was probably going to be lost since the talent level was nowhere near being a playoff contender. The Hawks are in the early stages of building back up the roster after completely tearing it down last season. After game 41 last season, the Hawks had 11 wins so there is some improvement, albeit very incremental.

That does not mean there has not been noteworthy play this season.

The Blackhawks have a superstar to build around in Bedard. They have found two defensemen to be cornerstones on the blue line. They discovered a captain to replace Jonathan Toews even if he does not wear the "C." Another player is having a breakout season, and a goalie is finally staying healthy to round out the six most important players at the midway point.

Connor Bedard

The rookie sensation has been everything he was forecasted to be. His shot is amazing. His puck skills are tremendous.

He was recently named to his first All-Star team which made him the youngest player ever to be selected. Bedard is not only the most important player for this franchise, but he might be one of the most important players in the NHL.

The league has been marketing him heavily and making him a crossover star. They are trying to use his amazing skills to draw in new audience members. Unfortunately, he will be out the next few weeks with an injury.

Alex Vlasic and Kevin Korchinski

These two young defensemen are skating in their first full NHL season and proving they belong. Korchinski is not even supposed to be here right now! He only made the roster because the Hawks had a nine-game window for him to get some experience before he was supposed to go back to the juniors.

Korchinski showed so much potential that he is staying the full season. He has had his share of rookie mistakes. For example, he was terrible against the Devils in the Hawks' recent game in New Jersey.

/ Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

His offensive game has so much potential. He is displaying what the front office envisioned when they made a top 10 pick in the 2022 draft.

Vlasic is quietly becoming a shutdown defense. He has been careful with the puck too. His size on the ice really stands out.

/ Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Seth Jones' contract guarantees he will be part of the next good Blackhawks team. Vlasic and Korchinski have shown enough to join him to form the foundation of the blue line on those teams.

Nick Foligno

Officially he is one of the alternate captains. Unofficially, he is the captain of the team. The young players have relied on his guidance this season.

On the ice, he does everything a captain should do. He got hurt when he defended the honor of Bedard in New Jersey by dropping gloves with the man responsible for breaking Bedard's jaw.

He has had a solid season offensively with 17 points. Foligno is set to be an unrestricted free agent after the season, but general manager Kyle Davidson hopes to re-sign him (subscription required). Foligno may be getting up there in years, but these transition teams could use his steady leadership.

Jason Dickinson

He is having a career year. Dickinson has already surpassed his career-high in goals. Jason put a lot of work into his shot in the offseason. It has paid off as he is on pace to score nearly 30 goals.

Dickinson is the only Blackhawk besides Bedard to register double-digit goals. The Hawks are going to need his scoring with Bedard out for at least a month.

Dickinson is set to be a free agent after the season, so he might be one of the few players on the roster that could bring back some value at the trade deadline.

Petr Mrazek

The netminder has stayed healthy so far. The Hawks have needed him to stand on his head if they want any chance of winning.

Mrazek has staved off Arvid Soderblom's quest to unseat him as the No. 1 goalie. Although, Soderblom has been a major disappointment where Mrazek has been very good. He has been in goal for all but two of the Blackhawks wins this season.

The formula for the Chicago Blackhawks to win a game has been Connor Bedard scoring, another forward having a big night offensively, and Mrazek stopping just enough goals.

Petr has not been exactly a shutdown goalie this season. His goals-against-average is over three and his save percentage is in the low 900s. When he stops just enough shots, the Blackhawks have a good chance of winning.

Mrazek is also set to be a free agent after the season. He might fetch a nice return at the trade deadline for a team desperate for goaltending help. With how Soderblom has struggled so badly this season, the Hawks might be better served keeping Mrazek around.

Related. Five players that need to step up. 5 Players That Need To Step Up for the Chicago Blackhawks With Connor Bedard Out. dark

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