These 3 Blackhawks surprises made fans believe in the rebuild again

While the Blackhawks saw a few prospects play some good hockey this past season, the youngsters listed below were in ‘stole the show’ mode. All three players mentioned outplayed expectations when they got a chance to throw on a Blackhawks sweater, giving fans hope that the Dark Ages could have a light at the end of that seemingly endless tunnel. 

Yeah, it’ll still take time for all three of the names listed below to figure things out at the NHL level, and that’s the given. But the forward, defenseman, and netminder listed below gave us a lot of positives to work with. Which young newcomers to the organization impressed me the most, and what can we expect from them moving forward? 

Frank Nazar

While Frank Nazar made his NHL debut in 2023-24, he played in just three games. This season, that number increased to 53 contests. And while his rating stood at an ugly minus-11 at the end of the season, Nazar still logged 26 points and 12 goals in that frame. I was also impressed with his 13.2 shooting percentage. 

Nazar also showed us he could handle middle and even top-six minutes, so look for that number to trend upward starting in October. It also wouldn’t surprise me if he put up something close to what we saw from Connor Bedard this past year, and his chemistry with Bedard should also improve. 

Nazar is one of those “as-advertised” players whose ceiling will just keep rising as he gains more NHL experience. You can say the same for the next two players on this list, even if they gave fans a much lighter sample size. 

Sam Rinzel

I can’t wait to see Sam Rinzel grow more into his frame because the Blackhawks will have an imposing defenseman on their hands. He saw just nine games but wow, they were a good slate of nine games. And remember, Rinzel’s still honing his game, so look for more production as he sees increased ice time in the coming years. 

Through what I’ll call cameo appearances, Rinzel logged five assists and a plus-1 rating in nine games, and three of those assists came on the power play. He also blocked five shots and laid 12 body checks, foreshadowing the fact that he will be a punishing player once he becomes a complete product.

He also averaged 23 minutes and 22 seconds of average total ice time, meaning he too could end up playing regular top four minutes sooner rather than later. Overall, there was a lot I liked about Rinzel. 

Spencer Knight

Spencer Knight didn’t ‘grow up’ in the Blackhawks system, but he instead joined the Blackhawks during the last lap of their campaign, starting 15 games and posting a 5-8-2 record. He looked like a future No. 1 netminder, posting a 0.893 save percentage, a 3.18 GAA, and a 0.533 quality starts percentage. 

He played at the same level of and maybe slightly better than Arvid Soderblom, who finally figured things out when he got another crack at it following an injury to Laurent Brossoit. Still, Knight’s two years younger and he boasts a higher ceiling, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he edged out Soderblom in camp this September. 

Overall, the Hawks may’ve gotten their long-term answer with Knight, and I’ll be curious to see how much better he fares should the entire team improve next season.