Which Blackhawks will be the most exciting to watch this season?

This upcoming 2026-2027 Chicago Blackhawks season has plenty of hype and anticipation surrounding it and for good reason. The main factor is the return of Patrick Kane to his adopted home. Kane back in Chicago just feels right and will put on a lot of smiles on the faces of this team's fandom when he makes his United Center reunion.

Another reason to be excited about this upcoming Blackhawks season is that there are more players worth paying attention to. Past seasons of Connor Bedard era have featured very few other players of note. That will not be the case this year as more and more promising young talents continue to emerge and take the next steps forward in their development.

With that in mind, let's take a look at some of those players in mind that should be must-watch TV. This list will not feature Bedard and Kane as every Blackhawks fan and their mother will be excited to watch those players. The guys discussed here may not be the main entree, but excellent side dishes on the menu.

Frank Nazar

Frank Nazar is a guy who absolutely needs to take his game to the next level this season. Nazar has made his mark as a fun player to watch with his speed and skill. He has the talent; his issue so far has been consistency. He goes through stretches where he can produce with the best of them, at over a point-per-game rate. Then, he'll go through stretches where he is not noticeable and goes quiet.

Like Bedard, injuries have been a negative factor when it comes to Nazar's career thus far. He needs to remain healthy this year and step up to the plate. While Bedard is out to begin the season, Nazar will have a grand opportunity to take the bull by the horns and assert himself as the star player he has potential to be. Nazar needs to prove that he is worth the $46.2 million investment GM Kyle Davidson bet on him last summer. Will Nazar just be a solid player at this level, or can he be great? A lot of questions surrounding him will be answered this season.

Anton Frondell

Like Nazar, Anton Frondell will have an great chance in front of him to show what he can do right at the onset of this approaching campaign. He will fight Nazar for that first-line center role while Bedard is out of the lineup. If the Blackhawks are getting the Frondell that already looked like a seasoned veteran in his initial NHL foray last season, he will have a big year. He should be placed in a great position to challenge the likes of Gavin McKenna, Porter Martone and Ivar Stenberg for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the best rookie of the year.

Roman Kantserov

Like Frondell, Kantserov is a rookie that should be an X-factor for this Blackhawks squad. Kantserov could be this team's secret weapon. He is a player that the media may be overlooking in regards to the rookie of the year conversation. The last time Chicago had a first-year player who amassed over 60 points in Russia, and on the same team as Kane, it went pretty well. That was Artemi Panarin, who won the Calder in 2016. We'll see if Kantserov can repeat history this season.

Nick Lardis

Amongst the players that should be the main difference-makers for this team, who is to say that Nick Lardis cannot enter that equation? This is a player who has done nothing but score goals at a ridiculous rate in every league he has participated in. The NHL is the last box he has to tick and he showed positive signs of doing so last year. Lardis has a chance to slot himself in as a future core guy for this team in what will be his first full season in the show.

Bowen Byram

It is hard to argue that there is any player on the Blackhawks that has more to prove this season than Bowen Byram. It's been a roller-coaster career for Byram to this point. He has bounced around teams, with Chicago being number three in the running. He has reaching the highs of a Stanley Cup victory and lows of a concussion history.

Virtually the entire NHL media has clowned this team for the Byram move. He has been pegged as a player that, while good, will never reach the ceiling of his potential when he was selected fourth overall in the 2019 draft. Seven years later, Byram has finally arrived to the team he always wanted to play for. The moment has arrived for him to put it all together and show that Davidson made the right call in bringing him aboard.

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