One of the more impressive prospects in the Chicago Blackhawks’ farm system is not going to be able to play in the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four Tournament. According to College Hockey News, due to COVID Protocols, the Notre Dame program will not be allowed to play in the Men’s Frozen Four tournament. That knocks Blackhawks 2020 the third-round pick Landon Slaggert out of the tournament without getting to step foot on the ice.
This sucks for the program and for Slaggert. He's been one of the standouts in the #Blackhawks system this season. He was 3rd on ND in scoring as a Freshman and was part of the Gold Medal-winning USA squad at the World Junior Championships. https://t.co/Fw0PcfeOGt
— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) March 25, 2021
The tournament is set to begin on Friday, but the deadline for a team to be named as a replacement was on Monday. As a result, Notre Dame’s scheduled game against Boston College will be ruled a no-contest and BC will advance to the quarterfinals and await the winner of the Boston University-St. Cloud State matchup.
Slaggert finished the season third on the Irish in scoring, tallying eight goals and 22 points as a Freshman. He was also a part of the Gold Medal-winning Team USA squad at this past winter’s World Junior Championships.
The Blackhawks still have five other college prospects playing in the tournament: Josh Ess (Wisconsin), Wyatt Kaiser (Minnesota-Duluth), Drew Commesso (Boston), Jake Wise (Boston), and Alex Vlasic (Boston).
Ess and Wisconsin play tomorrow at noon CT against Bemidji State, while Kaiser and Minnesota-Duluth play at 3:00 p.m. CT against Michigan. Chicago’s trio with Boston play on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT against St. Cloud State. All games are on the ESPN family of networks.