We’re now less than one week away from the World Junior Championship beginning, which is exciting because it’s actual hockey that matters in August. And… we need something to cheer for at this point.
USA Hockey dropped a hype video for the upcoming World Juniors and Blackhawks prospect Landon Slaggert is front and center talking about his excitement to represent the red, white and blue again this year.
If you’re wondering “Hey, Tab, why are the Blackhawks praying for the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NHL Draft?” here’s your answer. His name is Connor Bedard.
TSN’s Travis Yost started a series breaking down of every team’s strengths (or weaknesses) by position around the league on Wednesday. He began the series with on the right wing side, where the Blackhawks still have Patrick Kane at the top of a depth chart that is… questionable. However, Yost ranked the Blackhawks in the middle of the pack, giving them a Tier 3 (Solid) grade.
Here are Yost’s comments specifically about the Blackhawks and Kane:
On the other side of the equation, is doing a lot of work holding up the right side of the Blackhawks lineup, and based on the demolition of their roster this summer, it doesn’t seem likely Kane will be in Chicago much longer. Kane is about as one-dimensional a forward can get, but that one-dimension – his ability to score at will; he managed 92 points in just 78 games last season – has tremendous value and will make him very valuable as a trade rental on his expiring contract. Once Kane is moved, the Blackhawks right side looks as thin as the rest of the roster, and this team is on the fast track to the draft lottery.
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When Juan Soto and Josh Bell — pieces in what has been billed as the biggest trade in MLB history earlier this week — arrived in San Diego, they went straight to playing a little hockey. Well, bubble hockey. And Soto picked up a W on behalf of the Blackhawks. We wouldn’t mind him on the power play this year.
If you aren’t following the University of Denver’s hockey twitter yet, you should. Aidan Thompson is going to be playing there this year and they’re great about sharing highlights (the entire NCHC is terrific on social). They shared this fun moment from one of their kid camps earlier this week.
Finally, we love prospect rankings (since that will be our primary source of happiness as Blackhawks fans for a while). And it certainly appears the Cubs are doing an improved job of developing potential future stars.
NEWSLETTER
