NEWSLETTER
Yesterday, we updated our BN Top 20 Blackhawks Prospects in the wake of the World Juniors coming to a close. It just so happened that Corey Pronman at The Athletic dropped his analysis of the Blackhawks’ system yesterday as well.
There are some similarities between our rankings, and some significant differences as well. Let’s take a look at how the two lists differ.
Top 3
We both have the same three players ranked in our top three: Lukas Reichel and this year’s top two picks, Frank Nazar and Kevin Korchinski. I had Korchinski at No. 1 overall, followed by Reichel and Nazar. Pronmen, however, had Reichel remaining in the top spot followed by Nazar and Korchinski.
Here’s the one knock Pronman had on Korchinski’s game:
Despite his size and skating, he’s mediocre defensively. He doesn’t compete that hard on that side of the ice and is overly aggressive offensively. That’s a concern, but he generates so much offense that it makes up for those issues to an extent.
From what we’ve heard, the Blackhawks’ front office specifically targeted Korchinski in the top ten and made that a priority when trading Alex DeBrincat. Obviously generating a lot of offense is a big part of his upside, and the organization isn’t rushing him to the NHL so he’ll have time to work on the defensive end of the rink.
Graduation Day?
There are a couple names that are missing from one of the two rankings: Ian Mitchell and Philipp Kurashev. And there are specific reasons for the omissions.
We graduated Kurashev from our prospect rankings after he spent almost the entire last year in the NHL (he played three games in Rockford and 67 in Chicago). Only 17 players from the 2018 NHL Draft have appeared in at least 100 regular-season games in the NHL, and Kurashev is one of two drafted after the first round that year to do so (the other is fifth-rounder Yegor Sharangovich of the Devils).
With that being said, I wouldn’t have included Kurashev in our top 20 if he hadn’t graduated. I’ve seen enough from him to hope there’s better prospects coming and liked what I’ve seen from reviewing some of the recent additions and progressing players in the system to think he’ll be replaced in the not-too-distant future.
Mitchell is missing from Pronman’s rankings because of his age. Mitchell turned 23 in January; Pronman only considered players who are 22 or younger as of Sept. 15, 2022. So he clearly wouldn’t qualify, but he appears to be one of the more likely young defenseman to move from Rockford to Chicago early this season after playing heavy and important minutes for the IceHogs last year.
Two Additions
Pronman had a couple players in his top 15 that only received an honorable mention from us.
Ryan Greene got a lot of love from Pronman who had him all the way up at sixth in his rankings while we had him just outside our top 20. The Blackhawks selected Greene with their fifth pick (No. 57 overall in the second round). He’s headed to Boston University this season, where he’ll be a teammate of Drew Commesso.
Here’s what Pronman had to say about Greene:
Greene offers a lot of NHL attributes. He displays slick puck skills, often being able to put pucks between sticks and legs. He skates well well and can make highly-skilled plays with pace. Greene shows good imagination as a handler and passer. He can hit seams at a strong rate and has some power-play ability due to his vision and shot. Greene competes well enough. He can play the middle competently, can PK and wins battles. He projects as a bottom-six NHL center with the potential to play higher in a lineup.
We had Greene inside our top 20 earlier this offseason after the development camp but bumped him in favor of Dominic James after James’ strong showing at the World Juniors. Both profile as potential third-line centers with good wheels. Greene is younger and bigger, so those are likely factors in Pronman having him higher than us.
Pronman had center Ilya Safonov ranked 13th in his rankings. He’s a 6-4 center who turned 21 on May 30 and has played in the KHL the past three seasons. Here’s what he said about the 2021 sixth-round draft pick:
Safonov was a decent player for Ak Bars showing he can contribute at the KHL level. He’s a big, competitive center who can win battles and create around the net front. He has good hands, but isn’t much of a playmaker. The big issue on his game is his skating, as he’s quite slow, but I like the energy he brings to shifts regardless, which is why I think he could find a spot at the bottom of a lineup.
Based on how Davidson drafted and looking at what his front office values (read: speed), when Pronman says his big issue is skating that says out loud the red flag that kept him out of our top 20.
What do you think about the two lists? Let us know in the comments or hit us up on Twitter!
