To those heading back to school now that Labor Day is in the rear view mirror, good luck this year! To those enjoying pumpkin spice anything, we wish you the best. And to those waiting with us for hockey to get back on the ice in Chicago, we’re as stir crazy as you are right now.
- This is one helluva tattoo! We love the history wrapped into this. Great concept and it looks amazing.
- As we patiently wait for prospects to hit the practice ice before the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase, we’re looking ahead at a few prospects who might be on the Blackhawks’ radar in the 2023 NHL Draft — other than Connor Bedard. Tuesday we look at the conundrum that is Russian forward Matvei Michkov, whose contract (and Russian politics) create significant questions for a team picking No. 2 net year.
- ICYMI yesterday we kicked off the series discussing what University of Michigan center Adam Fantilli brings to the table.
- If the Blackhawks end up with the No. 2 pick in the ’23 draft, general manager Kyle Davidson will likely have to make a hard choice between Fantilli and Michkov. The good news: both have the talent to be absolute superstars in the NHL.
- After reading our profiles of these two top prospects, our Twitter poll today asks a pretty simple question (on face value): which do you prefer the Blackhawks select if they don’t land the top spot next summer? Let us know what you think?
- The IIHF released the schedule for the 2023 World Juniors on Tuesday morning. The tournament will begin the day after Christmas and run through Jan. 5. We fully expect a number of Blackhawks prospects to be involved, as well as a few players we’ll be watching ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft.
- Who doesn’t love a good hype video? The University of Michigan hockey team — which will include Blackhawks prospect Frank Nazar (and Fantilli) — practiced for the first time this weekend. Full disclosure: my grandpa went to Michigan on the GI Bill after serving in World War II so I’m gonna hail the victors, valiant all day.
- The Seattle Thunderbirds, for whom Blackhawks prospect Kevin Korchinski will skate this season, also dropped a hype video. Their schedule is Tuff Enough but we think they’re going to be Fabulous this season (yup, there’s your cheesy 80s reference for this week).
- The Blackhawks bought out forward Brett Connolly earlier this summer, and he wasn’t able to find a new home in the NHL. So he’s taking his talents to Switzerland, where he’ll join HC Lugano for the coming season.
- We’re starting to get some preseason power rankings of sorts. This edition breaks teams down into tiers, and starts at the bottom. As you might guess, the worst of the worst belongs to the Arizona Coyotes and Blackhawks, who figure to be in a division battle for the top spot in the 2023 NHL Draft.
- Finally, this is long overdue but appears to be coming into reality quickly. Minor league baseball players are going to be part of the MLBPA, giving them the ability to collectively negotiate. We’ve got your update this morning.