NEWSLETTER
The Blackhawks have signed Minnesota-Duluth defenseman Wyatt Kaiser to his entry-level contract. The three-year deal runs through the 2024-25 season — which means he’s coming straight to Chicago and joining the NHL club (and burning year one of his ELC in the process). Kaiser’s deal has a $916,666.67 salary cap hit.
Kaiser, who will turn 21 on July 31, was originally a third-round pick by the Blackhawks in the 2020 NHL Draft; they selected him 81st overall with the pick they received from Calgary for Erik Gustafsson.
According to Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune, Kaiser is flying to Chicago on Wednesday. Wellens also tweeted that Kaiser’s sister is playing in the Women’s Frozen Four in Duluth (which he’ll miss) and notes the Blackhawks are at the Wild on March 25 (welcome home, Wyatt).
He set new career-highs with five goals, 18 assists and 23 points and was credited with 34 blocked shots for the Bulldogs this season in 35 games. Kaiser also performed well for the US at the August edition of the World Juniors. As I wrote about Kaiser a couple weeks ago, adding him as a left-handed shot on the blue line could help the overall depth in the organization.
Back in July, NBC Sports Chicago quoted Blackhawks player development coach Erik Condra about the rise of Kaiser’s stock in the organization.
“He’s not flying under our radar,” Condra said with a smile after a day at prospect camp in July. “We’re excited about him. You see out here, some of the future that’s going to be with the Blackhawks and he’s definitely a big part of that.”
Ben Pope at the Chicago Sun-Times recently wrote a nice feature on Kaiser’s development. The organization has been thrilled with his physical progress and a stronger off-ice training regimen has helped him be more pro-ready. He’s listed at 6-0 and 186 pounds, but he added about 15 pounds over the summer according to Pope’s story.
When Minnesota-Duluth’s season came to an end over the weekend, this was only a matter of time. Now, Kaiser is moving from the NCHC to the NHL.
