The Blackhawks made only a few minor tweaks to the young players in their organization since Second City Hockey unveiled its 2019-20 midseason Top 25 Under 25 ranking series.
Chicago traded winger Dylan Sikura to the Golden Knights for a more experience player in winger Brandon Pirri, and sent defenseman Dennis Gilbert to the Avalanche in the Brandon Saad trade. Both Gilbert (No. 18) and Sikura (No. 11) saw playing time with the Blackhawks, but players with a higher skillset and potential have entered the organization and surpassed them.
Winger Dominik Kubalik (No. 5) and AHL goaltender Kevin Lankinen (No. 19) both graduated out of the T25U25 ranking because they turned 25 years old.
Kubalik finished in third place for the Calder Trophy, given annually to the NHL’s most outstanding first-year player. He led rookies in goals with 30, good for 17th among all NHL players. He also had 46 points, first among rookie forwards and third among all rookies.
After a strong start to the season, Lankinen’s play dipped and he had season-ending shoulder surgery March 5. He finished with a .909 save percentage in 21 games. The Blackhawks gave him a two-year extension and will have him compete for the starting job in Chicago, but he’s waiver exempt so he’ll likely to be the starter in Rockford.
2020 T25U25: Graduated, departed players
No. 5 — Dominik Kubalik (W), Turned 25 on Aug. 21
No. 11 — Dylan Sikura (W), Traded to Vegas on Sept. 29
No. 18 — Dennis Gilbert (LHD), Traded to Colorado on Oct. 10
No. 19 — Kevin Lankinen (G), Turned 25 on April 28