2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Wyatt Kaiser stays at No. 5

The 2026 version of Second City Hockey’s Top 25 Under 25 rankings moves on to our Top 10, which will contain a lengthier breakdown of each individual who made it into that group.

Wyatt Kaiser

Position: Defense

Age: 24 (July 31, 2002)

Acquired via: Third-round pick (81st overall) in 2020 NHL Draft

2024-25 team: Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)

2024-25 stats: 17 points (6 G, 11 A) in 77 games

Size: 6-foot, 190 pounds

Contract: Two year, $1.7m AAV (RFA)

Rankings: 4 (Dave), 5 (LBR), 6 (Eric, SCH)

Last T25U25 ranking: No. 5, no movement

For roughly the first half of last season, Wyatt Kaiser didn\'t just look like he had established himself as a full-time NHL defenseman -- he looked like he might have established himself as one of the Blackhawks\' best. By late January, Kaiser was almost universally considered Chicago\'s best-performing defenseman: he had become the kind of steady, reliable presence the Blackhawks had been hoping would emerge from their young defensive group, combining strong defensive work with increasingly effective puck movement and transition play.

Chicago head coach Jeff Blashill said this morning he felt Wyatt Kaiser was playing his best hockey of the season right now, and it's hard to disagree. He's been unreal lately. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/emEEmO3aWo

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 28, 2026

The second half complicated Kaiser\'s overall evaluation, though. His performance declined after his excellent start, although there wasn\'t one simple explanation for why. He dealt with an injury, the Blackhawks, as a whole, began struggling significantly more and some of the problems that plagued the rest of the team -- failed exits, bad turnovers and defensive breakdowns -- started appearing more frequently in Kaiser\'s game as well. His underlying results dropped from legitimately strong second-pair territory early in the season to below average by the end.

Kaiser\'s defensive partners also provide some important context. He spent a lot of time essentially babysitting Artyom Levshunov, and the pairing worked solidly to good when given easier assignments and deployment. However, once they were asked to handle tougher minutes, mistakes began piling up for both players. Then, Kaiser played similar minutes alongside rookie Sam Rinzel and even more difficult time with Connor Murphy and performed considerably better in both situations. That\'s not to place the blame for Kaiser\'s second-half decline on Levshunov, because it was a lot to ask of a very raw young defenseman and a relatively inexperienced Kaiser to suddenly handle difficult NHL assignments together. The pairing simply wasn\'t as effective once its usage changed and, with more experience, there\'s no reason the two couldn\'t eventually work in a larger role.

On the bright side, Kaiser at least recovered reasonably well before the season ended, putting together several strong performances over the final weeks. Jeff Blashill specifically praised that rebound in late March, saying Kaiser had gotten \"back to where he was right before the break\" and highlighting how much he\'d improved at using his skating to escape pressure before deciding whether to make another play or simply get the puck to safety. That ability to consistently make the correct decision with the puck was one of the biggest reasons why Kaiser was so effective when he was at his best.

Wyatt Kaiser not getting a power play look continues to be a huge missed opportunity. There's very few players that can walk the line like this — he'd be a perfect PP QB: pic.twitter.com/iFR69ShCmf

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) March 30, 2026

Kaiser isn\'t an offensive defenseman in the traditional sense, and his 17 points (6 G, 11 A) in 77 games aren\'t going to change that perception. But his underlying offensive and play-driving contributions were considerably more impressive than the point totals suggest, particularly in transition. He was one of the Blackhawks\' better defensemen at moving the puck up ice, whether through a quick first pass or using his skating to escape pressure and create a clean exit himself. He was also excellent on puck retrievals, regularly getting to loose pucks and turning possession in the defensive zone into movement the other way. He had an especially effective stretch pass, which sprung quite a few teammates for opportunityes. The actual points weren\'t always there, but Kaiser consistently helped turn retrievals and exits into offensive opportunities for a Blackhawks team that wasn\'t particularly good at finishing them.

Wyatt Kaiser is going to open a lot of eyes this season👀 #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/juAwCyDfUo

— Bedsy (@bedsysburner98) August 14, 2026

Just a beautiful stretch pass by Wyatt Kaiser. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/8K3yLsqWFU

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 20, 2025

Defensively, Kaiser is similarly more effective because of his skating, positioning and anticipation than any overwhelming physical element. He was particularly good at closing space quickly and using his stick to disrupt plays, while his mobility allows him to stay with quicker forwards and recover when necessary. There are still areas to improve, particularly when handling heavier players around the boards and in front of the net but, when Kaiser was at his best last season, he hustled to beat forecheckers and consistently limited chances without spending entire shifts trapped in the defensive zone.

This puck hit off Kaiser's stick then face but he still recovered to work a clean breakout pic.twitter.com/IwjYlMQ5G7

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 11, 2026

Kaiser uses his skating to lose a forechecker pic.twitter.com/iQxtm25UR5

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) January 10, 2026

You can read more about about Kaiser\'s split performance this season here:

https://www.secondcityhockey.com/the-glimpses-of-wyatt-kaisers-nhl-potential-we-saw-this-season/

The question entering this upcoming season is whether the Kaiser from the first half of last season is closer to the player he\'s going to be long-term. There are plenty of reasons to believe it: his second-half decline happened alongside an injury, more difficult deployment and a larger team-wide collapse, while his improved play toward the end of the season suggested he was capable of recovering rather than simply continuing to spiral. At the same time, the Blackhawks need Kaiser to eventually become someone who can help stabilize the team when things around him aren\'t going particularly well, rather than having his own performance decline with it.

That becomes especially important given what Chicago\'s defense will look like this season. The Blackhawks have committed heavily to their young defensive core, with only one defenseman currently older than 25. Kaiser may still be just 24 himself, but he\'s suddenly one of the older players in a group featuring Levshunov (soon to be 21), Rinzel (22) and other young defensemen still learning how to handle NHL competition. There will just be much less veteran insulation available when things go wrong.

Like with a lot of kids on the Blackhawks roster, this is going to be an important season for Kaiser. He doesn\'t necessarily need another massive developmental leap -- the player Chicago needs him to become already appeared for a significant portion of last season. At his best, Kaiser looked like an excellent, steady second-pair defenseman who could defend, retrieve pucks and consistently help move play in the right direction. Now it\'s about proving that version of Kaiser can be the norm rather than just an excellent first half. And if he can do that while taking on more responsibility within such a young defensive group, the Blackhawks may already have one of the more important pieces of their future blue line firmly in place.

Two years ago, I thought Wyat Kaiser was going to be the Blackhawks breakout young defenseman after seeing him at the prospect tournament.

Two years later, he's finally playing how he looked then.

My story on what's changed ⤵️ https://t.co/fpuAGVLs83

— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) March 23, 2025

Before we wrap this up, let\'s take a moment to talk about the rankings here. Some might argue Kaiser\'s ranking on this list is too high, especially with two potentially higher-ceiling defensemen in Levshunov and Rinzel sitting below him. It\'s certainly true that Rinzel has more offensive creativity, while Levshunov possesses the physical tools and aggressiveness that made him the No. 2 overall pick not long ago. Kaiser, on the other hand, has always been more about consistently connecting plays together, being highly dependable defensively and generally playing in a way that doesn\'t create too many unnecessary problems.

But potential isn\'t the only consideration in these rankings for everyone, and both Levshunov and Rinzel objectively had worse seasons than Kaiser, which likely played a role in how the three ended up ordered. There\'s a reasonable argument for ranking them in almost any order depending on how much weight is placed on ceiling versus what they\'ve already shown at the NHL level, and we may not know the correct order for another year or two. The positive is that the Blackhawks have three very different defensemen who all have legitimate top-four potential, with each bringing a different set of strengths to what could eventually become the core of Chicago\'s blue line.

2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25 list (so far): No. 6: Sam Rinzel No. 7: Artyom Levshunov No. 8: Nick Lardis No. 9: Oliver Moore No. 10: Kevin Korchinski Nos. 11-15: Greene, Nestrasil, Villeneuve, Commesso, Vanacker Nos. 16-20: Boisvert, Behm, Roobroeck, West, Mustard Nos. 21-25: Del Mastro, Gajan, Spellacy, Slaggert, Alalauri Honorable Mention: Samuel Savoie

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