Blackhawks CHL Prospect Update, 2/18: Pridham, Vanacker, and Behm are going off

A trio of Blackhawks prospects are making substantial waves in their respective leagues this season.

Forwards

Nathan Behm (LW/RW) | Kamloops Blazers (WHL)

Stats: 75 points (31 G, 44 A), 27 PIM, 194 SOG in 54 games

Behm was selected by the Blackhawks in the third round last summer (at No. 66 overall) and Betsy and I were both ecstatic about the player and the pick at the time, but his value has already grown significantly since then:

All eyes are on J.P. Hurlbert in Kamloops, but #Blackhawks pick Nathan Behm has quietly emerged as an elite scorer 🔥 @MitchLBrown breaks down the risers and fallers in @TheWHL over the last month 👀

🔗: https://t.co/D1RLQRI7Nt pic.twitter.com/Xdan4XwLtl

— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) December 5, 2025

Behm\'s 75 points currently has him at No. 5 in the entire WHL in overall scoring, his 31 goals are good for ninth, and his 1.486 points per game rate puts him fourth. Not only is he in the midst of a dominant season offensively, but he\'s scoring and attacking in a variety of ways, as opposed to simply just relying on one plus trait or tool (which can still get you pretty far in juniors):

Nathan Behm — remember the name 👀🔥 Proud to have him representing us as an EP Ambassador. #Hockey #EliteProspects #epambassador pic.twitter.com/rJDgYyyF0I

— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) January 15, 2026

Here\'s an example of Behm using his shot and his speed:

Nathan Behm off to the races! 🏃 pic.twitter.com/IbIyFqgnCY

— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) January 25, 2026

A look at his instincts and vision:

Primary assist from Nathan Behm (#29) #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/lz0vUrkdT8

— Chicago Prospects (@Chi_Prospects) November 19, 2025

And here he is putting it all together:

#Blackhawks prospect Nathan Behm with his 28th goal of the season! pic.twitter.com/DFT2yr62aR

— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) February 1, 2026

With 13 games left in Kamloops\' regular-season schedule, it\'ll be interesting to see just how far Behm can push his point total, with a triple-digit finish not being completely outside the realm of possibility.

Jack Pridham (RW) | Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

Stats: 71 points (35 G, 36 A), 46 PIM, 210 SOG in 54 games

For as good as Behm has been -- and he\'s been outstanding -- you could make the argument he might be having the second-best season of any Blackhawks prospect in the CHL right now, as Pridham has exploded for Kitchener this year after foregoing his commitment to play in the NCAA for Boston University in order to return to the OHL for a second season.

📈 FEBRUARY STOCK WATCH: OHL 📉

No @OHLHockey player has been hotter than @OHLRangers star and #Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham since early December 🔥

✍️: @laurkelly24

🔗 : https://t.co/orcUwMAN4s pic.twitter.com/OPKtZgWR0h

— Elite Prospects (@eliteprospects) February 9, 2026

While Pridham got off to a bit of a slow start, he\'s been white-hot since early December, putting up 20 goals and 33 points in 23 games, including six multi-point outings in January alone. Like Behm, Pridham is in the top five in overall scoring in the OHL, his 35 goals rank second in the league (right behind someone we\'ll get to in a moment), and his 1.32 points per game is 13th.

Also like Behm, Pridham is scoring in a variety of ways, though he\'s shooting significantly more so far this season, and utilizing his cannon of a shot:

#Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham rifles a one-timer for his 32nd goal of the season! pic.twitter.com/8M2qQ9t1to

— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) February 7, 2026

#Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham with a rip for his 2nd goal of the game & 34th of the season🔥 pic.twitter.com/H2KK7SKNNr

— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) February 8, 2026

While Pridham was always seen as a plus-skating forward who played a defensively responsible, well-rounded game, the offensive instincts he\'s showcased so far this season are helping him breakthrough to an entirely different level in the Blackhawks\' system than maybe any of us thought he was capable of.

Marek Vanacker (C/W) | Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)

Stats: 64 points (39 G, 25 A), 29 PIM, 195 SOG in 47 games

After scoring 24 goals in 45 games for Brantford last season (in which he was returning from a significant shoulder injury), Vanacker appears to not only be fully healthy again, but also back to showcasing all the promise that convinced the Blackhawks to trade both of their second-round picks in the 2024 draft to move up into the first round and nab him with the 27th pick -- as he currently leads the entire OHL with 39 goals.

Vanacker has always been cast as that mythical power forward that every NHL GM drools over, and to hear Spencer Hyman, his current OHL GM describe him, that\'s precisely what he is:

\"Marek is the guy who does the hard work in the corners, and he’s a goal scorer at the net. He’s a fierce forechecker. He’s very aggressive on his attack for pucks. He’s great at hunting pucks down. And he’s a finisher. I think he’s the best power forward in the CHL. He’s going to have a massive year, and we’re really excited.”

Given Vanacker\'s mixture of size and skill, it\'s no coincidence that he scores a lot of his goals around the net:

A couple more for the league leader 🐶

Marek Vanacker scored twice to set a new career high in the @BulldogsOHL win last night. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/X9VLZ2Bcgj

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) February 14, 2026

But he also has significant speed and playmaking instincts that allow him to attack teams in a variety of other ways as well:

Can confirm,

Marek Vanacker is a DAWG🔥 #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/GH8hUweT7L

— Ovi (@OviClapBomb) June 29, 2024

MAREK VANACKER HAT TRICK🎩🎩🎩

MAKE THAT 21 GOALS ON THE SEASON🔥 #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/R0o2B36W1j

— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) November 21, 2025

Vanacker\'s tools are clear, and he\'s giving the Blackhawks every reason to think he can be a key middle-six contributor in the future, possibly even as soon as next season.

Parker Holmes (LW) | Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)

Stats: 17 points (6 G, 11 A), 37 PIM, 40 SOG in 45 games

Staying in Brantford, Vanacker\'s teammate Parker Holmes is a very different type of player, with a very different pedigree. Selected by the Blackhawks in the fourth round of the 2025 Draft (at No. 107 overall), he was targeted specifically for his size and physicality, and that\'s primarily what he\'s known for:

Parker Holmes to Chicago. Completely unranked by all ~60 boards I tracked, and NHLCS!! Also had 1 point in the OHL this year, bold strategy by the Hawks here... #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/Q0Wb7OUOGC

— Dan Tayman (@Dan10900) June 28, 2025

Blackhawks #107 pick Parker Holmes seems pretty good at fighting pic.twitter.com/grG3mWt62J

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) June 28, 2025

While Holmes\' 17 points this season advertise a bit more offensive upside than his total of one goal in 21 games did last season, that\'s not what he was drafted for, and any type of role he might carve out for himself in the future will probably have little to do with his overall skill and scoring.

AJ Spellacy (RW/C) | Windsor Spitfires (OHL)

Stats: 23 points (11 G, 12 A), 46 PIM, 86 SOG in 42 games

Once the lone, bright star in the Blackhawks \"he used to be a football player, but now he\'s a hockey prospect\" universe, it certainly feels as if Spellacy has been usurped by Mason West in that regard -- especially as Spellacy\'s offensive and development trajectory seems to have stalled out a bit this year.

Spellacy\'s production climbed from 0.57 points per game in 2023-24 to 0.60 last season before dipping back down to 0.55 this year. But, like Vanacker, and even Holmes to an extent, a significant part of the appeal of Spellacy is his size and how he utilizes it in the style of game he plays:

Every time I watch AJ Spellacy, I think Tom Wilson. A wrecking ball and just an absolute nightmare to play against. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/Wyz0tWgLnE

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) December 30, 2025

AJ Spellacy (#8) with a monster hit on his first shift pic.twitter.com/PhFCRcGj6U

— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) December 26, 2025

AJ Spellacy (Westlake, Ohio) with the one hander to make it 2-1. A Blackhawks 3rd rounder he will be a VERY popular Hawk. Heavy, powerful skater who can also FIGHT 🥊. pic.twitter.com/lBcyAHafVF

— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) December 30, 2025

Those clips are all from Spellacy\'s time spent on Team USA at this year\'s World Juniors, where his role on that team should serve as a good forecast for the type of role the Hawks might envision for him in the near future: a bottom-of-the-lineup forward who uses a combination of his size, speed, and physicality to be a plus penalty killer who occasionally contributes on offense.

Defense

Ashton Cumby (LD) | Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)

Stats: 13 points (3 G, 10 A), 82 PIM, 50 SOG in 44 games

Cumby is another big boy, and the two primary things to know about him are: 1) the Blackhawks didn\'t think he was ready for the AHL after offering him a PTO and watching him appear in two preseason games for Rockford, and 2) of all the scouting reports written about him after he was drafted last June, ours continues to be the best:

https://www.secondcityhockey.com/chicago-blackhawks-2025-nhl-draft-ashton-cumby-sixth-round-pick-number-162-overall-scouting-report

Most of Cumby\'s highlights are of the HockeyFights.com variety, but every once in a while he does score a goal:

About time Ashton Cumby got his first of the season! @SeattleTbirds | @NHLBlackhawks | #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/6AR1d8UtqD

— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) November 9, 2025

Ty Henry (LD) | Erie Otters (OHL)

Stats: Still Injured

Henry is yet another big body, checking in at 6-foot-4, and 209 pounds, who also plays a shutdown, physical, defense-first style of game. The bad news for Henry is that after suffering an ankle injury during Blackhawks rookie camp in September, he still has yet to appear in a game this season:

#Blackhawks defenseman prospect Ty Henry takes a hard spill into the boards and leaves the ice with assistance from the training staff. Looks like he couldn’t put much weight on his leg. pic.twitter.com/tFIy66c9nt

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) September 11, 2025

But that didn\'t stop him from securing a scholarship to the totally real sounding college, the University of St. Thomas:

D Ty Henry has committed to UST. Plays for the Erie Otters but hasn’t appeared in games due to injury. Was selected in the 2024 draft in the 6th round to the Chicago Blackhawks. pic.twitter.com/K4s8GjNRAx

— CCHA WATCH (@CCHAWatch) December 18, 2025

The good news for both the player and the organization is that by Henry joining the NCAA next season, his rights will slide another year. The Blackhawks originally had until Jun. 1, 2026 to sign Henry, but new rules now allow Chicago to hang onto his rights until he\'s 22.

Talking Points