The SCH crew gathered to share their thoughts on all aspects of the Chicago roster before Tuesday night’s season opener on the road in Utah. The players below are organized by position group and presented in alphabetical order.
Forwards
Joey Anderson
Eric: All credit to Joey Anderson for seizing an opportunity when the Blackhawks simply needed bodies (which feels like it’s been going on for years now) and proving himself to be a legitimate NHL player. The trio of Anderson, Dickinson, and Foligno was the Blackhawks’ most defensively responsible line last season, and I would have no issue with the three of them continuing to get tossed all of the dungeon shifts again this year. My only complaint is he’s a grown man who calls himself Joey (with a grown-man brother on the Kings who calls himself Mikey).
Betsy: Joey Anderson isn’t the most exciting player but there are worse guys to be on the team — literally, there are far less useful players that will be on the opening night roster — than Anderson. He’s a utility guy who works hard and defends well.
Zack: An interesting player who does still have a purpose in this Hawks lineup. Anderson put up excellent possession metrics despite expectations and should remain an impact bottom-six forward. While he won’t blow you away with point production, he should still be an asset.
Andreas Athanasiou
Betsy: Feel kind of bad for Athanasiou, honestly. He was both injured and misused last year, and it looks like Richardson is holding grudges from last season. The guy should have taken his 20 goals from a couple of seasons ago and used it to sign with a team who needs a bit of a bumslayer and doesn’t expect Athanasiou to do any more than that. I don’t expect him to be with the team long.
Zack: Injured and underwhelming is the most clear story for AA last season. A speedster still, but AA fills the role of a warm body. He was far from a standout during the preseason and is more likely to fill out a 13th forward role than a traditional roster spot this season.
Eric: AA was an overpay in 2022 when the Blackhawks simply had to sign somebody, and he turned that into a solid season of hockey and 20 goals. Too bad the relationship didn’t end there. He was hurt for the majority of last season, and I just don’t see a way that he fits on this roster (which is truly saying something).
Connor Bedard
Dave: Looking forward to the first time Bedard reminds us all of the insane talent he possesses. Didn’t get much of a glimpse in the preseason because of how terrible that went but wouldn’t expect us to be waiting too long for such sights in the regular season.
Zack: Not much to say here. Bedard is the best player on the Blackhawks by a decent margin. With higher-end linemates, look for an increase in production, both at 5-on-5 and on the power play. Having other offensive threats on the roster means Bedard should be able to lever his talents much more effectively this season than last. I think he can flirt with 100 points if everything goes right.
Eric: We all know Bedard is going to score, the real question is just how much help will he have.
Betsy: As Zack said, there’s not really much to say about Bedard except that he’s going to be the main source of excitement this season, again. There an off-chance that he could hit around 100 points, but I’d note that Connor McDavid barely did that his second season and he had an elite partner in Leon Draisaitl to play with — there’s not even necessarily another franchise forward in the Blackhawks organization, much less on the current roster. Hopefully Bedard and Teuvo build a ton of chemistry, though, so there’s at least one thing to look forward to while watching games.
Tyler Bertuzzi
Zack: Despite an unproductive preseason, Bertuzzi is still an effective top-six forward. In Toronto, most of his points came from during limited 5-on-5 ice time, which was more akin to a third-line forward. With ample PP1 time and more 5-on-5 ice time, I could see Bertuzzi pushing a 65-point pace. He’s physical, aggressive, and creates more space for the more skilled forwards.
Betsy: The Bertuzzi signing was a good one to me: he plays that high-effort, hard-hitting style that the Blackhawks want to achieve while also having top-six offensive capabilities. I was happy to see them sign him if only because it should mean guys like Nick Foligno stay in the bottom-six where they belong. It’ll be interesting to see who Bertuzzi’s main linemates will be this season, though. Everyone expected he’d be paired with Bedard to add a little muscle and grit to his line, but they’ve already been broken up after training camp. Doesn’t mean Bertuzzi won’t still end up with Bedard, but he’s not as much a lock for the top line as some expected. I think it’d be neat to see him with the other young, finesse player in Lukas Reichel but … well, I won’t hold my breath.
Dave: Just keep the penalties in the offensive zone to a minimum, please.
Jason Dickinson
Zack: Dickinson was excellent last season, playing so well both ways that he ended up on the ballot for the Selke trophy. Expect a regression from career highs in the previous season, but expect an excellent third or fourth-line center with the ability to help drive the second power play and take some of the challenging matchups from Bedard.
Eric: Dickinson wasn’t just the Blackhawks best defensive forward last season, but also their second best defensive player besides Alex Vlasic. The fact he matched up against every opponent’s top line, made a positive defensive impact, and put up 20 goals on a terrible offensive team while doing so is nothing short of remarkable. Since the Hawks felt that they needed to name a captain for the next few seasons until Bedard is ready, I’ll argue that Dickinson would have been a far more interesting choice.
Dave: Dickinson will almost certainly not end up with 20 goals but there seems like a viable long-term option for the bottom-six here, provided that future contracts are a little closer to market levels and not the overpay that he’s enjoying right now.
Ryan Donato
Dave: Donato feels like one of the first guys we’ll be analyzing in terms of what he’ll yield in return at the trade deadline.
Betsy: Kyle Davidson and Luke Richardson pushed the narrative that all players, young players and veterans alike, had to earn their place on the Blackhawks starting roster. I feel like there were only a few forwards who legitimately did, and one was Ryan Donato, which makes it kind of sad that he’s both been relegated to the fourth line and been earmarked for being traded at some point. The FO hyped him up too much last year when he was picked up, but he’s a solid third-liner on a good team.
Zack: Donato is a roster player. There isn’t much else to speculate: he’s a fourth-liner on a competent team but still should fill an effective role on this team and provide some occasional goal scoring.
Nick Foligno
Eric: The only stat I care about with regards to Foligno this season is the number of players-only, come-to-Jesus meetings he calls after demoralizing defeats that in actuality do nothing whatsoever to help the direction of this team. If that number hits double digits then we are all truly boned.
Dave: What Eric said.
Zack: Foligno certainly won’t play up to his contract, but he’s a leader: which is why he was made captain. Let him mentor the young kids and play a confident fourth-line role and you should find success. It’s incredible that Foligno played top-line minutes last year. This year’s team is certainly far deeper.
Betsy: Nice guy, apparently over powering dad aura. I don’t mind him as a player, he can obviously be useful, I just think he’s overvalued for “intangibles”. That said, utilizing him on the fourth while mentoring is an acceptable role.
Philipp Kurashev
Eric: I would love to believe that Kurashev’s success last year is more indicative of what kind of player he is as opposed to just being a fortunate passenger on Bedard’s wing, but I’m not there yet. It certainly looks like they’ll be split up to start the season, with Kurashev centering Hall and maybe Reichel, so I guess we’ll find out soon enough?
Zack: I’m not sold on Kurashev’s production being anything more than a product of Bedard. He has an exemplary shot, but his production tanked without Bedard in the lineup, back to a 33-point pace. If he rejoins Bedard’s wing it’s due to the chemistry they formed last season, but Kurashev is more prone to whiffs and poor defensive reads than most. Last season, he had worse metrics than Bedard.
Betsy: Obviously, Kurashev will have a lot to prove this year, specifically that he can repeat his previous season — or at least get close to it. We as fans should be rooting for him though because Kurashev is the only forward the Blackhawks have come close to developing in the last several years.
Pat Maroon
Betsy: He’s a body to fill a spot, I just wish it was a different spot on another team. I already do not like Richardson labeling him a “sheriff” because that’s idiotic and gross and I sometimes hate it here.
Eric: Maroon’s great in the room, a pro’s pro that contending teams always seem to covet as that final piece of their playoff roster, but why exactly he should get fourth-line minutes over younger players like Landon Slaggert on a team that’s going nowhere this season doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me.
Dave: Look, everyone seems to have nothing but nice things to say about Maroon as a person and that shouldn’t be discounted. But it’s much, much easier to appreciate players like that when a team isn’t so aggressively bad and the now 36-year-old Maroon is not going to help that part of the equation.
Ilya Mikheyev
Betsy: There are a lot of players to be excited about this year, and Mikheyev could be one of them. Not because he’ll necessarily be a high contributor on offense, but simply because he’s one of the only speedy players on this roster and has some neat tricks in his toolkit. The issue is that the neat aspect of his play has never really been realized, and I’m not sure this Blackhawks team will be the place where it happens. He’s another guy who isn’t necessarily top-line quality but will likely play top-line at points in the season — apparently the opener, for example — but he’s one of only a few options that may work well enough to not make this season dreadful to watch again. Or, at least, here’s hoping.
Zack: Beyond me why Mikheyev is now expected to start the season on the first line with Bedard, as he’s still a project. “Soup” has the tools but has been unable to put it together on a consistent basis. Coupled with poor-luck with injuries, you’re more likely getting the third-line version of this player.
Lukas Reichel
Eric: I don’t know what else to say about Reichel’s struggles at this point that hasn’t already been pontificated on by every other person who currently writes about the Blackhawks. We’ve seen momentary flutters of offensive brilliance, but he just can’t seem to get out of his own head/way. I made a comment in our group chat about how the Blackhawks should get him slightly drunk before every game just to stop him from thinking too much, and I sincerely think it might be about that time.
Dave: Well, he’s German, it’s October … Eric’s on to something here. Make it happen, Danny.
Betsy: Another player I’m sad about. There’s no argument that Reichel was disappointing last season, and he may never amount to anything of merit in the NHL, but I do think Richardson has done a disservice to Reichel with how he handled the 2020 first-rounder last season and now to start this one. Reichel had a bland preseason, sure, but so did seven other vet players who are playing opening night. There were very few roster spots actually earned, there was no fair shake for all players, and it’s disingenuous to claim otherwise. Again, Reichel didn’t help himself — like, really didn’t help himself — but I’d think the Blackhawks would give way more slack to players under the age of 25 than anything else at this point in the rebuild.
Zack: Reichel looked terrible last season. Somehow, Reichel looked even worse this preseason against many AHL opponents and now he’s starting the season as a healthy scratch. Unless he sees immediate growth in his game, it’s likely Reichel’s time as a Blackhawk is done.
Craig Smith
Zack: Smith is a great depth forward and should provide value to the bottom-six. He’s not exciting or consistent, but he’s a good veteran to have.
Betsy: Another utility player that I didn’t mind them signing in the offseason. Also one of only a handful that took the whole “you have to earn your roster spot” seriously, so credit to him for that.
Eric: The fact that Craig Smith has gone from “oh yeah, I forgot they signed him” to one of their most competent looking forwards in the matter of a few preseason games is an indictment on just how bad this season could get. Smith still might have a bit of tread on the old tires though, and he’s scored 20 goals five times in his career, so if he spends that majority of the season on the fourth line being Temu Jason Dickinson then that’s just fine with me.
Dave: If Smith plays in 72 games this season he’ll eclipse 1,000 for his career which is an incredibly impressive feat and about the only thing I have to offer on a player whose stint in Chicago will likely be this season only and almost certainly not worth remembering.
Teuvo Teravainen
Eric: I feel like we’re living in a monkey’s paw situation where we’ve been wishing for Teuvo to come back and help the Blackhawks contend for something again, but the only thing they’re currently suited to contend for now is the right to draft James Hagens. Teuvo is the most skilled forward on the roster besides Bedard, and if the Blackhawks are going to take any sort of significant step forward offensively this season, it will be because of how well the two of them are able to play off each other.
Betsy: Teravainen is on the wrong side of his prime years but, as Eric said, he’s absolutely the next most skilled after Bedard. He’s basically a better Kurashev, who did quite well with Bedard last year, so the hope is that Teravainen can go beyond that and help Bedard reach a new level.
Defensemen
Nolan Allan
Betsy: Allan wasn’t the most exciting defensemen the Blackhawks had in Rockford last season, but he was the most steady and least mistake-prone when it came to the defensive side of the game. Which, considering how horrible the Blackhawks’ team defense was last year, is probably a modus operandi that endeared Allan to the coaching staff. I don’t know if he’ll stay up the whole season or not, but it certainly would be fun if it happened.
Dave: With Vlasic and Bedard being more known commodities, Allan will be the most intriguing player to watch for the first portions of the season as he’s the only other prospect we’ll be seeing at the NHL level for now — at least until Wyatt Kaiser heals up.
TJ Brodie
Betsy: Brodie was quite the turnstile in Toronto last year, but that team also plays a fast, defensively loose style that didn’t work well with Brodie’s age-related decline. The Blackhawks have to play at a slower speed because the roster just isn’t fast, so hopefully that helps Brodie regain some of his form. Like, we’re not talking miracles here, but him just being steady would be better than the guys Chicago had last season who were not and have never been NHL-quality players.
Dave: Brodie started off the prior season clocking in over 20 minutes a night frequently for the Maple Leafs. He ended it as a healthy scratch for all but one postseason game. Still feels like he’ll be an upgrade over Jaycob Megna and Jarred Tinordi based on his career of higher quality play, but we’ll see how much Father Time is affecting him.
Eric: Like most of the other old guys on the roster, once upon a time Brodie was a really capable NHL player (and one of the better defensive defensemen in the league actually). And just like most of the other old guys on the roster now, there’s a reason why he was jettisoned from his former team and readily available to sign up for a reduced role on a team that’s nowhere near contention, and that’s the fact that he simply isn’t that level of player anymore. I still don’t understand why Kyle gave him two years while Rockford is overflowing with defensive prospects?
Seth Jones
Betsy: Jones has been much better with the Blackhawks than his final two years in Columbus could have predicted, but he doesn’t really move the needle for me much in terms of looking forward to the season. He’s a fine top-pairing guy in general, I don’t think he’s a legit No. 1 at this point, but fine enough for the Blackhawks rebuild. Bet he regrets signing here, though.
Dave: Jones is going to play well over 20-plus minutes a night, he’ll get ample power-play ice time, he’ll probably be among the blue-line leaders in points … which is what Jones has done just about every season he’s been in Chicago. But it’s all been done in relative anonymity because of how bad this team has been lately and no reason to expect that to change now. Although, Jones did turn 30 earlier this October, so it’s fair to wonder when so many seasons of skating between 24 and 26 minutes a night will start catching up to him.
Alec Martinez
Dave: For all the talk about leadership and veterans setting examples and all that, seems like the guy with three Cup rings should be consulted a little bit more, right?
Zack: Veteran experience, lockdown defense, and excellent positioning? Not much more you can ask for for a free agent.
Eric: Of the three most veteran defensemen currently on the roster — Murphy, Brodie, and Martinez — Martinez is probably the best of the bunch, and he also might be the most important to the Blackhawks having any type of defensive consistency this season as he’ll be relied on to play top-four minutes, be a significant penalty killer, and could even help out on the power play in a pinch. The downside of that is as a 37-year-old he’s being held together by Kinesiology tape and Icy Hot patches, and he’s appeared in an average of just 52.75 games the last four seasons. He was brought in to help mentor the young defensemen and/or give them additional time to develop, so here’s to hoping he can stay healthy enough to do both of those things.
Connor Murphy
Eric: It will always be a bummer to me that Murphy was acquired right as the contention window on the Kane and Toews era was firmly Bowman-ed shut, and he’ll most certainly end his tenure with the team before they’re back in the playoffs again. Murphy has been especially bad the last two seasons, and he should no longer be counted on to be a top-four defender on this (or probably any) team. Last time I checked, backs don’t magically starts repairing themselves in your mid-30s. I honestly wonder how much he has left in the tank.
Betsy: Hopefully Murphy can stay somewhat healthy. He’s never going to be his former self, but he’s still probably a decent third-pairing guy when firing on all cylinders.
Isaak Phillips
Dave: Feels like Phillips is just here as a placeholder until other D prospects are ready for the NHL leap and when that leap happens, Phillips will either end up back in the AHL or in another organization altogether.
Betsy: I’m quite fond of Phillips, so I’d like to see him get more leash in the NHL this year, but the Blackhawks waiving him wasn’t a great indicator that he’ll be up for long. Maybe he makes a statement in the first so many games and sticks around, I’m just not sure he’ll be able to pull that off.
Alex Vlasic
Zack: the Blackhawks best defensive defensemen and one of the best in the league. Ultimately the question in Vlasic is just how good he can get. He plays lockdown defense and has moved the puck better than ever. The sky is the limit.
Betsy: This will be Vlasic’s season to really cement himself as a legit top-four defenseman in the NHL, and I think he’s fully up for the task. Not totally sold on his role on the power play, but he’d a better option than most available — he can at least get his shot through traffic pretty well and defend the blue line to extend PP time. Still, it’ll be the defensive side of the game we’ll still talk the most about when it comes to Vlasic, and that’s exciting in it’s own right.
Eric: For as much credit as Vlasic gets for his coming out party last season, I somehow think he still doesn’t get enough for establishing himself as one of the best shutdown defensemen in the entire league on a team that was a thousand miles past awful defensively. All indications are he’ll be running the second power play until Korchinski or Levshunov forces the issues, and since the offensive side of the game isn’t exactly Vlasic’s strong suit, I hope the weight of that new responsibility doesn’t affect any of the things he’s already exceptional at. Good news for Vlasic, though, is that he’ll still have plenty of opportunities to play defense on this season’s team!
Goalies
Petr Mrazek
Eric: Mrazek has so far shown a maddening pattern of trading off stellar seasons and stink bombs throughout his career. He was (at times) outstanding on a truly terrible Blackhawks team last year, while also managing to stay healthy and make the most starts he’s ever made in a season. So obviously it’s safe to just go ahead and pencil in that exact same level of production again. No way he turns back into a pumpkin this year, right? RIGHT?!?
Dave: Going back over his career, Mrazek hasn’t really ever put together two strong seasons in a row and, after he played quite well for that dreadful 2023-24 team, it suggests a market correction is coming. And how bad could this team be if there isn’t a goalie to bail them out at times?
Laurent Brossoit
Dave: If there was ever a time for Brossoit to prove that he only needed the right opportunity to prove his worth as a legitimate No. 1 NHL goalie, this season seems to be the ideal spot for it.
Eric: While it feels a little strange to hang a significant swing in the overall standings on a player who hasn’t even played a game for the Blackhawks yet, this could be the guy. We all know how bad Soderblom was last season, but it’s also worth noting just how good Brossoit was. Brossoit ended up at No. 10 in the entire league with 13.1 Goals Saved Above Expected, and he managed to do that while only appearing in 23 games (Soderblom was No. 98 with minus-18.2 GSAV in 32 starts). Most statistical models have the Blackhawks improving somewhere around 20 points this season, and simply subbing Brossoit in for Soderblom (with an additional handful of starts) might get them halfway there on its own. Brossoit is young enough, and appears to be good enough, that he could be playing for a significant role on the team moving forward. He’s one of the (few) players on the NHL roster who I’m genuinely excited to watch this season.