2026 Blackhawks Top 25 Under 25: Honorable mention

The 2026-27 season is going to be here faster than any of us will realize, but there\'s still time for an annual tradition like so many others: Second City Hockey\'s Top 25 Under 25 rankings!

Like always, the first reveal of this series is for the honorable mention(s), which consists of player(s) who were included on ballots bit did not earn enough voting points to make the 25-man list. The reason for the parenthesis in the sentence before, though, is due to a unique development from this year\'s voting. Typically, there are three or four players who end up in those spots after 25, appearing on some ballots but not all of the ballots, leading to their landing on this part of the rankings. This year\'s ballots (one each from three SCH staffers and one more collective ballot from the SCH community) ended with a consensus on the top 26 players eligible for this ranking, with no others appearing on any of the ballots -- meaning there\'s only one player highlighted in this article. We could\'ve called this year\'s entry the Top 26 Under 25, but that just wouldn\'t have been as catchy.

Anyway, here\'s this year\'s lone honorable mention:

Samuel Savoie

Position: Left Wing Age: 22 (March 25, 2004) Acquired via: Third-round pick (81st overall) in 2022 NHL Draft 2025-26 Team: Rockford IceHogs 2025-26 season stats: 26 points (12 G, 14 A), 47 PIM in 62 games Size: 5-10, 190 pounds Contract: One year, $896,667 (entry-level contract) Rankings: 25 (Eric, SCH), Unranked (Dave, LBR) Last T25U25 ranking: N/A

Savoie has always hovered near the bottom of this list, sitting at 22 in our 2024-25 midseason vote, moving to the honorable mention slot last summer and then not registering at all during our 2025-26 midseason vote. His return to the HM position likely has more to do with players leaving T25U25 consideration via age or transactions than anything Savoie did in Rockford last season.

It was a strong finish last season for Savoie, as he tallied nine points (3 G, 6 A) over his final 16 games. In the eight games prior to that, though, he had just one assist. Finishing with 26 points in 62 games is a rate of about 0.42 points per game, only a mild improvement from the 0.31 PPG (22 in 72) he reached during his first professional season. For a player who drew Andrew Shaw comparisons from day one, Savoie remains far from the 0.56 PPG pace (37 points in 66 games across two seasons) that Shaw amassed in his brief AHL career before jumping up to the NHL. And the lack of contributions at the offensive end of the rink remains the most significant difference between those two players. As LBR mentioned in the final IceHogs wrap from the prior season , Savoie\'s biggest contributions may have been away from the ice, where he offered a confidence boost for a fellow Blackhawks prospect:

Kevin Korchinski's "lifelong best friend," Samuel Savoie, gave him a pep talk before the defenseman's latest recall to the Blackhawks.

"You’re better than you think you are."

How Korchinski has rebuilt his confidence after a shattering rookie season: https://t.co/OMlSH7SwBr

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 9, 2026

For Savoie\'s own career, though, this upcoming season being the final one of his entry-level contract serves as another reminder of the clock ticking on the NHL potential of the former third-round pick. There\'s certainly a capable lower-line, energy-bringing skater within Savoie\'s pedigree and the departure of Colton Dach at last year\'s trade deadline removes one player who appeared to have surpassed Savoie on the organizational depth chart. But a few other forward prospects will be joining Savoie in the professional ranks this season, such as AJ Spellacy and Marek Vanacker. Vaclav Nestrasil and John Mustard could be on their way when the NCAA season ends next spring. If Savoie doesn\'t take enough steps forward this season to earn an NHL call-up at some point, then it\'ll be fair to wonder if that call from Chicago is ever coming.

Talking Points