There's over a month to go before training camp begins in mid-September so there's still a chance that general manager Kyle Davidson keeps making transactions in order to gain draft picks and prospects plus add players who play fast and compete hard.
If anything, there will be the expected signings of restricted free agents Philipp Kurashev and Caleb Jones. However, there are also the swirling rumors surrounding Patrick Kane which could impact the statuses of Jonathan Toews and Seth Jones, too.
While the slow part of the offseason plods along, here's an early look at what the forward lines, D pairs, and goalie tandems could look like for both the Blackhawks and IceHogs based on the rosters as of today. Changes are inevitable.
Blackhawks
Raddysh - Toews - Kane
Domi - T Johnson - Athanasiou
Katchouk - Kurashev - Entwistle
Lafferty - R Johnson - Blackwell
Khaira
C Jones - S Jones
McCabe - Murphy
Stillman - I Mitchell
Roos
Mrazek
Stalock
Notes:
* The players in the top 6 are generally interchangeable as far as Line 1 vs Line 2 except for Kane who is a bonafide #1 RW.
* Similarly, the players in the bottom 6 including Jujhar Khaira are also generally interchangeable as far as Line 3 vs Line 4.
* Ian Mitchell or Filip Roos on the blueline could be replaced by any combination of Alec Regula, Alex Vlasic, or Jakub Galvas.
* Depending on Petr Mrazek's health over time, the goaltending duo could be more of a 1A/1B situation with Alex Stalock.
IceHogs
Teply - Reichel - Sikura
Seney - Philp - Slavin
Barratt - Gicewicz - Hardman
Luypen - Busdeker - G Mitchell
Pour - Gust - Robinson
Phillips - Clendening
Vlasic - Regula
Beaudin - Galvas
Watson - Crevier
Soderblom
Stauber
Notes:
* Lukas Reichel could arguably be with the parent club but a little bit of over marination in the minors wouldn't hurt.
* Along with Reichel, Dylan Sikura, Josiah Slavin, Mike Hardman, and Buddy Robinson should have CHI-RFD shuttle passes ready.
* Colton Dach and Nolan Allan are under contract but rules restrict them to either be in the NHL or back in juniors.
* Ethan Del Mastro is in the same boat and already confirmed to be with his junior team; Dach and Allan are best to do the same.
Fuel
The following players on AHL contracts are the likely candidates to split time between the IceHogs and Fuel of the ECHL based on roster vacancies on the main farm club due to injuries, illness, and NHL call-ups. Most should be in Indy much of the season.
* Morgan Adams-Moisan, F
* Seamus Malone, F
* Riley McKay, F
* Kale Howarth, F
* Bobby Lynch, F
* Andrew Perrott, D
* Mitchell Weeks, G
* Dylan Wells, G
Not Re-Signed
A few former prospects have signed with other AHL affiliates including Dylan McLaughlin with the Springfield Thunderbirds (Blues), Cam Morrison with the Charlotte Checkers (Panthers), and Cale Morris with the Chicago Wolves (Hurricanes).
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World Junior Championship
Del Mastro was recently added yesterday to Team Canada's roster after defenseman Daemon Hunt got hurt. Additionally, Landon Slaggert earned one of the alternate captain A's on his uniform for the second time as a WJC representative for Team USA.
Unfortunately, though, Frank Nazar was in the last round of cuts for the U.S. Wyatt Kaiser and Dominic James join Slaggert on the final roster for Team USA. One other Blackhawks prospect to be playing at the WJC is Victor Stjernborg for Team Sweden.
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See you on the boards!
Sources: Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, NBC Sports Chicago, The Athletic Chicago
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