2022 Future Watch
Each year the Hockey News publishes its Future Watch edition. The 2022 edition hit newsstands last week. With any rankings, it's suggested to take them with a grain of salt and consult additional sources. Yet, it's still interesting to see how your favorite team's prospects stack up.
Here is THN's Top 20 for the entire NHL:
1. Ower Power (Sabres)
2. Quinton Byfield (Kings)
3. Matty Beniers (Kraken)
4. Mason McTavish (Ducks)
5. Jake Sanderson (Senators)
6. Kent Johnson (Blue Jackets)
7. Simon Edvinsson (Red Wings)
8. William Eklund (Sharks)
9. Marco Rossi (Wild)
10. Luke Hughes (Devils)
11. Dylan Guenther (Coyotes)
12. Jack Quinn (Sabres)
13. Alexander Holtz (Devils)
14. Jesper Wallstedt (Wild)
15. Lukas Reichel (Blackhawks)
16. Kaiden Guhle (Canadiens)
17. Iaroslav Askarov (Predators)
18. Alex Turcotte (Kings)
19. Thomas Harley (Stars)
20. Brandt Clarke (Kings)
Last year, Lukas Reichel and Henrik Borgstrom were the only Blackhawks prospects who cracked the Top 100. Although it didn't make a difference, that list was developed before Borgstrom was acquired from the Panthers. This year, Reichel is the lone Chicago prospect on the list.
In the Future Watch edition, THN also lists each team's farm system and Top 10 prospects. THN rated Chicago's system as 24th in the league with a C letter grade. The Ducks, Sabres, and Devils are ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The worst systems are the Islanders, Lightning, and Penguins.
Here is THN's Top 10 Blackhawks prospects:
1. Lukas Reichel (ETA to NHL: 2023-24)
2. Nicolas Beaudin (2022-23)
3. Nolan Allan (2025-26)
4. Colton Dach (2024-25)
5. Drew Commesso (2025-26)
6. Evan Barratt
7. Alec Regula
8. Arvid Soderblom
9. Wyatt Kaiser
10. Isaak Phillips
(ETA to NHL was stated for only the Top 5)
For comparison, here is THN's Top 10 Blackhawks prospects a year ago:
1. Lukas Reichel (2023-24)
2. Evan Barratt (2022-23)
3. Alec Regula (2023-24)
4. Drew Commesso (2025-26)
5. Wyatt Kalynuk (2022-23)
6. John Quenneville
7. Slava Demin
8. Chad Krys
9. Michal Teply
10. MacKenzie Entwistle
A few things that stand out from THN's 2022 Top 10 for the Hawks:
* Ian Mitchell and Jakub Galvas are the top D prospects in Rockford and Nicolas Beaudin is arguably the worst D prospect for the Hogs so it's a head scratcher how he's ranked 2nd in the system across all positions while the other two are not even on the list.
* THN wrote the following description for Isaak Phillips:
"Stay-at-home type plays a punishing, physical game and can add a dash of offense." While most of that assessment is spot on, Phillips doesn't play a punishing style, at least not yet and not consistently either.
As a compare and contrast to THN's Top 10 for Chicago, here is my Top 10:
1. Lukas Reichel
2. Ian Mitchell
3. Jakub Galvas
4. Alex Vlasic
5. Alec Regula
6. Wyatt Kaiser
7. Drew Commesso
8. Arvid Soderblom
9. Nolan Allan
10. Michal Teply
And for each team's section, there is also a 5-year trend of league rank. During that span, the Hawks were as low as 29th to start this 5-year swath, then 3 straight years in the teens before heading south again into the 20's range. Here is Chicago's 5-year trend:
2018, 29th
2019, 19th
2020, 12th
2021, 11th
2022, 24th
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Blackhawks Game Summary
Sunday Boxscore
Kurashev - Toews - Kane
DeBrincat - Strome - Raddysh
Reichel - Dach - Lafferty
Katchouk - R Johnson - Entwistle
Stillman - S Jones
de Haan - McCabe
Vlasic - Gustafsson
Lankinen
Delia
Scratches:
Borgstrom, T Johnson, Kubalik, C Jones
1st Goal (0-1): Benn (Heiskanen, Suter) PP
2nd Goal (1-1): Kurashev (Kane)
3rd Goal (2-1): Toews (Kane, Dach) PP
4th Goal (2-2): Pavelski (Seguin, Klingberg) PP
5th Goal (2-3): Hintz (Pavelski)
6th Goal (3-3): Katchouk (Gustafsson, R Johnson)
7th Goal (3-4): Robertson (Hintz)
8th Goal (3-5): Robertson (Hintz, Suter)
9th Goal (3-6): Seguin (Benn, Heiskanen)
10th Goal (4-6): Dach (Lafferty, Entwistle)
SOG For/Against: 40/30
PP: 1-for-2
PK: 0-for-2
Faceoffs Won: 47%
Highlights
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Blackhawks Notebook
* While Alex Vlasic doubled his TOI (14:55) in last night's game compared to his average TOI over his first 4 games, Seth Jones skated almost close to half the game (28:22) in a match that didn't have an overtime and only 3 power plays combined for both teams. In a lost season, TOI amongst the D-men should be more evenly distributed.
* With the playoffs no longer attainable, the remaining slate of games should be "tryouts" for next season. Bottom 6 forwards Sam Lafferty, Boris Katchouk, Reese Johnson, and MacKenzie Entwistle are proving their case to carve out spots on the 2022-23 roster. None of them are world beaters but their energy and grit can aid those who are.
* In his third cup of coffee, Reichel is still continuing to get his feet wet as an NHL pro being neither an impact player nor a liability defensively. Getting used to the NHL rigor, speed, and physicality when the stakes are low -- or even non-existent -- should help boost his own trust in his elite skill that has made him an AHL standout.
* Kevin Lankinen isn't doing himself any favors to instill confidence in management to tender him a new contract as his rebound control has been mediocre most games and horrendous in too many. Collin Delia came in relief in Sunday's game after Lankinen gave up 5 goals on 20 shots with an abysmal save percentage of .750 on the night.
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IceHogs Game Summaries
Saturday Boxscore
Altybarmakian - McLaughlin - Teply
Hardman - Slavin - Connolly
Barratt - Yetman - Busdeker
Morrison - G Mitchell - Gabriel
Phillips - Galvas
Kalynuk - Regula
Stanton - Beaudin
Soderblom
Morris
1st Goal (1-0): Beaudin (Stanton, Busdeker)
2nd Goal (1-1): Broadhurst (Chau, Theisen) PP
3rd Goal (1-2): Theisen (unassisted) PP
4th Goal (2-2): Regula (unassisted)
5th Goal (3-2): Gabriel (Morrison, G Mitchell)
6th Goal (4-2): Stanton (McLaughlin) EN
SOG For/Against: 28/16
PP: 0-for-2
PK: 2-for-4
Highlights
Sunday Boxscore
Altybarmakian - McLaughlin - Teply
Hardman - Slavin - Connolly
Barratt - Yetman - Busdeker
Osipov - G Mitchell - Gabriel
Phillips - Galvas
Kalynuk - Regula
Stanton - Beaudin
Soderblom
Morris
1st Goal (1-0): Gabriel (G Mitchell, Osipov)
2nd Goal (2-0): Barratt (Yetman, Stanton)
3rd Goal (3-0): Connolly (Slavin, Hardman)
4th Goal (4-0): Regula (Connolly)
5th Goal (4-1): Lewandowski (Estes, Harper)
6th Goal (4-2): Emberson (Somerby, Nielsen)
7th Goal (4-3): Fasching (Chau, Estes)
8th Goal (5-3): Slavin (Barratt) EN
SOG For/Against: 29/37
PP: 0-for-1
PK: 3-for-3
Highlights
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IceHogs Notebook
* Mitchell first had a hand injury sustained a week ago in a mini series against the Roadrunners in Tucson. Now his stint on the shelf gets prolonged due to a knee injury. Prior to the injury bug, he was the Hogs leader in TOI logging around 20 minutes per game as the team's #1 defenseman who also has regular duty on both special teams.
* D.J. Busdeker signed an AHL contract extension to stick around Rockford through the 2022-23 season. He's been a versatile winger who can play in all situations from Line 1 to Line 3 bringing energy and offensive flair while not sacrificing defense along the way. Dylan McLaughlin should get rewarded with a renewal soon, too.
* Arvid Soderblom seems to be bouncing back to regain stability in his crease and giving his team a chance to win each game. He's in the AHL's top 20 in GAA with 2.76 and is top 10 in save percentage with .917. In shootouts, he's #1 in the league with an .875 save percentage for goalies facing at least 10 shooters. He's 18-11-2 overall.
* Jaxson Stauber, who signed an NHL contract on March 23, will start his pro career in the minors after inking an amateur tryout with the Hogs. It remains to be seen whether Stauber will get a start as he does plan to return to Providence College to finish the spring semester. Soderblom and Stauber are the probable Hogs goalie duo for next season.
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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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