The Blackhawks are finally coming out of their transition phase where the investments they have made from a couple of poor seasons are finally beginning to pay dividends. Premier prospects such as Nicolas Beaudin, Adam Boqvist and Ian Mitchell are just a few players who have been in the system that are on the fringe of professional hockey careers. Beaudin and Boqvist will be traveling between Rockford and Chicago as they begin their careers with the Hawks, while Mitchell will be playing his junior year with the Denver Pioneers. Mitchell could join the Blackhawks once his season is done in college.

With that being said, let’s start catching up on this year’s Blackhawks NCAA prospects.

Evan Barratt will play at Penn State this season. (Photograph courtesy of the NHL)

Evan Barratt, Forward — Penn State University (32 games played, 16 goals, 27 assists)

Barratt was one of the top-performing Blackhawks college prospects last season when he broke out for 43 points. Centering Liam Folks and Alex Limoges, the trio combined for 57 goals and 78 assists and all finished in the top 20 in scoring among NCAA skaters. This season, that same line will look to continue to pick up where they left off last season. Barratt not only brings a plethora of scoring ability, but he also plays with an edge. His versatility adds depth to a high-flying Penn State group that is ready to build on their success as a program.

Unfortunately for Blackhawks fans, Barratt did not participate in on-ice drills at prospect camp over the summer because he was recovering from a hip surgery, but he is planning to be ready for Penn State’s series against Sacred Heart.

Barratt got a taste of success in last year’s World Junior Championship and in the 2018 Frozen Four tournament. It would be great to see Penn State get to the Frozen Four this year in Detroit. Barratt has already shown he can put the points up; it would be great to see he and Penn State shine on the big stage.

Evan Barratt is 100 percent, Gadowsky said. Said there's been a visible difference in his skating.

— David Eckert (@davideckert98) October 1, 2019

Josh Ess will be a key part of Wisconsin’s blue line in 2019–20. (Photograph courtesy of the University of Wisconsin)

Josh Ess, Defenseman — University of Wisconsin (37 games played, five goals, eight assists)

The Wisconsin Badgers have had a couple of down years, but they are looking to change that trend this season. With the addition of top prospects Cole Caufield and Alex Turcotte, Wisconsin could have the offensive firepower to push them to the top of the Big Ten conference. In the preseason rankings, USCHO.com has the Badgers ranked 16th in the country behind Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State.

Entering his junior year, Josh Ess will play a big role on the Badgers’ blue line as an upperclassmen with experience in Tony Granato’s system. The Big Ten is not an easy conference to come out of, especially when you are playing heavy teams like Notre Dame and Ohio State, and, not to mention, speedy teams like Penn State can hurt you in other ways.

Ess was not exactly a standout at prospect camp, but that is also really not his game. He did make some good, hard tape-to-tape passes out of his end and his positioning looked a bit more polished than some of the younger guys. He is more of a team guy that is doing a great job if he can eat minutes responsibly and keep the puck out of the net. Look for Ess to have success in those departments this year.

Wisconsin’s Josh Ess#Blackhawks #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/CYFxO5Gaev

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) July 15, 2019

Parker Foo will return to Union College for 2019–20. (Photograph courtesy of The Athletic)

Parker Foo, Forward — Union College (35 games played, five goals, 10 assists)

Union had a fantastic season, finishing 20–13–6, but was defeated by the Cornell Big Red in the ECAC conference tournament quarterfinals. The Dutchmen will be returning three of their five players who had double-digit goals last season and look to build on their success from 2018–19.

Foo has a lot of speed and quickness to the puck and hopefully he will get more quality minutes at Union entering his junior year. The Blackhawks’ fifth-round pick of 2017 adds some depth to the prospect pool, but he needs to develop a bit more in college. The ECAC should provide some tough competition and hopefully Foo gets some power play time to show he can produce at a high level.

Ian Mitchell will captain the Pioneers in 2019–20. (Photograph courtesy of Denver University)

Ian Mitchell, Defenseman — Denver University (39 games played, six goals, 21 assists)

Of all the NCAA prospects in the Blackhawks system, Mitchell is probably the most developed at this point. After two seasons with Denver, Mitchell has embraced the “Pioneer Way” and become the team’s new captain. This should not come as a surprise given Mitchell’s work ethic. Over the summer, many Blackhawks fans were hoping that he would leave college and sign a pro deal, but Mitchell decided to not rush his development. Once upon a time, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews told the team the same thing and he worked out to be pretty good.

The Pioneers are coming off their third Frozen Four appearance in four years and this year should not have any different expectations. Denver will start the season as one of the nation’s top teams in one of the hardest divisions in college hockey, the NCHC.

Mitchell brought a lot of raw skill his first couple seasons, but it is pretty clear he wants to take his game to the next level. At prospect camp, Mitchell told Adam Burish in an interview that he is setting the bar high for himself this season. He first wants to win a NCAA championship, but he is also wanting to show he is one of the best players in college hockey with a nomination for the Hobey Baker Award. Do not be shocked if you see Mitchell in a Blackhawks uniform later this season.

Ian Mitchell has been named captain for the 2019-20 season. Tyson McLellan and Michael Davies will serve as alternates https://t.co/uISAMwrO2r | #PioneerTogether pic.twitter.com/sZ59tvq0SR

— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) May 17, 2019

Ryan Shea will return to Northeastern to captain the Huskies in 2019–20. (Photograph courtesy of hockeyjournal.com)

Ryan Shea, Defenseman — Northeastern University (39 games played, three goals, 13 assists)

Through his first three years in college hockey, Ryan Shea has probably been the most stable defenseman for the Northeastern Huskies. He is not the flashiest player on the ice, but he gets his job done. With a career-high plus-minus rating of plus-23 last season, Shea has proven he can play in all situations and can make the right play when called upon. Those are both reasons why Shea’s teammates voted him team captain for the 2019–20 season. Northeastern is set to be a threat again in the Hockey East Conference, but competition will be elevated, as Boston College and Boston University have retooled after down seasons.

We’ve had some great leaders at Northeastern over the years, and we expect to add more names to the list.

Your 2019-20 #HowlinHuskies captains:

C: Ryan Shea
A: Matt Filipe
A: John Picking
A: Zach Solow pic.twitter.com/cTpwUrCWs3

— Northeastern Men’s Hockey (@GoNUmhockey) April 18, 2019

Josiah Slavin heads to Colorado College after spending three seasons in the USHL. (Photograph courtesy of Colorado College)

Josiah Slavin, Forward — Colorado College (USHL:  59 games played, 24 goals, 23 assists)

One of the most exciting college prospects this year is 2018 seventh-round selection Josiah Slavin.  At 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, Slavin skates pretty well and has a natural touch for playmaking. We saw him score a hat trick for Team Red at prospect camp this summer, where he stood out among his peers.

Slavin will begin his NCAA career in Colorado Springs playing for the Colorado College Tigers. As one of the younger teams in the NCHC, the Tigers are on the rise with several talented freshmen coming in. Head coach Mike Haviland will most likely love using Slavin for big minutes, including power play time. College hockey analyst Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald has the Tigers ranked 17th in the country, noting they could be a surprise team out of the NCHC this year.

Michal Teply sends a 100-foot feed to Josiah Slavin for the regulation game winner with 6.9 seconds left on the clock. #Blackhawks prospects wrapping with a shootout now just for fun. pic.twitter.com/1LbkSL9vxX

— Carter Baum (@CarterBaum) July 19, 2019

Alex Vlasic will join Boston University for 2019–20. (Photograph courtesy of the NHL)

Alex Vlasic, Defenseman — Boston University (27 games played, two goals, 13 assists)

For the first time in a few years, the Blackhawks finally selected a defenseman with some size when they took Vlasic 43rd overall in the 2019 draft. The Wilmette, Illinois, native spent his junior career with the U.S. National Team Development Program playing alongside Cole Caufield, Jack Hughes, Alex Turcotte, Trevor Zegras and other top US-born prospects.

Vlasic brings a lot to the table besides his size. He has great reach and seems to love jumping into the play despite being a bigger defenseman. Boston University has developed some pretty good defensemen over the years and hopefully they can turn things around after a couple bad seasons.

Alex Vlasic has been showing off his speed with his size (6'6) at #Blackhawks development camp: https://t.co/38QWcVMcsK pic.twitter.com/yUksZ0CPlf

— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) July 19, 2019

Photo courtesy of goterriers.com

Jake Wise, Forward — Boston University (12 games played, zero goals, two assists)

Although injuries kept Wise out most of the season last year, he is still seen as one of the Blackhawks’ top prospects. But, with Kirby Dach and Evan Barratt now rising to the top of the system, Wise has some ground to make up. The Terriers lost a few players to the NHL, so hopefully Wise is given some opportunities to shine somewhere in the top nine.

The last young playmaking center the Blackhawks developed was North Dakota’s Nick Schmaltz, who did not end up working out in Chicago. Schmaltz had great patience with the puck and featured excellent vision. Schmaltz did produce more than 50 points in his second season, but he struggled mightily in the face off circle. If Wise, who is similar in size, wants a shot at an NHL roster, he will have to show he can play a two-way game, as the top-six center slots will likely be filled by Jonathan Toews and Dylan Strome for the foreseeable future.

Boston’s Jake Wise #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/5Zv8dC7Mp0

— Mario Tirabassi (@Mario_Tirabassi) July 15, 2019

The post Get to know your 2019–20 Blackhawks NCAA prospects appeared first on The Rink.

Parts of the series

Introduction

Tiers one and two

Tier three

Tier four

Tier five

Tier six

Complete tier listings with our panel’s original average tier ratings (* represents a unanimous rating from the panel)

Tier one

Adam Boqvist (1*)
Kirby Dach (1*)

Tier two

Ian Mitchell (1.833)
Nicolas Beaudin (2.333)

Tier three

Alex Vlasic (2.833)
Alex Nylander (3)
Dominik Kubalik (3.167)
Philipp Kurashev (3.167)
Chad Krys (3.333)
Jake Wise (3.5)
Alexis Gravel (4)

Tier four

Evan Barratt (3.5)
MacKenzie Entwistle (3.667)
Aleksi Saarela (3.833)
Josiah Slavin (3.833)
Dennis Gilbert (4)
Matthew Highmore (4)
Kevin Lankinen (4)
Niklas Nordgren (4)
John Quenneville (4*)
Michal Teply (4)
Lucas Carlsson (4.167)
Tim Soderlund (4.167)
Alexandre Fortin (4.333)

Tier five

Brandon Hagel (4.333)
Antti Saarela (4.333)
Dominic Basse (4.5)
Artur Kayumov (4.5)
Josh Ess (4.667)
Jakub Galvas (4.833)
Mikael Hakkarainen (4.833)
Reese Johnson (4.833)
Cole Moberg (4.833)
Andrei Altybarmakyan (5.167)
Ivan Nalimov (5.167)
Joni Tuulola (5.167)

Tier six

Mathias From (5.333)
Roope Laavainen (5.333)
Ryan Shea (5.333)
Parker Foo (5.5)
Jake Ryczek (5.5)
Nathan Noel (5.667)
Graham Knott (5.833)

Note: Our panel discovered at a later date Jack Ramsey had been omitted from the series and agreed Ramsey falls into tier six.

The post RECAP: The-Rink’s Blackhawks prospect pyramid: Blood, sweat and tiers appeared first on The Rink.

Our series continues today with tier five, defined as a prospect seen as a fringe forward, fringe defenseman or AHL goalie with a chance to play in the NHL.

As explained in the introduction piece, each eligible prospect in the system was rated by our staff panel before ultimately being debated to agree on a tier. Each prospect’s original rating average is listed in parentheses after their name, along with a brief synopsis of why they fell in the tier they did.

Players are listed in order of original rating average, with any ties being sorted alphabetically by last name.

Brandon Hagel (4.333)
The majority of our panel agreed Hagel would be a fringe NHL player who has the capabilities needed to contribute in a depth role, but one member felt Hagel’s upside could be as high as a middle-six role. The most valuable player of the Blackhawks’ development camp scrimmage possesses a variety of skills in his game, but will need to fine tune them to get to the next level. Hagel will likely spend the 2019–20 season with the Rockford IceHogs after a breakout 2018–19 campaign with the Red Deer Rebels.

Brandon Hagel played in eight games for the Rockford IceHogs at the end of the 2018–19 season after scoring 102 points with Red Deer in the Western Hockey League. (Photograph courtesy of the Rockford IceHogs)

Antti Saarela (4.333)
The 2019 fourth-round pick will be a project, but showed flashes of his ability in development camp. The younger brother of fellow Blackhawk prospect Aleksi Saarela possesses a good shot, but will need to improve his skating to be effective in the NHL. Saarela will stay in Finland for the 2019–20 season, where he will join Ilves after spending his entire career thus far with Lukko.

Antti Saarela will join Ilves for the 2019–20 season after spending all of his career with Lukko in Finland. (Photograph courtesy of Lansi Suomi)

Dominic Basse (4.5)
Basse adds impressive size to the Blackhawks’ prospect pool in the blue paint, measuring 6-foot-6 at just 18 years of age. Basse dominated in 2018–19 for the Selects Hockey Academy 18U team, compiling a 1.91 goals against average and .924 save percentage in 42 games played. The Colorado College commit has not yet announced his plans on where he will play in 2019–20, but perhaps the most likely scenario would see him join the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL, as the Phantoms hold his USHL rights. Basse will be an interesting project to keep an eye on in the future.

Dominic Basse provides the Blackhawks’ system with size at the goaltender position. (Photograph courtesy of Colorado College)

Artur Kayumov (4.5)
Kayumov is among the most polarizing prospects in the Blackhawks’ system. A skilled and passionate left winger, Kayumov has yet to break out in his time playing in the KHL in his native Russia, tallying just 13 points in 46 games for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in 2018–19. Despite this, his skill set would likely allow him to be a contributor in the NHL, though this looks less and less likely with each passing season for the 2016 second-round pick. Kayumov will return to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl for 2019–20.

Artur Kayumov will stay in Russia for yet another season in 2019–20. (Photograph courtesy of the Chicago Blackhawks)

Josh Ess (4.667)
Ess has made strides since being selected in the seventh round in 2017. In his time since being drafted, Ess has established himself as a steady presence on Wisconsin’s blue line. The Minnesota native moves the puck well, but needs to keep working on his overall game to have a chance at playing in the NHL. Even if Ess can take the next step in his development with a big year for what is expected to be a potent Badger lineup in 2019–20, he would need to jump over a slew of other young defensemen in the system to don the Indian head down the road.

Josh Ess posted career-high totals of five goals, eight assists and 13 points as a sophomore at Wisconsin in 2018–19. (Photograph courtesy of the University of Wisconsin)

Jakub Galvas (4.833)
Galvas is known as a puck-moving defenseman, something the Blackhawks have plenty of in their system. Despite having others ahead of him on the organizational depth chart, Galvas could break through for NHL playing time if he rounds out his game. The 2017 fifth-rounder has become a mainstay on international tournament teams for his native Czech Republic, including a pair of appearances in the World Junior Championships. A longtime member of the HC Olomouc organization, Galvas will head to Finland to play for Jukurit for the next step of his development.

Jakub Galvas will leave the Czech Republic to play in Finland for the 2019–20 season. (Photograph courtesy of Miroslav Chaloupka / CTK Photo)

Mikael Hakkarainen (4.833)
Hakkarainen dominated the USHL last season, tallying 19 goals and 28 assists in 42 games with the Muskegon Lumberjacks after leaving Providence College following just one game at the beginning of the season. With little left to prove at the junior level, the 2018 fifth-rounder will turn pro to likely join the Rockford IceHogs for the 2019–20 season. At times, the Finn looks like he has a promising future in a depth role, but he will need to transfer his scoring ability at the junior level to the pro ranks—or adjust his style of play—in order to earn a regular NHL spot.

Mikael Hakkarainen will join the Rockford IceHogs for the 2019–20 season. (Photograph courtesy of Justin Berl / Getty Images)

Reese Johnson (4.833)
After spending the majority of the 2018–19 season as the captain for the Red Deer Rebels, Johnson finished the year in Rockford. Johnson improved his offensive numbers in his final year playing juniors, nearing a point-per-game pace with 27 goals and 26 assists in 67 games. The undrafted free agent signing then posted four assists in his six games with the IceHogs. Though Johnson finally started showing his offensive ability last season, he will likely be relied on as a more defensive forward should he make it to the NHL. Johnson will return to Rockford for the 2019–20 campaign.

Reese Johnson joined the Rockford IceHogs late in the 2018–19 season after playing for Red Deer of the Western Hockey League. (Photograph courtesy of the Rockford IceHogs)

Cole Moberg (4.833)
The 2019 seventh-round pick broke out in a big way for a bad Prince George Cougars team in 2018–19, blowing away his previous career-high marks with 13 goals, 27 assists and 40 points. Our panel was relatively split on the 6-foot-3 defender, as some felt he could become a regular bottom-pairing option in the NHL down the road, while some feel it is too early in his development to project a ceiling of that nature. Moberg will return to the Cougars for 2019–20, where he will be relied upon as a leader on and off the ice for Prince George.

2019 seventh-round pick Cole Moberg was among the few bright spots for the Prince George Cougars in 2018–19. (Photograph courtesy of the Prince George Cougars)

Andrei Altybarmakyan (5.167)
Another wildcard within the Blackhawks’ system, Altybarmakyan boasts an impressive offensive skill set. However, the 2017 third-rounder has yet to put it together in the KHL, posting just six points in 38 games last season with HK Sochi. Of course, the Russian factor is also in effect here, as Altybarmakyan may very well never play in North America. Even if Altybarmakyan does play in North America, he would likely need to prove he can be somewhat reliable defensively to earn a chance at regular NHL ice time.

Andrei Altybarmakyan will stay in Russia for the 2019–20 season. (Photograph courtesy of the KHL)

Ivan Nalimov (5.167)
Another Russian with dwindling likelihood of playing in North America, Nalimov has been the ultimate hit-or-miss goaltender in the KHL. At times looking like a legitimate NHL goaltender while resembling a headcase piece of Swiss cheese at others, the 2014 sixth-round pick will enter his sixth KHL season in 2019–20 with his sixth team. While Nalimov has expressed an interest to come play in North America in the past, the Blackhawks have not reciprocated the desire. It appears likely at this point Nalimov will not have a future in the NHL unless his rights are dealt and another team gives him a chance.

Among the more intriguing prospects in the Blackhawks’ system, Ivan Nalimov will join his sixth team in the KHL for the 2019–20 season. (Photograph courtesy of Kunlun Redstar)

Joni Tuulola (5.167)
Tuulola played his first full season of North American hockey for the IceHogs in 2018–19, posting four goals and 10 assists in 52 games. The 2015 sixth-round selection has generally been a defense-first blueliner, but has shown an ability to chip in offensively as well. However, with as many offensive defensemen as the Blackhawks have in their system already, Tuulola will need to focus on being rock-solid in his own end if he wants a chance to play in the NHL. Tuulola will return to Rockford’s defensive core for the 2019–20 season.

Joni Tuulola will return to Rockford for 2019–20 after posting four goals and 10 assists for the IceHogs in 2018–19. (Photograph courtesy of the Rockford IceHogs)

Stay tuned as The-Rink progresses up the ladder in its Blackhawks prospect pyramid: Blood, sweat and tiers.

The post The-Rink’s Blackhawks prospect pyramid: Blood, sweat and tiers, part two appeared first on The Rink.