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 kicks off today with tier six, defined as a prospect seen as an organizational depth player or goalie with little to no 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.

Mathias From (5.333)
To some, From feels like he could be a fourth-liner in the NHL. Others believe he will never even set foot on professional North American ice. From has shown skill in the Blackhawks’ development camps he has attended, but not enough to put himself in a higher tier. A fifth-round pick in 2016, From tallied 16 points in 45 games last season with AIK in Sweden. The Denmark native will join Blackhawks 2014 fourth-round pick Fredrik Olofsson on MODO for the 2019–20 season.

Mathias From scored 16 points in 45 games for AIK last season. (Photograph courtesy of Sportbibeln)

Roope Laavainen (5.333)
Laavainen is an intriguing piece within the prospect pool because the organization seems to think he can be a player moving forward. While one member of our panel felt similarly, thinking Laavainen could be a bottom-pairing NHL defenseman in the future, the majority did not see anything to justify a spot on a higher tier. The 2017 fourth-rounder will return to play with HPK in Finland this season.

Roope Laavainen will return to play for HPK in Finland this season. (Photograph courtesy of Jukka Rautio/Kuva Europhoto)

Ryan Shea (5.333)
The 2015 fourth-rounder has been a steady presence for Northeastern University in his three seasons with the Huskies, the first two of which he played with Dylan Sikura. Shea will return to Northeastern for his senior season, where he will captain the Huskies. Should the Blackhawks choose to sign Shea in the future, he would likely have to jump a number of other young defensemen in the system for a shot at playing in the NHL.

Ryan Shea will captain Northeastern University this season. (Photograph courtesy of Northeastern University)

Parker Foo (5.5)
The Blackhawks are likely hoping Foo can follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Spencer, in becoming a good-looking prospect who had success at the collegiate level, but until further notice, the 2017 fifth-rounder might have nothing more than a future in the minor leagues. Foo will return to Union College this fall for his junior season after posting 15 points in 35 games as a sophomore with the Dutchmen.

Parker Foo will return to Union College for his junior season with the Dutchmen. (Photograph courtesy of Robert Morris University)

Jake Ryczek (5.5)
Ryczek will turn pro this season after spending two years playing for the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL. While he could still develop into a serviceable player, 2019 first-round pick Kirby Dach did nothing to help Ryczek’s cause at this year’s development camp, making the 2016 seventh-rounder look more like a pylon than a future NHL defenseman. Ryczek would also have to jump over a glut of other young defensemen to get his shot at the NHL level, which seems unlikely.

Jake Ryczek will turn pro this season after spending two years with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. (Photograph courtesy of Katie Whitty)

Nathan Noel (5.667)
A fourth-round pick in 2016, Noel has struggled to put up numbers since turning pro in 2017, scoring just seven goals and adding 11 assists in 84 games split between the Rockford IceHogs and Indy Fuel. At this point, Noel, who struggled to stay healthy last season, will likely be nothing more than a depth player in the minors.

Nathan Noel will enter his third professional season with the Blackhawks’ organization this fall. (Photograph courtesy of the Rockford IceHogs)

Graham Knott (5.833)
Needless to say, Knott looks to be among the biggest disappointments in the Blackhawks’ prospect pool since Kyle Beach. Originally a second-round pick in 2015, Knott has scored just eight goals in 126 professional games over two seasons with the Rockford IceHogs. Short of a miraculous turnaround, it would be safe to write off any chance of Knott making it to the NHL moving forward.

Graham Knott posted four goals and nine assists last season with the Rockford IceHogs. (Photograph courtesy of the Rockford IceHogs)

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

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

As the Blackhawks normally do, Groups A and B switched ice slots today, with Group B skating at 1 p.m. and Group A skating at 3 p.m. Both ice slots consisted of more drills and small-area games, similar to the opening day, though all of the drills and games were slightly different.

With a second day of skating, some players added to their strong Monday performances, while others made progress.

Below are some observations Jeff Osborn and I made during Tuesday’s session:

• Jake Wise impressed yet again. He was very quick, both in his actions and decisions, and was intense and assertive. Wise has worked his tail off and it shows. He has been one of, if not the most noticeable player in the camp in my book. It seems he is playing with a chip on his shoulder, wanting to prove 30 teams wrong for not taking him sooner in the draft and showing he was deserving of being selected earlier. The early returns appear he is a steal for the Blackhawks, though it is obviously very early.
• Alexandre Fortin played with confidence. As Jeff mentioned yesterday, he seems to have regained his step and is playing with more swagger and assertiveness. I was impressed with his puck protection ability, as he regularly showed he was capable of blocking defenders’ sticks with his body and legs.
• Adam Boqvist again looked good, especially in terms of his skating and his stick, both offensively and defensively. In some one-on-ones and two-on-twos, Boqvist used his high-end skating to cover ice and keep forwards to the outside. Boqvist showed off his stick handling ability in a tight-area stick handling game, making a few nice moves around the player trying to knock the puck off his stick. When it was Boqvist’s turn to be the antagonist, he did a good job poking pucks off of sticks. He still has a long way to go physically, but his skill level is undeniable.
• Chad Krys had a much more positive day Tuesday. He almost appeared to be a bit too loose Monday, as he regularly lost the handle on the puck while stick handling and did not appear to play with much intensity. Tuesday, however, was significantly more promising. Krys was dialed in and it showed. He looked way more confident and composed than he did yesterday. One area during drills that stood out to me was his passing ability. In a long-range one-touch passing drill, Krys was making hard, crisp, tape-to-tape passes half the length of the ice.
• Philipp Kurashev was decent Monday and improved on day two. His skating ability was evident, as he was able to change direction well. He also made some nice plays with the puck in the small-area games. He has competed well and has not been hesitant to use his body to his advantage in puck retrieval and protection.
• Nicolas Beaudin was overshadowed during the first day by Boqvist and Ian Mitchell, but stood out more on day two. He has spent much of the calendar year focusing on his defensive game, and it shows. He did a good job keeping forwards in front of him and keeping a tight gap.
• Tim Soderlund again played with high intensity and compete level Tuesday. He is a hard worker and showed good hockey smarts. At one point, he took a forearm to the face and appeared to be shaken up, but jumped right back in line and put forth a good effort.
• Soderlund and Mathias From appeared to have good chemistry. The two enjoyed being partners in drills and played well off each other.
• John Dahlstrom stood out again with his size and offensive ability. Though only listed as being 6’0” and 189 pounds, Dahlstrom played bigger, using his frame to cause havoc in the small-area games. He also showed off his shot, cleanly beating goaltenders with his wrist shot on a few occasions.
• Josiah Slavin again showed his offensive ability for the second day, showcasing his great release and edge work. He has been great in one-on-one and two-on-two rushes both days so far. Slavin has regularly beat goaltenders clean with his shot.
• Mathew Robson, a free agent invite goaltender from the University of Minnesota, made his camp debut today.
• Niklas Nordgren did not skate Tuesday. No word on his status. He did not appear to be injured during yesterday’s skate.

Check out photos from Days 1 & 2 here:

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