RECAP: The-Rink’s Blackhawks prospect pyramid: Blood, sweat and tiers

Eric Andrews — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 13:00:16 +0000

The-Rink thanks you for tuning in for the Blackhawks prospect pyramid: Blood, sweat and tiers series over the last five and a half weeks. But, in case you missed any of it, we have compiled a recap for easy navigation of the series and for reference in the future. On behalf of The-Rink and our panelists for the series, we hope you enjoyed the series and found our insight valuable.

Parts of the series

Introduction

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.

Eight Blackhawks Prospects Earn Bids To NCAA Frozen Four Tournament

Mario Tirabassi — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 18:36:54 +0000

The NCAA Hockey Season is coming to an end as the calendar turns to Spring. But before the book can be closed on the 2017-18 season, there is the Frozen Four Tournament to name a National Champion. This year, the Chicago Blackhawks are well represented in the tournament with eight prospects playing for six different schools.

Ian Mitchell and Blake Hillman attempt to defend Denver University’s 2017 National Championship, but have a tough test ahead. The Blackhawks prospects trying to unseat Hillman, Mitchell, and the rest of the Pioneers squad are Chad Krys of Boston University (Hockey East Champions), Ryan Shea and Dylan Sikura of Northeastern University, Dennis Gilbert of the University of Notre Dame (Big Ten Champions), Beau Starrett of Cornell University, and Evan Barratt of Penn State University.

Eight Blackhawks Prospects Vying For NCAA Championship

The Frozen Four tournament begins on March 23 with the Regional semi-finals on March 23 and 24 and the Regional finals on March 24 and 25. The Regional final winners advance to the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 5 with the National Championship taking place on April 7 at the Xcel Energy Center.

WEST REGION

No Blackhawks representation in the West Region, which has top-overall seed St. Cloud State take on Air Force and Minnesota-Duluth squaring off against Minnesota State.

EAST REGION

In the East Region, #2 overall seed Notre Dame takes on Michigan Tech, while Providence faces Clarkson. Big Ten champions Notre Dame and Dennis Gilbert look to advance to back-to-back Frozen Four’s after falling to eventual National Champion Denver last year in Chicago. This year marks Notre Dame’s 10th NCAA Tournament appearance as they look for their fourth Frozen Four.

NORTHEAST REGION

Things get really interesting in the tournament’s Northeast Region as Beau Starrett and #3 overall seed Cornell take on Chad Krys and Boston University in the Regional semi-final. Also, in the Midwest Region is the University of Michigan taking on Ryan Shea and Dylan Sikura of Northeastern University.

For Starrett and Cornell, this is the 21st NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and their first back-to-back appearances since 2009 and 2010. Cornell has eight Frozen Four appearances in school history, but has not made the National Semi-Finals since 2003.

As for Krys and the Boston Terriers, this is the 36th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and their fourth trip in a row. Last season, Boston fell an overtime goal short of the Frozen Four as they lost to eventual National Runner-Up Minnesota-Duluth. Boston is attempting to reach their 23rd Frozen Four, with their last appearance coming in 2015.

Northeastern will be looking for their second Frozen Four appearance in school history with their sixth bid in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies have never won an NCAA Hockey National Championship with their only Frozen Four appearance coming in 1982. A lot of Blackhawks eyes will be on Northeastern as Sikura has become one of the most sought-after NCAA players over the last two seasons. Chicago drafted Sikura in the sixth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

MIDWEST REGION

Finally in the Midwest Region, the winner of #4 overall seed Ohio State and Princeton will face the winner of Evan Barratt and Penn State University versus defending National Champions Blake Hillman, Ian Mitchell, and the Denver Pioneers.

For Penn State, a program that joined the NCAA in the 2012-13 season, this marks the second NCAA tournament appearance in back-to-back years. Last season ended for the Nittany Lions at the hands of Denver University in the Regional Final. No doubt that Penn State will be looking for revenge, but it won’t be easy against a stacked Pioneers squad. Denver is making it’s 29th NCAA Tournament appearance and have made the tournament 11 years in a row dating back to the 2008 tournament. A powerhouse in NCAA hockey over the last decade and change, Denver has 16 Frozen Four appearances program history with back-to-back appearances in 2016 and 2017, winning their 8th National Championship last year in Chicago, defeating Minnesota-Duluth.

Another team that a lot of the Blackhawks community will be paying attention to as Pioneers freshman defenseman Ian Mitchell has garnered a lot of praise as a top-end defensive prospect. The Blackhawks drafted Mitchell in the second round of last year’s NHL Entry Draft and was named to the NCHC Conference All-Tournament team as Denver defeated St. Cloud State.

How To Watch

Here is the full TV Schedule for the NCAA Frozen Four Tournament from USCHO.com:

East Regional

At Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Conn., March 23-24

• Friday: Notre Dame vs. Michigan Tech, 3 p.m., ESPN2

• Friday: Providence vs. Clarkson, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU

• Saturday: Friday winners, 6 p.m., ESPNU

West Regional

At Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, Sioux Falls, S.D., March 23-24

• Friday: St. Cloud State vs. Air Force, 4 p.m., ESPNU

• Friday: Minnesota State vs. Minnesota Duluth, 7:30 p.m., ESPN3

• Saturday: Friday winners, 9 p.m., ESPN2

Northeast Regional

At DCU Center, Worcester, Mass., March 24-25

• Saturday: Cornell vs. Boston University, 1 p.m., ESPNews

• Saturday: Michigan vs. Northeastern, 4:30 p.m., ESPNews

• Sunday: Saturday winners, 4 p.m., ESPN2

Midwest Regional

At PPL Center, Allentown, Pa., March 24-25

• Saturday: Ohio State vs. Princeton, 3:30 p.m., ESPNU

• Saturday: Denver vs. Penn State, 7 p.m., ESPN3

• Sunday: Saturday winners, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU

Frozen Four

At Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn., April 5-7

• Thursday, April 5: West Regional winner vs. Midwest Regional winner, 6 or 9:30 p.m., ESPN2; Northeast Regional winner vs. East Regional winner, 6 or 9:30 p.m., ESPN2

• Saturday, April 7: Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2

The post Eight Blackhawks Prospects Earn Bids To NCAA Frozen Four Tournament appeared first on The Rink.

RyanShea Archives - The Rink