A Look at the Chicago Blackhawks’ Top 5 Prospects

The Chicago Blackhawks haven’t had much success since winning the Stanley Cup three times in a six-year span from 2009–10 to 2014–15. The team lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2015–16 and 2016–17 and has missed the playoffs in four of the last five seasons. Chicago finished the 2021–22 season with a record of 28–42–12 and had its lowest points percentage (.415) since the 2005–06 season.

The Blackhawks’ long-term outlook isn’t necessarily bleak, however. The team still has Patrick Kane, who led the team in scoring with 92 points in 78 games last season, as well as a solid core group of young players like Alex DeBrincat (23), Seth Jones (26), Dylan Strome (24), and Kirby Dach (20). Chicago also has more than a few unsigned prospects and minor league players who could eventually contribute at the National Hockey League (NHL) level.

Below is a look at five of the team’s most promising prospects.

1. Lukas Reichel

Selected 17th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Lukas Reichel acquitted himself well in his first season of professional hockey. The 6-foot, 170-pound German winger, known for his unrelenting pursuit of the puck, recorded 57 points (21 goals and 36 assists) in 56 regular season games with Chicago’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in Rockford. He set a new regular season rookie scoring record for the IceHogs and added two assists in five playoff games.

Reichel played 11 games with the Blackhawks during the 2021–22 season. Although he had just one assist, he gained valuable experience that should help him in what will likely be his first full season in Chicago in 2022–23. He also represented Germany at the World Championships, recording five points in four games.

“One of the things that stands out about Reichel is everyone talked about how hard he works. He listens, he’s coachable,” notes Blackhawks VP of amateur scouting Mark Kelley. “Teammates want to play with him. He exceeds expectations as he acclimates.”

2. Ian Mitchell

A 23-year-old defenseman from St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, Ian Mitchell is still trying to earn a permanent position with the Blackhawks following an impressive three-year career at the University of Denver. Selected 57th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft, Mitchell recorded 89 points in 116 career games in the NCAA. He was Denver’s captain in 2019–20 and produced 32 points in 36 games.

Mitchell played 39 games with the Blackhawks in his first season as a pro in 2020–21, but he spent the majority of this season with the IceHogs. Through 57 games in the AHL, Mitchell led all Rockford defensemen in scoring with 35 points and played first-pairing minutes with Isaak Phillips. Considered the organization’s best offensive defenseman prospect, Mitchell is a great skater and very elusive with the puck.

3. Alex Vlasic

A very different defenseman than Mitchell, Vlasic is a 6-foot-6-inch, 198-pound shutdown defenseman. He doesn’t have much offense to his game but defends well and has a physical play style. The 21-year-old native of Wilmette, Illinois, was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft after playing for the U.S. National U18 Team. He played three seasons at Boston University, where he recorded 20 points and 51 penalty minutes in 82 games.

Vlasic concluded his collegiate career in 2021–22 and played 15 games in the NHL after signing with the Blackhawks. He scored his first career NHL goal and averaged 14:19 of ice time per game, while playing some shorthanded minutes.

4. Arvid Söderblom

Chicago has had some success signing undrafted free agents, including NHL veterans Trevor van Riemsdyk and Artemi Panarin. The team has been especially good at finding undrafted goalies in the free agent market. Chicago signed Antti Niemi out of Finland in 2008 and the Finnish netminder helped lead the Blackhawks to its first Stanley Cup in 49 seasons. The team also signed Ed Belfour, who went on to have a Hall of Fame career, in 1987.

The Blackhawks are hoping to have similar success with Arvid Söderblom, who they signed prior to the 2021–22 season. A 6-foot-3-inch, 179-pound native of Göteborg, Sweden, Söderblom spent the 2020–21 season with Skellefteå AIK in Sweden’s top league and produced a 13–8–0 regular season record to go along with a goals against average (GAA) of 2.03 and a save percentage of .922.

Söderblom started 38 games for Rockford last season and had a 21–15–2 record to go along with a 2.76 GAA and .919 save percentage. The 22-year-old goaltender also played in three games with the Blackhawks.

5. Alec Regula

Another promising minor league defenseman, Alec Regula recorded 26 points (four goals and 22 assists) in 41 games with Rockford in 2021–22. He also played 15 games with Chicago and scored his first career NHL goal.

A 6-foot-4-inch, 208-pound defenseman from West Bloomfield, Michigan, Regular played with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League from 2017–18 to 2019–20 and produced an impressive 60 points (27 goals and 33 assists) in the 2019–20 season. Regula was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft, but he was sent to the Blackhawks in a trade for Brendan Perlini in 2019.