Blackhawks Prospects
Blackhawks Notebook: IceHogs Release Schedule; Braceful Heads Back to US Hockey
A day after releasing its home opener, the Rockford IceHogs now have its full season slate. The Chicago Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate will kick its season off out west with a pair of games against the San Jose Barracuda on October 13th and 14th. They’ll then open at home a week later against the Chicago Wolves.
We asked a 5-year old IceHogs “Superfan” to take a little artistic license with our opponents’ logos for our schedule release. We think he kinda nailed it.
See the full schedule at https://t.co/H9uZxfmhCa.
Plus, check out our new 6-game Pick'em Plan at https://t.co/hEdeVdsOOE. pic.twitter.com/aDtLTuDJn6
— Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) July 12, 2023
Rockford’s season ends on the road against the Wolves on April 21 in Rosemont. For a full look at the schedule, you can go here but here are some other highlights:
- Of the 72 games the IceHogs are slated to play, 64 are against divisional rivals
- The New Years’ Eve game returns with a tilt against the Milwaukee Admirals. Beyond that, they’ll have a post-Christmas contest against Grand Rapids on December 27th.
- The one that made me laugh – no games during the first round of March Madness. That’s brilliant.
It will be a fun year to take into Rockford hockey as many of the prospects drafted in the past few years are set to make their debuts. This includes Colton Dach and Drew Commesso.
Blackhawks Scout Rod Braceful Takes Director of Player Personnel Role with US Hockey
An amateur scout with the Chicago Blackhawks since 2021, Rod Braceful has returned to the US Hockey National Team Developmental Program as its Director of Player Personnel. Braceful served in the assistant director of player personnel role with the USNTDP before ending up with Chicago. According to the official release from the US program, Braceful’s role with the Blackhawks ranged from prep in the amateur draft to pro scouting, which included evaluating players for the front office for the purposes of potential trades and free agency. Now he returns to a familiar spot with the US program.