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State of the Blackhawks: Over Ripen or Overthinking?

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With all of the work on the roster, the common question be it on social media, bar room chatter, or even among analysts: Will the Blackhawks prospects now be blocked?



General manager Kyle Davidson spoke to that during development camp.

“I think what we’re looking for is to create an environment that’s an environment of more winning than it was in the past and young players can come up and elevate that when they are ready,” Davidson explained.  “I really admire, they’re in a different situation than us but I really admire the development path that Dallas took with Thomas Harley and a Logan Stankoven. Those players were brought in when they were ready to go, and they were ready to elevate the group.”

So blocked? Nope. But maybe a bit of an “over ripen” that will allow for the Blackhawks prospects to develop at the correct rate without a too-early push that can hurt their potential.  Those betting on a number of prospects making it sooner rather than later might be disappointed (including the sites that accept Neosurf).

In theory though, it should work out better for the Blackhawks over the long haul.

Blackhawks Prospects Popping in the Pipeline

Frank Nazar comes to mind immediately, a guy who scored in his first professional game and showed the knack to be in the right place at the right time–even at the NHL level. So honing those skills in Rockford at a rate that will help him sharpen those skills–what a win for Chicago. When speaking to Dallas’s model, Davidson was candid in how it’s one he’d like to emulate.

“Dallas waited, they were patient and he [Stankoven] came in and was one of their more effective players down the stretch in the playoffs,” Davidson said.  “That’s more of the situation that we’d like to follow, rather than put them in and hope that it works out throughout the year. It can work for two weeks, a month, like we saw with even Wyatt last year. good out of the gates, it’s a tough league for young guys to thrive in and we want our players to thrive.”

Kaiser spent 31 games in Rockford and then returned looking more relaxed in his role with the Blackhawks. Davidson complimented the work that Rockford IceHogs head coach Anders Sorensen and his staff does, commenting that players like Kaiser return much better than when they left. I don’t know if we’ve had a player that’s gone down and come back up that hasn’t gotten better in Rockford.”

And while this is all great for the future, is there a risk in maybe waiting too long? As Davidson has said from when he took the job, he and his staff will do what’s best for the individual player.

“We’ve got a ton of trust in Anders and his staff and development staff working in Rockford to make sure players go down there, they’re going to be better and all the evidence has shown they do get better in Rockford,” Davidson said.  “If that’s the path they need to go, then we’ll use that.”

So the path isn’t blocked at all. If anything, the Blackhawks plan is to make that path a smoother journey to Chicago.