Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. As we go through the summer of 2024, each day our LWOS Prospects Writers will bring you a look at one NHL team’s top prospects or other topical article. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow Ben Kerr and Frederik Frandson on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! You can find all the articles here as well as our extensive NHL Draft preview. Today, we look at the 2024 Chicago Blackhawks Top Prospects.
For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn’t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played (including playoff games) or is 25 years old. These are not hard or fast rules though, and we may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.
2024 Chicago Blackhawks Top Prospects
1.) The Best of the Blackhawks Prospects and Defenceman Artyom Levshunov
Taken second overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, Artyom Levshunov is amongst the best defenceman from the draft and immediately becomes number one on the Blackhawks Top Prospects rankings. He is an outstanding skater. This allows him to dominate at both ends of the ice. He can push the offence on the rush and still get back defensively. With strong puck control, Levshunov can carry the puck out of his end and through the neutral zone. He gains the zone with possession and this allows him to set up the offence. His agility and edgework allows him to walk the line and create passing and shooting lanes.
Levshunov’s vision and playmaking ability are elite for his age. He also has a great shot. Levshunov has an excellent slapshot from the point. Levshunov gets off his one-timer even when the pass isn’t quite perfect. He is also able to sneak down from the line and get off a quick, accurate wrist shot with a quick release. He has good vision and passing skills, allowing him to quarterback plays from the point. Levshunov is physical in his end. He also uses his skating to maintain excellent gap control and keep defenders to the outside. Levshunov should become a franchise-level defenceman for Chicago.
2.) Oliver Moore
Moore is an elite-level skater, with speed and agility that few prospects can match. He combines this with soft hands and can make plays at top speed. This allows Moore to create a ton of chances in transition. He is able to create breakaways and odd-man rushes. He can also beat a defender wide and cut hard to the net. Defenders have to respect his speed and this creates time and space. Moore is also able to carry the puck through the neutral zone and generate effective offensive zone entries. Moore can create plays as well as score goals. He needs to add muscle to his frame and be stronger on the puck to take his game to an even higher level.
Moore shows high-end hockey IQ. He makes smart plays both with and without the puck. Moore makes the smart pass to the open man, keeping the puck moving and creating scoring chances. Defensively, he is well-positioned and forces attackers to the outside. He is willing to battle on the boards and keep attackers away from the net. This is a reason why it’s important if can continue to add muscle before playing in the pros. Moore reads the play extremely well. He can cut off passing lanes and create turnovers, leading to transition offence.
3.) Frank Nazar
Nazar deserves his standing as a top Blackhawks prospect who marries his strong skating with outstanding puckhandling ability. This allows him to weave through the neutral zone, generating effective zone entries. He can also control the puck in the offensive zone, using quick changes in direction and slick hands to manipulate the defence and open up passing and shooting lanes. He can slow down the play or speed it up as necessary to create openings. Nazar is very creative and will try some plays with the puck on his stick that other forwards only dream of executing. He reads the play extremely well and his passing skills are strong. In addition, he can thread the needle with a tape-to-tape pass through a tight lane.
Nazar can also play the role of a goal scorer. His speed and puckhandling skills allow him to drive the front of the net and finish in tight to goalies. He also has a good wrist shot. As defenders back off to respect his shot, he can use them as a screen and fire a shot on the net. With his quick hands, he can change the angle of his release just before letting the puck go, fooling goaltenders. Despite his size, Nazar is not afraid to play in the dirty areas of the ice. He gets to the front of the net to make plays. He is also more than willing to battle bigger, stronger opponents for loose pucks on the boards. His speed is also an asset in getting in quickly on the forecheck and making plays.
4.) Sacha Boisvert
Taken by the Blackhawks with the 18th overall pick this year, Boisvert was one of the more polarizing prospects in this year’s draft. He has good size and is willing to use it to play a power-forward style of game. However, his biggest asset is his shot. Boisvert has an excellent wrist shot that features excellent power and accuracy. His quick release can fool goaltenders. It is close to NHL-ready. He is also a good playmaker. Boisvert has excellent vision and good passing skills. He can control the puck down low, buying his teammates time to get open and drive the net. Once they do, he can make a tape-to-tape pass to set up a chance.
However, there are also some areas of Boisvert’s game that will need to improve. The 18-year-old is headed to the University of North Dakota. He will need to add muscle to his frame. He can also work on his skating stride. It is a little bit awkward right now and if he can get a little quicker, he can really take his game to the next level. Boisvert also has room to improve in the defensive end of the ice.
5.) Sam Rinzel
Rinzel is excellent in transition. He marries his skating ability with very good hands. As a result, he can lead the rush through the neutral zone. Rinzel can beat a defender wide and cut back to the middle of the ice. He is a riverboat gambler at times, willing to get deep in the zone to make a play. It is not unusual for Rinzel to take the puck right to the net. Defenders have to back off to deal with his speed and this opens up passing and shooting lanes. He can use a defender as a screen and fire a wrist shot at the net. He can also use the added space to set up a teammate for a scoring chance.
6.) Adam Gajan
Here we are at the top goaltender prospect for the Blackhawks. Gajan is 6-foot-4. He combines this with high-end athleticism and hockey IQ. Gajan reads the play well, and puts himself in good position to cut down angles and make a save. His puck tracking also allows him to get side-to-side quickly and make the save. He is very agile and has excellent skating abilities. His push is powerful and takes him across the crease. Strong skating also lets him get out to cut down angles. He can retreat quickly and it’s tough to beat him on the deke. Gajan will need to work on his rebound control, but this is an issue for many young goalies and he has time.
7.) Nick Lardis
Lardis is an excellent skater. He is also a pure goal scorer. He has an outstanding arsenal of shots. His wrist shot and snapshot are both accurate and powerful. They also feature a quick and deceptive release which allows Lardis to fool goaltenders. The biggest strength of his game is his one-timer though. His shot is extremely powerful. He also has the ability to get it off even when the pass isn’t perfect. Lardis is able to adjust his feet and stick quickly and still get off an effective shot. He can also score goals in tight to the net with his soft hands. Lardis pounces on rebounds and can get deflections.
8.) Wyatt Kaiser
Kaiser is extremely strong defensively. He uses his strong backward skating and his excellent lateral mobility to maintain very good gap control. While he is not a huge hitter, he is willing to play physically if an opposition forward tries to get by him along the boards. He also is willing to battle along the boards and in front of the net for loose pucks. Kaiser uses his lateral mobility to create offence. His ability to walk the line changes angles and opens up shooting and passing lanes. His quick hands can also beat a defender and get them out of position so he can make a play.
9.) Marek Vanacker
Marek Vanacker is a dynamic skater. He uses his speed and stickhandling to create chances off the rush and get in quickly on the forechecker. Vanacker can lead the rush through the neutral zone, gaining the zone efficiently and allowing his team to generate offensive zone possession. He is also an excellent defensive player and penalty-killer. Vanacker scored five shorthanded goals last season. Vanacker has a strong wrist shot with good accuracy. His release is quick and deceptive. He can add a quick toe-drag before firing the puck, which helps to fool goalies. Vanacker has the vision and passing skills to play the role of playmaker but can sometimes make some ill-advised passes. He will need to work on this going forward.
10.) Roman Kantserov
Kantserov plays an effective two-way game. He can create offence through his passing skills. Kantserov starts the transition game with a strong first pass. He can also quarterback the play from the point, with strong vision and passing skills. Kantserov can set up scoring chances with a tape-to-tape pass. He opens up passing lanes with his lateral movement and poise on the puck. Strong skating allows him to cover a lot of ice. He is good defensively. Kantserov takes away the middle of the ice and forces attackers to the outside and into bad shooting areas. He could stand to get more physical going forward.
HM (Not a Top 3 round pick, not necessarily 11th ranked): Ethan Del Mastro
Del Mastro concludes our top Blackhawks prospects heading in 2024-25. He was drafted in 2021 as a physical defensive defenceman. His strong skating allows him to join the rush or pinch in at the blueline. He also shows decent passing skills from his own end. Del Mastro is effective at starting the transition game. This past season, he showed more poise in the offensive zone, allowing him to become a playmaker on the blueline. Del Mastro plays a physical and aggressive game in his end of the rink. He maintains good gap control. Once the opportunity presents itself, Del Mastro steps up to throw a big hit. He is also not afraid to engage opponents on the boards or in front of the net.
Main photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
