A team of Chicago Blackhawks rookies will compete in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase this weekend in Maryland Heights, Mo.
The Hawks face the St. Louis Blues prospects at 7 p.m. Friday and the Minnesota Wild at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Hawks will practice at 11 a.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m. Thursday at Fifth Third Arena, and all practices and games are open to the public for free.
Here are seven Hawks prospects to watch.
Artyom Levshunov, defenseman
Acquired: 2024 draft, first round (signed a three-year contract in July).
Outlook: Rockford IceHogs coach Anders Sorensen, who will coach the Hawks in the prospect showcase, said a player of Levshunov’s “caliber and talent raises the level of our team, both in practices and games.”
“You just see the way he skates, how mobile he is for a big guy — he gets up the ice,” Sorensen said of the 6-foot-2, 208-pound Levshunov. “His instincts offensively are obviously really good. … He’s got a good passing game and he’s really poised with the puck.”
Mark Eaton, the Hawks assistant general manager for player development, said Levshunov has that “it” factor, someone who wants the puck in high-leverage situations.
“And he’s not a liability defensively,” Eaton said. “That’s a key for defensemen that he has that 200-foot game. So nothing but everything to like about him.”
Levshunov had the choice to return to Michigan State but opted to sign with the Hawks.
“Being able to be hands-on every single day is a huge bonus,” Eaton said.
Ethan Del Mastro, defenseman
Acquired: 2021 draft, fourth round (signed a three-year contract in April 2022).
Outlook: The consensus is Del Mastro is the likeliest next IceHog to make the leap to the NHL, which comes as little surprise after he posted seven goals and 30 assists in 69 AHL games last season.
“He’s got a bright future ahead of him,” Grand Rapids Griffins coach Dan Watson said. “He sees the game well. He eats a lot of minutes for a young guy, was in all different types of situations.”
Watson said he’s struck by how mature Del Mastro is, a sentiment Sorensen echoed, such as when he asked Del Mastro what he learned from his two-game stint with the Hawks in April.
“He was really good about it,” said Sorensen, who said Del Mastro noticed some of the same things Sorensen wants him to work on, such as moving the puck faster. “It’s always better, too, if they realize it themselves than us always trying to tell them what to do.”
Frank Nazar, forward
Acquired: 2022 draft, first round (signed a three-year contract in March).
Outlook: Nazar had a standout tournament at the World Juniors in Sweden, winning a gold medal with the U.S. team. He scored a goal in his NHL debut against the Carolina Hurricanes on April 14, his first of three games to finish out the season with the Hawks.
The Hawks saw spurts of high-end talent. After two seasons at Michigan, this will be Nazar’s first in Rockford.
“It’s the speed,” Eaton said. “The quickness is always there, so it’s about learning to use that more effectively, getting inside the dots, getting into the scoring areas, using that great asset he has on both sides of the puck.”
Samuel Savoie, forward
Acquired: 2022 draft, third round (signed a three-year contract in July 2023).
Outlook: Savoie broke his right femur last preseason against the Wild and required surgery in October. He rehabbed with the Hawks and joined the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League in February.
Eaton noted Savoie’s maturation during that process.
“Obviously the year, the way it started, was gruesome,” Eaton said. “You never want to see that. But it was a great testament to him how he turned that year into a positive. And he talks about it, the experience of being around NHL players on a daily basis. … He was able to absorb a lot of the habits that it takes that we talk a lot about being a successful pro.”
Sorensen said Savoie has “some moxie to him. … great hard-nosed game.”
“But he does have some abilities to make some plays and he’s a good, powerful skater,” Sorensen added. “So being able to utilize that and hone in his pro game, that’s the biggest thing. If you look at a guy like Andrew Shaw, (he) spent some time in the American League and I think that did him really well. I think there’s some similarities there.”
Colton Dach, forward
Acquired: 2021 draft, second round (signed a three-year contract in October 2021; two slide years).
Outlook: Dach has been snakebitten when it comes to injuries. He suffered a concussion during the 2022 prospect showcase and was knocked out of the 2023 World Juniors with a shoulder injury while playing for Canada.
He hurt his right ankle last preseason with the Hawks and went into concussion protocol in December while playing for the IceHogs — more hiccups in his development.
“(At the) end of November, December, he was probably our best forward,” Sorensen said. “And we were really excited to see how he was progressing, and then he had another setback with injuries. … He got back and never really found his game.
“There’s tons there, both physically and mentally, for him to develop. A lot of room for growth.”
Martin Misiak, forward
Acquired: 2023 draft, second round (signed a three-year contract in May).
Outlook: Misiak got a game in with the IceHogs at the end of the season and stuck around through the playoffs, soaking things in.
“Small sample, but it seems like some of his offensive abilities will translate really well to the pro level,” said Sorensen, adding that Misiak has good offensive instincts. “He’s got soft hands around the net. He can make some plays that maybe sometimes you don’t even see as a coach.”
Landon Slaggert, forward
Acquired: 2020 draft, third round (signed a two-year contract in March).
Outlook: Sorensen and Slaggert won back-to-back national championships together with the Chicago Mission in 2017 and ’18. The 2017 bantam roster also included Will Bowman, son of former Hawks GM Stan Bowman; Kyle Aucoin, son of former Hawks defenseman Adrian Aucoin; and Jacob Perreault, son of former Hawks center Yanic Perreault.
As much Sorensen would savor a reunion with Slaggert, “it’s more so what’s best for him.”
“He did a good job being in the NHL,” Sorensen said of Slaggert’s 16-game stint in March and April. “I thought he played well. If he ends up in Rockford, we’ll work with him just like we work with other players. But obviously the familiarity will make it a little bit easier because there’s a relationship there already.”
Sorensen said Slaggert has a style similar to former Hawks locker-room favorite Brandon Hagel.
“He has very similar attributes in terms of working like a dog,” Sorensen said. “He’s like a dog with a bone. He’s on the puck all the time and he works.”
