Happy Friday, hockey fans! Today marks the start of nine prospect tournaments across the NHL, with many of the league’s top up-and-coming talents looking to make a strong impression on their respective clubs.
The Chicago Blackhawks are sending a stacked group of prospects to Minnesota for the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase, where they’ll be in action on Saturday and Sunday. More in the links below on the Blackhawks’ full roster for the weekend.
Also in the links, AJ Spellacy avoided a serious injury scare, forward lines and defensive pairings were established at rookie camp, and stud prospects Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel received national praise.
Around the league, the NHL made a ruling on the five acquitted Hockey Canada players, Penguins’ prospects with the most to gain this weekend, and goaltender Alexandar Georgiev found a new home.
All that and more in the Daily!
Chicago Blackhawks News & Tidbits
Chicago Hockey Now: Who are the notable prospects suiting up for the Blackhawks this weekend? Here’s a breakdown of the most skilled players in attendance, plus the full 23-player roster.
More CHN: Day two of Blackhawks rookie camp provided a first look at some potential forward lines and defensive pairings for the Showcase. It also provided a scary close call for prospect AJ Spellacy, who got cut by a skate blade to the face, but avoided a serious injury.
More CHN: How do Blackhawks young defensemen Sam Rinzel and Artyom Levshunov stack up against the best prospects in the league? Here’s NHL Network’s latest rankings.
Not only were the prospects on the ice at Fifth Third Arena on Thursday, but so were NHLers like Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and the still-unsigned Wyatt Kaiser. With training camp just around the corner, most of the big league roster took part in an informal skate on the other ice sheet at the practice facility.
A surprise guest in attendance was former Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi, who played 96 games with the team during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
Also in Blackhawks prospects news, 2023 2nd-round pick Roman Kantserov recorded his first point of the 2025-26 KHL season in Metallurg Magnitogorsk’s 2-1 loss on Thursday.
NHL Trade Talk, News, National Hockey Now
The Athletic: The best NHL players were placed into tiers on Wednesday, and Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard was the only member of the Blackhawks featured.
Sportsnet: There were rumblings in recent days that the NHL was nearing a ruling on the five 2018 Hockey Canada players acquitted of sexual assault. Yesterday, a verdict was announced on when the players can sign a contract and return to the league.
New Jersey Hockey Now: Quinn and Jack Hughes’ comments about wanting to play together have been the major stories coming out of New Jersey this week. But perhaps the focus should be on Devils captain Nico Hischier, who’s added significant muscle to his frame this summer.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Gone are the days when Pittsburgh’s rookie tournament didn’t hold much weight for the organization. Here are four Penguins’ prospects with the most to gain over the weekend.
Hockey Wilderness: Kirill Kaprisov declining a record extension sent the hockey world into a frenzy on Wednesday. But GM Bill Guerin isn’t sure how the news about the Wild‘s superstar got leaked.
NHL: Alexandar Georgiev has signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres, carrying an $825,000 cap hit. The 29-year-old goaltender struggled mightily last season with the Colorado Avalanche and the San Jose Sharks and will try to find his footing in Western New York.
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