I hope everyone is enjoying the Olympic break. The Chicago Blackhawks will resume practicing next week. Until then, we’ll fill some time with a couple of mailbags. Appreciate all the questions.
Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.
When can we expect an update on Wyatt Kaiser’s injury? — Joseph K.
There won’t be an official update until the team begins practice again on Feb. 18. From what it sounds like, the injury isn’t as bad as the Blackhawks initially feared. We’ll soon see what that means for a timeline.
How much longer is the Arvid Söderblom experiment going to last? Do you expect Drew Commesso to be the backup goalie next season? — Joseph M.
The Blackhawks are in no rush with Commesso. With Spencer Knight establishing himself as the No. 1, there aren’t a ton of starts to fill up behind him. Söderblom has started only 16 games this season. Maybe he’ll get to 25. The Blackhawks want Commesso to play as many games as possible and allow him to further develop. He’s still just 23. Rockford gives him more reps at this point. There are also still ups and downs to his game. Come training camp next season, there’s probably a better chance for a true competition for the No. 2 goalie. It’s not as if Söderblom has it locked down and can’t be replaced. It just won’t likely be this season.
Do we know what the next phase of team construction is likely to be focused on? Is it simply bringing more young players on board and phasing out the remaining veterans? Is it keeping some experienced voices to enable building a strong culture? Nabbing some quality free agents over the next couple of years? I’m not sure what direction the club’s management seems to be indicating. — Beau R.
The next phase is similar to the current one. The Blackhawks want to implement more of their early-round draft picks into the NHL. Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov are likely the next two prospects to make the jump to the team next season. You would think Nick Lardis will be close to being an everyday NHLer next season. Add in Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore and Ryan Greene, and general manager Kyle Davidson could have seven of his forward draft picks in the NHL for the 2026-27 season. Marek Vanacker and A.J Spellacy are expected to turn pro next season. I’d be surprised if Sacha Boisvert doesn’t leave school early and sign with the Blackhawks. On defense, you can probably pencil in Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Alex Vlasic, Wyatt Kaiser and Louis Crevier on the season-opening roster. We’ll see about Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro.
As for the rest of the team, I don’t foresee Davidson making any major splashes in free agency or trades. They want to figure out what they have in their own prospects before deciding whether to add from outside the organization. This was the whole point of building up so many draft picks. If those seven forwards I mentioned before are in play next season, the Blackhawks are pretty close to having their roster set. Teuvo Teräväinen, Tyler Bertuzzi, André Burakovsky and Ryan Donato are under contract. They could re-sign Ilya Mikheyev. Landon Slaggert and Colton Dach could be battling for spots. The defensemen are mostly set, too. Maybe they could bring in a veteran such as Matt Grzelcyk again to fill a spot. I know it’s not the answer some fans want to hear, but I wouldn’t expect much else.
Two seasons from now, the Blackhawks will likely part ways with Teräväinen and Burakovsky and bring in more of their youth. Vanacker and Boisvert could be ready then. Václav Nestrašil could turn pro after his 2026-27 college season. If the Blackhawks draft another forward early in the 2026 draft, that player could be ready by the 2027-28 season. John Mustard, Jack Pridham and Nathan Behm are other forward prospects to keep an eye on. Mason West’s development will be followed closely as he enters college next season.
I know you had the trade deadline article on potentially selling the expiring contracts. How much of a chance do you think there’d be on trading guys like Bertuzzi, Teräväinen or Burakovsky? I’d imagine Burakovsky would be more of a next year’s deadline if at all, but the other two could have some extra value with the added term. The logjam up front is only gonna get worse, and maybe it’s more of an offseason/next season type thing. While I doubt there’s much of a chance of moving those guys this year, I still thought it was worth an ask if we see another McCabe-type trade. — Shawn F.
I don’t think there’s a chance any of those players would be dealt this season. For one, there’s probably not much of a market because they’re not on expiring deals. Maybe Bertuzzi, but he has another two years after this. I doubt anyone is looking to add someone like that. Two, the Blackhawks are banking on all those players’ cap hits to get them to the salary-cap floor next season. Acquiring Burakovsky was about his potential to play with Bedard but also about having his cap hit on their payroll for two seasons. I don’t think the Blackhawks will prioritize playing those players over prospects, but they do serve a role in the short term.
When will Anton Frondell arrive with the Blackhawks? (Nick Wosika / Getty Images)
If you’re Kyle Davidson, what position group are you most looking to address with this year’s first-round pick(s)? Or has the prospect pool reached a point where best player available is the approach? — Jake A.
I believe the Blackhawks will approach this draft thinking best player available. If that’s a defenseman with their first pick, I don’t think they’ll shy away from that. There are a lot of defensemen projected in the top 10.
I think the Blackhawks should seek another high-end forward with that first pick. Frondell and Kantserov might be elite players to go along with Bedard. It’s possible to connect those dots based on what Frondell and Kantserov have produced in Sweden and Russia. Nazar has shown positive signs in the NHL and just needs more consistency. Lardis seems like he’ll figure out goal scoring in the NHL as he did elsewhere. We’ll see to what extent. Moore and Greene look like they’ll be NHLers, but we’ll see what their roles are. Maybe a bunch of those other forwards hit, too. That’s not a real problem. You don’t hear many GMs complaining about having too many talented forwards. But what if not enough hit? That has to be the fear. This is a once-in-a-lifetime-type rebuild where Davidson has a massive runway to execute his plan. He’s already the 12th-longest-tenured NHL general manager and continues to have the trust and patience of Blackhawks chairman Danny Wirtz. With another possible top-six pick, Davidson can add another player who can be a big part of the future.
Something that will be interesting in the next few years: The Blackhawks’ early-round pick will be joining a different team than Bedard did. Bedard didn’t have a ton of skill around him early on. This next wave of prospects will have that. For one, they’ll have Bedard. He’ll undoubtedly be able to elevate his teammates to even higher places in the coming years. That could be the case for Nazar and others, too, as they get more comfortable in the NHL. That could be an exciting environment to add young, skilled forwards to and see who fits where.
I think the Blackhawks will want to draft at least a few defensemen to build up prospect depth. So far, Davidson has selected defensemen really high or really low in the draft. It probably wouldn’t hurt to draft a few in the second and third rounds and give them a bunch of time to develop. There just aren’t a lot of defensemen coming behind the current group.
I was wondering what it would take to pry Alex Tuch from the Sabres or Quinton Byfield (disappointing season so far, I know) from L.A. Both are big wings that would fit well with Bedard, etc. — Anonymous U.
It’s an interesting thought, partly because of what I just mentioned about how the Blackhawks will be a more suitable team for skilled players to join. Not that Tuch falls under this category, but there are likely players around the league who could use a change of scenery and would thrive with Bedard. You see what Egor Chinakhov has done since going to the Pittsburgh Penguins. I just don’t get the sense they’re looking outside the organization for players. They want to give those opportunities to Frondell, Kantserov and the other prospects coming. They believe their draft picks can fill those spots.
ETA for Anton Frondell? — Daniel G.
It all depends on how far Djurgårdens and Frondell go in the SHL playoffs. It looks like Djurgårdens will finish somewhere between seventh and 10th in the standings. That will put it in a best-of-three playoff series for the opening round. The SHL regular season ends on March 13, and those best-of-three series will likely start a few days later. At the earliest, Frondell could be available to the Blackhawks around the third week of March. If Djurgårdens advances a round into the quarterfinals, that series is a best-of-seven, so that would push his arrival back closer to April. If Djurgårdens advances to the semifinals or final, it’s less likely Frondell plays for the Blackhawks this season.
What do you think are the main reasons the Blackhawks don’t like Gavin McKenna as a top pick? Considering they badly have a need for elite offensive IQ, playmaking and play driving, all of which McKenna projects to be a star in.
I think it all depends on where the Blackhawks draft. I don’t think they’re sold on McKenna as the top pick in 2026. They’re not the only ones who think that. McKenna’s game has shown some flaws in college. If they’re drafting further down the top 10 and he’s still on the board, they’d have to consider him. His offensive ability can’t be ignored. I don’t think it’s certain that they won’t draft him. Of course, how everything plays out in court will factor into everything, too. The Blackhawks won’t be making any decisions based solely on on-ice performance. It’s also really early: There are still five months until the draft. So much can change, including how the Blackhawks view McKenna. Let’s discuss again down the road.
Kantserov’s numbers are extraordinary — comparable to Kirill Kaprizov, Ivan Demidov and Nikita Kucherov. Yet, I don’t hear much hype around him. What is a realistic assessment of his floor and ceiling? And where do you think he slots into the lineup next year? — Erik B.
I was just talking to someone about this the other day. I’m not sure why Kantserov doesn’t have as much hype. Kaprizov is the closest comparable to what Kantserov has done this season as a 21-year-old in the KHL. Kaprizov left the KHL in 2020. It’s been a while. Maybe it’s Kantserov’s size, being a second-round pick, or non-NHL Russian players being off the radar without international competitions in recent years. An NHL team might have a Russia-based scout see draft-eligibles in person, but there aren’t many NHL people beyond that seeing them live. If you recall, there were questions about Demidov heading into the draft because people weren’t even sure how tall he was.
With 29 goals and 53 points in 49 games, Kantserov might be the playmaker Bedard needs on his wing. Kantserov’s vision and passing are elite. He may not be big, but he has a strong build and doesn’t shy away from contact. He’s taken on major minutes as a center against older veterans in Russia. The goal scoring does help. He doesn’t need quantity. He understands how to get quality and has scored a lot of goals around the net this season. We’ll see how he adapts, but Bedard and Kantserov with one of the larger wings, maybe Frondell or Boisvert, could make sense in time.