Byram has newly minted playoff experience, and Vlasic is a very smooth skater all over the ice while being 6-foot-6. He might be Chicago’s most underrated player as a result of how he plays.
His defensive-zone awareness, active stick, and transition excellence have led to him going from a “dark horse” to being a great big-time defenseman. His on-ice awareness also results in a lot of blocked shots, a stat that he has led all Blackhawks defensemen each of the last three seasons.
Projected Defensive Pairings
Bowen Byram – Alex Vlasic
Wyatt Kaiser – Artyom Levshunov
Ian Cole – Sam Rinzel
Extras: Ethan Del Mastro, Kevin Korchinski
Since being acquired in a trade with the Florida Panthers on March 1, 2025, it felt clear that Spencer Knight would be the Hawks’ top goalie. The biggest key in being a top goalie is having good defensemen in front of you. Because Florida had good forward lines, defense wasn’t much of a worry since their top players could outscore opponents.
His Chicago debut came a couple days later on March 3, where he made 41 saves on 42 shots in a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings. With the help of Drew Commesso, who signed a two-year, $875,000 deal on July 6, Chicago has their goalie tandem set for the next couple of seasons.
With Chicago, relying only on Bedard to carry the offense isn’t going to help, and with the help of finding on-ice chemistry with whoever can generate chances with Bedard, the main goal is dealing with the defensive zone with elite pairings.
Del Mastro will be the best option the Blackhawks want to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, which happened quite often during last season. Korchinski, despite playing well for the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Rockford Icehogs, hasn’t shown the same level of consistency at the NHL level.
Kaiser and Levshunov on the same pairing will spark great chemistry with Levshunov’s high-upside offensive instincts and unpredictable offensive rushes with Kaiser’s complimentary style of play and his ability to read Levshunov. Both young defensemen in the NHL means their ability to read each other in that level of understanding to use strong communication to level out mistakes.
Because Chicago is loaded with left-shooting defensemen and only two natural right-shots (Rinzel and Levshunov), Cole is expected to play on his off-side to help accommodate Rinzel. Cole, now 37, is expected to stability and veteran presence on the blue line.
Who Can Break Out?
With Bedard out for at least the first month and a half of the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery, the question that comes up now is, who can have a breakout season and become Chicago’s best player, even when he returns?
Names like Frank Nazar and Nick Lardis would be the obvious choices for the Hawks because both players have a similar play style to Bedard with the same wicked shot and hockey IQ that can throw any goalie off their game.
Nazar showed last season that he’s a dependable forward who can fill in Bedard’s spot as the top center in any big situation. With Lardis, his offensive style of play is another reason for Hawks fans to get excited when his name is being announced at the United Center. No matter where the puck is, Lardis will find any way to create a scoring opportunity.
It’s not a guarantee for this Blackhawks team to be a playoff contender, but the spark of excitement they showed last season, specifically the first couple of months, is a sign that the rebuild might actually be closer to being successful than most fans think.