Every August, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman unveils his updated NHL under-23 pipeline rankings, where he assesses the top prospects and players for all 32 clubs. Much like his Athletic colleague, Scott Wheeler, in his annual top prospect pool rankings, Pronman evaluates each team’s respective pipeline and orders them from No. 32 to No. 1.
Tuesday was the magic date for Pronman’s 2026 pipeline rankings to get released, and the Chicago Blackhawks were slotted fourth among all 32 teams, trailing only the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, and Montreal Canadiens. In Pronman’s 2025 edition, the Blackhawks were ranked second, behind San Jose.
Pronman provided a write-up and detailed tool grades for 18 Blackhawks players/prospects, all of which met the under-23 age requirement for the exercise. A player is considered eligible if he is 22 years old or younger as of Sept. 15, 2026, which encompasses almost every prospect selected between the 2022 and 2026 NHL Drafts. The thought process behind this is to “include a team’s top prospects without aggressively graduating players who have a lot of prime development years ahead of them, even if they are already in the NHL.”
To no surprise, Connor Bedard was listed as the No. 1 player yet to turn 24 in the Blackhawks’ pipeline. Pronman projects Bedard as a star first-line center, while grading his puck skills, hockey sense, and shot as “high-end”. He listed Bedard’s skating and compete level as “above NHL average”.
Behind Bedard, Anton Frondell (No. 2), Roman Kantserov (No. 3), Frank Nazar (No. 4), and Vaclav Nestrasil (No. 5) round out the top five. It was rather interesting to see Pronman rank Nestrasil ahead of current NHLers Artyom Levshunov, Oliver Moore, and Sam Rinzel. Here’s what he had to say about the 2025 first-round draft pick, who was ranked 15th in last year’s edition:
“Nestrašil was quite impressive as a freshman as a big part of UMass’ offense. His tools and projection for the pro game are highly intriguing. He’s a huge winger who can move quite well for a big man and keeps developing more skill in his game. He can make plays in small areas and has good hands. When Nestrašil gets going, he has the foot speed of an NHL player and can create a lot of controlled entries. His first few steps are just OK, though. I’d like to see him use his big body more to get to the net, but Nestrašil has the skill to create in small areas. He projects as a middle-six winger.”
After Nestrasil, Levshunov (No. 6), Moore (No. 7), Greene (No. 8), Rinzel (No. 9), and 2024 first-round selection Marek Vanacker (No. 10) close out the Blackhawks’ top 10. Pronman projects all five to become “middle of the lineup” players in the future, which seems likely for the majority.
However, despite a disappointing rookie season in 2025-26, a valid argument can be made that Rinzel, in particular, possesses higher upside than that. Rinzel just turned 22 in June and has less than 100 games of pro experience under his belt. With a lethal combo of size and high-end skating as a defenseman, there’s reason to believe he can still become a top-pairing player. At the very least, ranking him ninth, behind Greene, feels too low. Pronman listed his skating as “NHL average”, which is also not an accurate assessment.
Outside of the top 10, Sacha Boisvert (No. 11), Xavier Villeneuve (No. 12), Samu Alalauri (No. 13), and Nathan Behm (No. 14) are the next crop of youngsters discussed by Pronman. Even though Boisvert has already turned pro, he still considers each of these five players NHL prospects.
Villeneuve is the first member of the Blackhawks’ 2026 draft class mentioned, with four of his five tools (skating, puck skills, hockey sense, and shot) being graded as “above NHL average”. Pronman listed the undersized defenseman’s compete level as “below NHL average”. Here’s everything he wrote up about Chicago’s top 2026 draft choice:
“Villeneuve is a dynamic defenseman. He has excellent speed and edge work that allows him to evade a lot of pressure. His hands and creativity are high-end, and he projects to run a pro power play. He’s a small, light defenseman who doesn’t play the body, and his defense as a pro will be a significant question mark. He can also be overly risky and individualistic at times with the puck. Coming into the season, he looked like a highly promising pro prospect, but there are notable holes in his game that he will need to round out.”
The final four prospects ranked by Pronman are somewhat curious: Kevin Korchinski (No. 15), Nick Lardis (No. 16), Ryan Roobroeck (No. 17), and AJ Spellacy (No. 18) finalize the Blackhawks’ rankings. Even though Korchinski has yet to solidify himself as a full-time NHL player, he just turned 22 in June and has appeared in 29 NHL games since being rushed to the pro scene in 2023-24. The luster around him certainly isn’t what it once was, but he deserves to be ahead of Alalauri and Behm.
Lardis slipping to 16th is Pronman’s most head-scratching decision, giving fans memories of when Nazar was oddly considered the 14th-best prospect in Chicago’s arsenal in August 2024. Yes, there’s still plenty for the 2023 third-round pick to prove at the highest level, but he’s off to a terrific start. While mostly playing a bottom-six role, Lardis still managed to produce 10 goals in his first 41 NHL appearances with the Blackhawks last year. Somehow, Pronman didn’t even provide a rating for Lardis’ shot, while calling his skating and hockey sense “NHL average”. Here’s his full write-up on Lardis:
“Lardis had a successful first pro season as a top player in AHL Rockford before coming up and playing a regular role in Chicago. He has clear NHL offensive traits. He’s a quick and agile skater with very good hands. He makes difficult plays in tight areas and with pace. He also has a very good shot. His effort level is OK, and he’s not the hardest to play against as a small winger, so despite his high talent level and already playing NHL games, whether he will be a top-nine winger on a legit team remains a question unless his offense is just that good.”
Last, but certainly not least, Spellacy coming in at No. 18 perfectly captures the remarkable depth in the Blackhawks’ pipeline. There’s not much offensive skill to rave about in Spellacy’s toolkit, but a unique combination of size, skill, and athleticism gives him a realistic chance to become an important puzzle piece in the rebuild.
Spellacy plays with swift pace and loves to get involved physically, which is something the Blackhawks desperately need more of in their forward group. He also consistently makes a concerted effort defensively and has been a frequent penalty-killer throughout his junior career.
With all 18 players mentioned by Pronman having a realistic shot at becoming NHL regulars not too far down the road, it’s clear the Blackhawks have a bright future ahead of them. Given their pipeline depth, it’s perhaps even the brightest future in the league, but only time will tell.
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