Less than 24 hours after trading Connor Murphy to the Edmonton Oilers, the Chicago Blackhawks have recalled another young player from the Rockford IceHogs, putting seven defensemen on the NHL roster once again.
Ethan Del Mastro, 23, is back with the Blackhawks after spending the last two months down in the AHL with Rockford. In 45 AHL games this season, Del Mastro, a 2021 fourth-round pick (No. 105 overall), has recorded two goals and 16 assists for 18 points. He ranks second among all IceHogs defensemen in assists and points in 2025-26.
#Blackhawks have recalled Ethan Del Mastro from Rockford ahead of tonight’s game with Winnipeg. Seven defensemen on the active roster again.
We’ll see at the morning skate shortly whether Sam Rinzel draws back into the lineup after missing the last 2 games with an illness. pic.twitter.com/yhgk0aGJhL
— Jack Bushman (@JackBushman2) March 3, 2026
Del Mastro has appeared in two NHL games with the Blackhawks this year, with one being the season-opener against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 7. He’s spent most of the campaign continuing to develop at the minor-league level so far, but could be in line for more NHL ice time with Murphy now out of the picture.
The timing of the transaction is somewhat interesting, as the Blackhawks were without fellow young defenseman Sam Rinzel for each of the last two games due to an illness. However, Rinzel was back on the ice for Tuesday’s morning skate ahead of the matchup with the Winnipeg Jets, suggesting that he’s healthy enough to draw back into the lineup. Del Mastro was also notably absent from the morning skate, making it unlikely that he’ll suit up.
The Blackhawks are still missing Wyatt Kaiser on their blue line right now, as he’s on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. There’s a chance that Kaiser is ready to return as soon as Friday, and it will be fascinating to see what GM Kyle Davidson does with Matt Grzelcyk before the 2:00 p.m. CT deadline.
With the priority down the stretch being to give young players more opportunity, there’s a chance that Grzelcyk gets shipped out to open up another roster spot. Although, that would leave the Blackhawks with a remarkably young blue line for their final 21 games. If Grzelcyk gets dealt, Alex Vlasic and Louis Crevier would be the only defensemen on the team who are older than 23. Del Mastro (23), Kaiser (23), Kevin Korchinski (21), Sam Rinzel (21), and Artyom Levshunov (20) are all under 24 years old.
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