{"id":132666,"date":"2025-07-20T21:04:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T21:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/132666\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T21:04:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T21:04:07","slug":"blackhawks-prospects-rankings-reviews-25-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/132666\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackhawks Prospects Rankings & Reviews: 25-21"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that the NHL Entry Draft<\/a> has come and gone, it\u2019s time to take a look at the Chicago Blackhawks\u2019 prospect pool. I\u2019m not the biggest fan of rankings, so take these with a grain of salt. There is very little difference between being the 40th-ranked prospect and the 30th. \u00a0I\u2019ve determined the order of this list based on what I think each player\u2019s NHL ceiling is. The prospects have been split up into groups of five, so think of those as tiers, where the order could be interchangeable. Everyone has a different standard for what they consider a prospect. For me, it\u2019s any player in the system who hasn\u2019t cemented an NHL roster spot yet, regardless of games played. \u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll revisit this list after the World Junior Championship in January, and then again next summer. Today, we\u2019re moving on to prospects 25-21:<\/p>\n

25. Aidan Thompson, F \u2013 23, 5-foot-11, 181 pounds<\/p>\n

Aidan Thompson is one of the oldest players in the Blackhawks pool after being drafted in the third round back in 2022. He played three full seasons at the University of Denver before turning pro last spring. The 23-year-old helped the Pioneers win the 2024 NCAA National Championship. He had his best year last season, while wearing an \u201cA\u201d on his sweater, with 21 goals and 55 points in 44 games.<\/p>\n

Thompson joined the Rockford Ice Hogs on a professional tryout contract (PTO) after signing his entry-level contract<\/a> in April. The more comfortable he got on the ice, the better his production was. After one assist in the final four regular-season games, he scored two goals and four points in seven Calder Cup playoff games.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt Thompson fits the Kyle Davidson mold. He plays at an extremely fast pace and is an elite passer with a solid shot. His defensive game is on par with his strong offensive production. There is nothing flashy about Thompson\u2019s game, but he\u2019s a reliable player who is sound positionally and has a motor that never stops. His ceiling is a middle-six NHL contributor.<\/p>\n

24. Adam Gajan, G \u2013 21, 6-foot-3, 187 pounds<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks made a bit of a surprise pick when they selected Adam Gajan in the second round (35th overall) of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The young Slovakian netminder has struggled since being drafted. In 43 USHL games for the Green Bay Gamblers in 2023-24, he posted a .893 save percentage (SV%) and 3.35 goals-against average. He performed much better while playing for Slovakia in the World Junior Championship, posting a .916 SV% and a 2.50 GAA, along with one shutout in four tournament games.<\/p>\n

Gajan\u2019s first season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth was not one to write home about. He had a .885 SV% and 3.33 in 21 NCAA starts behind a team that struggled defensively all season long. In November, he suffered an ankle injury that kept him off the ice until early February. He played much better after returning, including winning NCHC Rookie of the Week Honors<\/a> to start March.<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks aren\u2019t concerned about the numbers at this point in Gajan\u2019s development. They drafted him so high because of his technique and traits. In the crease, he utilizes his size effectively to eliminate shooting options and is positionally sound. He is a very athletic goalie who can make show-stopping saves with his pads and skates. I expect much better results in his sophomore season.<\/p>\n

23. Martin Misiak, F \u2013 20, 6-foot-2, 201 pounds<\/p>\n

Martin Misiak might be the most overlooked prospect in the Blackhawks system. Having him ranked 23rd doesn\u2019t do him justice, but it shows how deep the prospect pool is right now. You\u2019ve got to love a kid who wears No. 68 to honor his fellow countryman, Jaromir Jagr. Misiak was taken 20 picks after Gajan in the 2023 draft. He scored 23 goals and 47 points in 60 OHL games for the Erie Otters. He signed his NHL entry-level contract<\/a> last summer after he made his professional debut for the IceHogs in their regular-season finale.<\/p>\n

Misiak had his second-straight 23-goal season last year, but added more assists to finish with 59 points. He had a tremendous postseason with seven goals and 13 points in eight playoff games with the Otters.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old winger will be at training camp this fall after likely playing in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase. Misiak will have the opportunity to learn the pro game in Rockford this season. He should adapt well to the AHL game. He\u2019s a hard forechecker and is not afraid to drive to the net. Many scouts feel he is a bottom-six NHL forward, but his elite skating, awareness, and two-way play could help him outplay those projections.<\/p>\n

22. Louis Crevier, D \u2013 24, 6-foot-8, 228 pounds<\/p>\n

With all the high-profile picks the Blackhawks have used recently on defensemen, it was easy for Louis Crevier to get lost in the shuffle. He was drafted as a long-term project with little to no expectation of becoming a full-time NHL player when former general manager Stan Bowman took him 188th overall in 2020. Since then, the seventh-round draft has continued to take strides and climb the ladder from the ECHL to the AHL and eventually the NHL. He\u2019s done enough to earn a two-year contract extension<\/a> from the Blackhawks.<\/p>\n

Crevier played a career-high 32 NHL games last season, scoring three goals and adding an assist. He\u2019s a defense-first blueliner who uses his long reach as an effective weapon. He skates well for a player of his size. He spent the most time at 5v5 with Alex Vlasic. The duo had a .38.35 Corsi for percentage (CF%), and were on the ice 137 scoring chances against, with 58 of those being considered high danger. It will be tough for Crevier to carve out a permanent spot with the Blackhawks as more of the defensive prospects make a push for the NHL. However, it might be time to stop underestimating what Crevier is capable of.<\/p>\n

21. Landon Slaggert, F -23, 6-foot-0, 181 pounds<\/p>\n

Blackhawks fans quickly fell in love with Landon Slaggert after he made his professional debut towards the end of the 2022-23 season. He was another Bowman draft pick in 2020, taken in the third round (79th overall). After a long and successful college career at Notre Dame, he had a goal and four points in 16 NHL games in 2023. He split last season with the Blackhawks and IceHogs, scoring two goals and six points in 33 NHL games. His offensive production was much better in the AHL with 10 goals and 25 points in 39 contests.<\/p>\n

Slaggert is easy to root for. He\u2019s an easy-going and respectful person off the ice, and plays with a ton of energy on the ice. He loves to get involved physically and plays a consistent and reliable two-way game. This is an important season for Slaggert. As the prospect pool gets younger and more talented, it will be tougher for him to hang on to his NHL spot. He will need to make more strides this season if he wants to be included in the long-term plans.<\/p>\n

Blackhawks Prospects Rankings & Reviews<\/p>\n

40-36: Kanarsky, Peltonen, Mast, Holmes, & Kuzmin<\/a>
35-31: Svensson, Cumby, Henry, Tohila, Flecman<\/a>
30-26: Sumpf, Harding, Behm, Ludwinski, Hayes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Now that the NHL Entry Draft has come and gone, it\u2019s time to take a look at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[22814,23431,22410,96,58,5,19632,1565,16603,18682],"class_list":{"0":"post-132666","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hockey","8":"tag-adam-gajan","9":"tag-aidan-thompson","10":"tag-blackhawks-prospects","11":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","12":"tag-featured","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-landon-slaggert","15":"tag-louis-crevier","16":"tag-martin-misiak","17":"tag-prospect-rankings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/114887594065075408","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}