The Blackhawks are having a great time with their rebuild. Kyle Davidosn has added talent to the NHL roster that will give Connor Bedard the opportunity to play with better players and will give him the best chance to see his game improve on what was an impressive rookie campaign. However, while most people are excited for an improved NHL product, what this team is building with their pipe line in Rockford is getting exciting and will be worth watching this year. Scott Powers broke down what this year's Ice Hogs team could look like in his latest Atlantic article, but for those who might not have read it, here are the cliff notes.

The 2024/2025 Rockford Ice Hogs could consist of the following:
Four first-round picks (Levshunov 2024, Korchinski 2022, Nazar 2022, and Allan 2021)
Three second-round picks (Ludwinski 2022, Dach 2021, and Commesso 2020)
Four third-round picks (Hayes 2022, Savoie 2022, Slaggert 2020, and Kaiser 2020)

On top of that, this year’s Ice Hogs roster could have up to six more later draft picks. Also, don’t forget players like Cole Guttman and Arvid Soderblom, who both have already shown some decent play at both levels in this organization.

This is a best-case scenario for these young players for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they get to play together on a good team to help build chemistry. In a perfect world, these guys will be playing a lot of hockey together, and the fewer growing pains in terms of learning how to play with their teammates when they make the jump, the better. The second reason is that they are going to get to play more minutes and get the chance to play in more situations than they probably would if they were on the Hawks. I’m talking top-power play line minutes and penalty kill minutes. Someone who might be a bottom pair or bottom six on the Hawks will likely be a top pair or top six with the Ice Hogs. NHL experience is great, but when your team isn’t playing to make the playoffs, I would rather these kids play more and learn that way than learn on the bench or in the press box. The third reason is the in-house competition. While they are on the same team, these guys will all have the same goal of making it to the NHL. There are a few spots on the Hawks that will be filled in, so these guys will need to be at their best to make the jump, and with so many players for a limited number of spots, you know these players will take their game to the next level.

A big reason why the Hawks are in the situation they are in now is due to the last management group not building for the future. While I do understand that they had a huge window to be Stanley Cup contenders, to keep that window open as long as possible, you must go into win-now mode, which means mortgaging the future of the team. Now this is where I love the direction this team is going because, with the draft capital they have already used and will use over the next few drafts, there is no reason not to have one of the best prospect pools in the league. You bring in your first round of players and play them in the AHL, and when they are ready to make the jump, you start the process all over again. After this season, you have to assume Levshunov, Korchinski, and Nazar, to name a few, will be making the jump to full-time NHLers. Once they go up, that means Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel, and maybe Sacha Boisvert will make the jump. The point is that the Hawks are setting themselves up to be in a position to play next man up, and that is very exciting to see.

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