After Thursday night’s disappointing loss in San Jose, the Blackhawks now have the unique distinction of once again owning the worst record in the league. Things aren’t going quite as well so far as Chicago had hoped, and while this team is clearly better than last year’s, there’s still plenty to improve upon before the Blackhawks can be considered championship contenders.

While the Blackhawks aren’t exactly doing anything noteworthy, a few players are – both good and bad. With October officially in the books, three players have been a pleasant surprise and three have been, well, a not-so-pleasant surprise.

Surprises

Ryan Donato

Well, this one’s pretty obvious. Donato has delivered night after night for a Chicago team that needs offensive production. After being a healthy scratch earlier this season, the 28-year-old clearly figured something out – he has five goals and an assist in his last five games. He and Craig Smith being paired up on the bottom line has been a perfect combination, and Donato has frankly been the most noticeable player on the ice. Don’t be surprised if other teams keep an eye on him as the trade deadline inches closer.

Alex Vlasic

Another no-brainer. Vlasic was one of the best defensive defensemen last season and has started this campaign in similar fashion. Darren Pang remarked on the CHSN broadcast Thursday that whenever Vlasic is near the puck, a play ends. He’s Chicago’s best blueliner by far and his $4.6 million cap hit keeps looking more like a steal every day.

Arvid Soderblom

Arvid Soderblom? THE Arvid Soderblom? Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season so far, besides Donato’s production, has been the 25-year-old backup goaltender. While new acquisition Laurent Brossoit is still inexplicably out, Soderblom has shocked everyone by posting a save percentage of .911, helped by an impressive 35-save, two-goal performance at Winnipeg. Soderblom was screwed when Brossoit was signed and Drew Commesso was named the starting netminder in Rockford, but he’s clearly been on a mission to prove the Blackhawks wrong.

Disappointments

Connor Bedard

Is this being too picky? Probably. After all, Bedard has nine points in 11 games and his -3 mark is a vast improvement over last season’s defensive disaster. However, this isn’t a “worst players” category, or Bedard would be nowhere near it. The fact is that he’s been stymied for most of the season, and his ever-growing collection of broken/dented sticks are the evidence. Four of his nine points are power play assists, and he hasn’t been good at the dot. Nevertheless, he’s fun to watch and his eventual production will largely power the Blackhawks.

Andreas Athanasiou

This one probably doesn’t need much explanation. A tough preseason carried over into the start of the regular season, and the 30-year-old speedster was finally listed as a healthy scratch. Without a point in his first five games, Athanasiou hasn’t played since October 22. He’s one of the fastest skaters in the entire league, but has shown an inability to finish, and with a $4.25 million cap hit this year, it’s a virtual guarantee that he’ll hit the open market next summer.

TJ Brodie

Every once in a while, Brodie will flash on the ice and make a decent play. But those moments are few and far between for the 34-year-old who was acquired this summer. He’s now been on the ice for eight goals against and hasn’t done much to help Chicago. He’s already on the bottom defensive pairing with Nolan Allan, and when Alec Martinez returns from injury, I wouldn’t mind seeing Brodie get shuffled out of the lineup altogether for a few games.