Three Blackhawks Prospects Who Could Join NHL After Trade Deadline Flurry
Believe it or not, the end of the NHL season is slowly sneaking up on us. The Blackhawks will hit the road for a game against Columbus on Wednesday, but will then be off for the Olympic break until Feb. 26. When that time comes, they’ll only have 25 games left in what has been an intriguing season. Throw the trade deadline in there on March 6, and you’ve got a pretty eventful two months ahead.
There have been rumblings in the past few weeks that Chicago might once again find itself as a seller at this year’s deadline, which makes plenty of sense. The Blackhawks have had one of the best pipelines in the league for years now, and with several of those players ready to hit the NHL, Chicago will need to make room for them by moving on from older veterans without as much upside. Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson, and Ilya Mikheyev have been among the names mentioned as players the Blackhawks could rent out.
But while the Blackhawks will almost certainly use the end of the season as a chance to try out some of their top prospects at the game’s highest level, they can’t bring everyone up to the big show. Three big-name youngsters should be donning the game’s most famous sweater before the end of the season.
Anton Frondell
Buckle up. The Blackhawks have plenty of AHL talent under contract in Rockford right now, but no one in Chicago’s pipeline possesses quite as much upside as Frondell, the third-overall pick in the 2025 draft. Still 18 years old, he’s played well in the SHL, Sweden’s top league, with 14 goals in 32 games with limited ice time. He was named the best forward in this year’s World Junior Championship as Sweden won the entire tournament, and he’s already signed his entry-level contract. He’s unpolished and inexperienced, but if the Blackhawks are out of playoff contention by the time he becomes available, Frondell’s offensive skill could be a bright spot for a few games in Chicago.
Nick Lardis
Likely the next man up whenever the next forward is moved from Chicago, Lardis has already played 21 games in the NHL this year (mostly in relief of an injured Connor Bedard) and showed that he could compete at a high level at 20 years old. With Rockford, he’s picked up 27 points in 26 games—a far cry from the 117 points he racked up last year in the OHL, but a great number for a player who had just made the jump to the professional ranks. He’ll probably end the year in Chicago no matter what, especially if a Blackhawks forward suffers an injury at any point.
Kevin Korchinski
He’s still just 21 years old, but it feels like Korchinski has been with the Blackhawks for a lifetime. He’s in the final year of his entry-level contract before hitting RFA status this summer, and has performed well in the AHL, being named to the All-Star roster. He came up to Chicago for two quick games in early January, and played poorly against Washington, but was much better the following night against the Predators. Many have mixed feelings about what the Blackhawks should do with Korchinski going forward, but it’s a safe bet he’ll at least get one more shot in Chicago before they have to make a decision on whether to re-sign him. If they do so, he could be looking at a bridge deal around two years at $2 million AAV. With at least two older blueliners (Murphy, Matt Grzelcyk) on their way out the door at the end of the season, he should start next year with the Blackhawks if he’s under contract.