{"id":40518,"date":"2025-08-03T14:48:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T14:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/40518\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T14:48:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T14:48:10","slug":"blackhawks-lineup-projection-ultra-young-defense-will-form-backbone-of-2025-26-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/40518\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackhawks lineup projection: Ultra-young defense will form backbone of 2025-26 roster"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Blackhawks<\/a>\u2019 lack of offseason moves made it clear they\u2019re committed to letting youth take over their lineup in 2025-26.<\/p>\n

After several consecutive seasons of veteran placeholders filling most of the NHL roster spots, those veterans are rapidly being replaced by internally developed prospects \u2014 especially on defense.<\/p>\n

There are still plenty of holes in the Hawks\u2019 lineup, and it would be overzealous to expect the prospects to succeed right away. They\u2019ll need time to figure things out, leading to plenty of ups and downs. That\u2019s why oddsmakers forecast the Hawks (and Sharks) to yet again comprise the basement of the league.<\/p>\n

But for the first time in general manager Kyle Davidson\u2019s tenure, it feels like the Hawks at least have a chance to substantially exceed expectations. Their floor might be just as low as it has been, but their ceiling is higher.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a rough guess at what the Hawks\u2019 lineup might look like on opening night Oct. 7 in Florida:<\/p>\n

Forward lines<\/p>\n

Andre Burakovsky \u2014 Connor Bedard \u2014 Ryan Donato<\/p>\n

Just like last year, it\u2019s difficult to project Bedard\u2019s linemates<\/a>. There isn\u2019t one obvious and perfect option, much less two. But unlike last year, the Hawks need to find two wingers who work well enough with him and then stick with them.<\/p>\n

Donato, who ranked second on the team in points last season, is the leading candidate. He probably won\u2019t score 31 goals again, but he is a good finisher who can forecheck and help Bedard with the faceoffs.<\/p>\n

Penciling Burakovsky into a first-line spot at this point in his career is ambitious, but if he can rediscover his pre-2023 form like the Hawks hope<\/a>, he could fit here. He\u2019s healthy and eager, and he has been an elite finisher in the past.<\/p>\n

Burakovsky and Donato played together in Seattle in 2022-23, so they have some familiarity. Although they logged only 52 minutes of five-on-five ice time together, the Kraken outshot opponents 32-29 and outscored them 4-3 in those minutes.<\/p>\n

If Bedard ends up playing between these two, he would definitely fill the role of playmaker, which could boost his assist total. But there are numerous other possible first-line combinations, too. Figuring out the optimal trio will be a priority for new coach Jeff Blashill during training camp.<\/p>\n

Teuvo Teravainen \u2014 Frank Nazar \u2014 Tyler Bertuzzi<\/p>\n

Teravainen and Bertuzzi were penciled in as Bedard\u2019s most likely linemates entering camp last year, but neither ex-coach Luke Richardson nor Anders Sorensen ever really gave them that opportunity.<\/p>\n

Instead, they settled in as Nazar\u2019s linemates late in the season, aiding the other young center\u2019s strong finish. During this trio\u2019s 108 minutes together, the Hawks were outscored 5-2, but their scoring-chance ratio of 47.5% was good by Hawks standards. <\/p>\n

Teravainen\u2019s defensive and passing acumen, Bertuzzi\u2019s finishing expertise and Nazar\u2019s speed and overall play-driving ability could create a nice mixture.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible also Nazar and Bedard could be united, but Davidson said in June he sees both of them as centers long-term, so expect them to each anchor their own lines.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Frank<\/p>\n

Frank Nazar will likely center the Hawks\u2019 second line.<\/p>\n

Michael Reaves\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Colton Dach \u2014 Jason Dickinson \u2014 Ilya Mikheyev<\/p>\n

The Hawks need 2023-24 Dickinson, who deservedly finished top-12 in Selke Trophy voting, rather than 2024-25 Dickinson, who missed 23 games due to injury and was more pedestrian defensively, to show up in 2025-26.<\/p>\n

The opposite is true for Mikheyev, who essentially replicated<\/a> Dickinson\u2019s straight-out-of-Vancouver resurgence last season by playing great defense and chipping in 20 goals. If both are in peak form, they could be dominant defensively.<\/p>\n

It would be nice to slot a prospect next to them, and Colton Dach might be the best bet. Injuries have plagued him, but this should be the year he breaks into the NHL full-time. He brings elements of grit and physicality not present in most other Hawks forward prospects.<\/p>\n

Nick Foligno \u2014 Ryan Greene \u2014 Landon Slaggert<\/p>\n

Foligno is a safe bet to hold down a bottom-six role. Aside from him, though, the competition is open for the Hawks\u2019 last few forward roster spots. Greene, Slaggert, Oliver Moore, Lukas Reichel and recently reacquired Sam Lafferty will all be firmly in the mix. <\/p>\n

Reichel\u2019s name has been in trade rumors, but he remains a Hawk for now. His dialed-up summer training will hopefully prepare him well for a back-against-the-wall season. <\/p>\n

Slaggert has 49 NHL appearances under his belt now, and he contributes in a variety of ways \u2014 just not much offensively (10 points). Lafferty is merely depth and injury insurance at this point.<\/p>\n

Greene and Moore are in similar positions, but Greene is a year older and plays a more reliable game, even if his ceiling is lower. Moore, like Nazar did last fall, could benefit from a few months in Rockford.<\/p>\n

Defense pairs<\/p>\n

Alex Vlasic \u2014 Sam Rinzel<\/p>\n

Rinzel\u2019s ability to not just survive but outright impress<\/a> while averaging over 23 minutes in his first nine NHL games this spring was remarkable. That set expectations very high for 2025-26, as he looks like a bona fide top-pairing defenseman already.<\/p>\n

The vast majority of those minutes were played alongside Vlasic, who complements him well. Vlasic encountered some fatigue late last season \u2014 understandably so, since he played in all 82 games and logged more than 1,900 minutes \u2014 so his fitness and endurance will need to be monitored more closely this fall.<\/p>\n

Ethan Del Mastro \u2014 Connor Murphy<\/p>\n

Murphy was Del Mastro\u2019s most common partner during the latter\u2019s 24 NHL appearances last season, and they\u2019re slated to be the Hawks\u2019 shutdown pair from Day One on this season.<\/p>\n

Del Mastro can move the puck decently well for a 6-4 defenseman, but separating opponents from the puck has become his strongest skill. Murphy, in a contract year, could be a trade chip by February, but he represents the lone veteran presence on the blue line to start the season.<\/p>\n

Wyatt Kaiser \u2014 Artyom Levshunov<\/p>\n

It\u2019s far from guaranteed Levshunov will make the NHL out of camp. Kaiser, Kevin Korchinski, Louis Crevier and Nolan Allan will also be fighting for the last few roster spots, and all of them have more pro experience than him.<\/p>\n

If Levshunov does, however, Kaiser has proven to be his ideal partner as an agile defenseman who can cover for his erratic decision-making. In Levshunov and Kaiser\u2019s 139 minutes together last season, the Hawks outscored opponents 5-4 with a 46.4% scoring-chance ratio. In Levshunov\u2019s 186 minutes without Kaiser, the Hawks were outscored 12-4 with a 34.6% ratio.<\/p>\n

Goaltenders<\/p>\n

Spencer Knight \u2014 Arvid Soderblom<\/p>\n

If veteran Laurent Brossoit is finally healthy, the Hawks will have to figure out what to do with him. Otherwise, the goalie hierarchy of Knight as starter and Soderblom as backup seems relatively well-established.<\/p>\n

Knight might be the second-most important individual player \u2014 behind Bedard \u2014 on the 2025-26 Hawks. His talent is immense and he projects to be their long-term No. 1, but he managed only an .893 save percentage in his 15 Hawks appearances last season. How good he is<\/a> this season will greatly affect the Hawks\u2019 overall competitiveness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Blackhawks\u2019 lack of offseason moves made it clear they\u2019re committed to letting youth take over their lineup…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-40518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}