October Check-In: Which Blackhawks Prospects Are Closest To The NHL?

We’re now approaching the completion of the first month of regular-season action for the Blackhawks – their final game of the month will be played on Halloween night. As the calendar flips to November, Chicago still isn’t a great team, and probably won’t be headed to the playoffs this year.

That means that when this season begins to wind down, we could see a few of the Blackhawks’ top prospects hit the NHL. As Chicago’s health gradually dwindles and the lineup becomes more unstable, three Blackhawks prospects could find themselves in the NHL sometime soon.

Frank Nazar

The Blackhawks were clear during training camp that the second-line center position was Nazar’s for the taking, but it became evident that he wasn’t quite ready at that point. Now five games into his season in Rockford, however, the 2022 13th-overall pick has been nothing short of excellent. As the IceHogs’ top-line center, he has four points in five games and is making plays on both ends of the ice. If a Blackhawks forward, especially one with good scoring talent, hits IR, Nazar’s could be the first name called.

Ethan Del Mastro

The Blackhawks’ pipeline on the defensive end is an interesting one – Kevin Korchinski is finally getting the time in Rockford that he needed last year, and Artyom Levshunov, while already impressive, isn’t quite ready to make his debut. While he doesn’t have the same draft capital invested in him as those two top-ten overall picks, Ethan Del Mastro could instead be the first name the Blackhawks call in the event of another injury or late in the season (assuming Isaak Phillips is already in the NHL). The 21-year-old got a taste of the big show in two games with Chicago at the end of last season, and showed that he’s defensively sound enough to compete at the next level. As Rockford’s AHL All-Star Game representative last season, Del Mastro doesn’t have much more to learn and will likely be in Chicago at some point this season.

Colton Dach

Dach’s is an often-forgotten name for the Blackhawks, but he projects as an eventual franchise cornerstone as a power forward. A concussion derailed his season last year – otherwise, he likely would have already made his debut. Now fully healthy, Dach could at least get called up for a short stint in Chicago this season, and could even spend a handful of games at the next level. The 2021 second-round pick is just what the next generation of skilled-yet-undersized Blackhawks needs.