The Chicago Blackhawks are one of the younger teams in the National Hockey League. In 2025-26, they will rely heavily on Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, and other entry-level players to lead the team.
They will improve in terms of their development, but they are unlikely to improve out of the league's bottom five. Their standings finish likely won't indicate where they are as a franchise, although it will impact where they select in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The headliner is Gavin McKenna, who just recently committed to Penn State University. He is the type of game-changing forward that all 32 NHL teams would welcome. Unless something changes, he will be the number one overall pick.
Nobody, no matter how bad the season goes in terms of wins and losses, is guaranteed to be making the number one pick. Kyle Davidson and his scouts need to consider this possibility as the year progresses.
Blackhawks prospect Sacha Boisvert is no longer committed to the University of North Dakota. He left as a result of the coach who recruited him being fired. Now, he will attend Boston University, which will do a great job of supporting his development. Jay Pandolfo will be a great head coach for him.
With that said, this doesn't mean that the Blackhawks should look away from North Dakota as a program. They have a player that will be in the running for the second overall pick, and may have scouts thinking twice about him not going first.
Keaton Verhoeff is a right-shot defenseman who committed to North Dakota after a great career in the WHL, where he played for the Victoria Royals. In 2024-25, Verhoeff had 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points in 63 games played. For a defenseman, that is a remarkable number of goals and points.
Due to their depth at the position in terms of prospects, Chicago isn't necessarily in need of a defenseman, but a high-end right shot is not something to ignore if it is a player of this caliber.
If Chicago is in a position to make the second overall pick in 2026, it may not hesitate to take Verhoeff. It will largely depend on how his season at North Dakota goes, which makes it worth watching.
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