The Chicago Blackhawks are headed into their Centennial season, which is quite the milestone for the franchise. There will be plenty of special events, promotions and giveaways at the United Center all season long, which will be a lot of fun for the fans. Not only that, but the team on the ice is primed to be younger and faster, and hopefully more successful, as they look to take the next step in their rebuild. It’s a pretty neat time to be a Blackhawk’s fan!
But wait, there’s more! There are an abundance of individual player achievements potentially coming this season for us to track along the way. In this piece we’ll outline milestones such as career games played, goals, assists and points. We’ll also hit on a few upcoming goaltending achievements, along with some special targets for the plethora of young players joining the squad. Finally, we’ll touch on some long-shot ambitions that could possibly come to fruition in this 2025-26 campaign.
Career Games Played Milestones
Below is a comprehensive list of players who are approaching a landmark number of games in the NHL. As you can see, there are a significant amount of players who will likely reach 100 games this season. It’s a testament to the youth movement for the Blackhawks.
- Wyatt Kaiser, 2 games to 100 games
- Spencer Knight, 5 games to 100 games
- Kevin Korchinski, 8 games to 100 games
- Arvid Soderblom, 14 games to 100 games
- Louis Crevier, 44 games to 100 games
- Frank Nazar, 44 games to 100 games
- Nolan Allan, 57 games to 100 games
- Alex Vlasic, 21 games to 200 games
- Lukas Reichel, 31 games to 200 games
- Connor Bedard, 50 games to 200 games
- Ilya Mikheyev, 50 games to 400 games
- Sam Lafferty, 51 games to 400 games
- Tyler Bertuzzi, 12 games to 500 games
- Ryan Donato, 17 games to 500 games
- Andre Burakovsky, four games to 700 games
- Connor Murphy, 5 games to 800 games
- Teuvo Teravainen, 48 games to 800 games
- Nick Foligno, 67 games to 1300 games
If Slaggert makes the opening night roster, not only will he be celebrating making the team, but it will be his 50th game in the NHL. Kaiser will be right behind him (also if he makes the team) and we probably won’t have to wait long to see Knight hit his 100th game in net.
Vlasic is at “old vet” status approaching 200 games. I guess we could say the same about Bedard, even though he’s 50 games away from 200. Reichel? Well, this will be his fifth season in the league. He should’ve hit this milestone a long time ago. Will he reach 200 games this season? Or better yet; will he be with the Blackhawks when he does?
We’ve got some middle of the pack veterans approaching 400, 500 and even 700 games. It’s notable that Murphy and Teravainen are close to 800 games. They’re both headed into their 13th season in the league, and already have careers to be proud of. But here’s hoping they can remain in the league long enough to hit 1000 games!
Related – Chicago Blackhawks Unveil Centennial Jersey for 100th NHL Season
And then there’s good old “Captain Dad Foligno”, coming up on 1300 games. What an accomplishment! He celebrated 1200 NHL games last season with the Blackhawks. Hopefully Chicago can give him another celebration at some point this spring.
Career Statistic Milestones for Blackhawks’ Players
While there are soooo many measurables to rate a player, it’s never going to go out of style to classify a player based on their amount of goals, assists and points. After all, scoring is how to win hockey games. So, let’s get to these production milestones coming up for the Blackhawks.
Goals
- Frank Nazar, 7 goals to 20 goals (17 goals to 30 goals)
- Connor Bedard, 5 goals to 50 goals
- Connor Murphy, 7 goals to 50 goals
- Sam Lafferty 10 goals to 50 goals
- Jason Dickinson, 2 goals to 70 goals
- Ilya Mikheyev, 20 goals to 100 goals
- Tyler Bertuzzi, 4 goals to 140 goals (14 goals to 150)
As long as they remain healthy, it appears at first glance that most everyone will make these milestones this season. Well, perhaps not Murphy. He’s scored a career-high seven goals in the 2022-23 campaign, so he would have to match that to reach 50 goals. Considering Murphy is primarily a shutdown defenseman, and there’s plenty of up-and-coming offensively-minded blueliners who might make an impact this season, this could be a tough lift for Murphy. Plus, the elder D-man’s health mighr be an issue. He rarely plays a full season without some time out due to injuries. But who knows, stranger things have happened!
Lafferty could also have some trouble reaching 10 goals this season. It just depends on his deployment and usage. He’s only scored 10 or more goals twice in his career.
Related – Connor Bedard Is Motivated by the Lack of Hype
I’m going to go ahead and give Mikheyev a thumbs up on 20 goals this season. Perhaps I’m being over-confident, but he did score 20 goals last season and 21 goals in 2021-22 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, while Mikheyev was one of the team’s most reliable two-way players last season, his deployment could change with new blood on the team. The Russian forward could be tasked with more of a third-line shutdown role, meaning he won’t have as many offensive opportunities.
Assists
- Frank Nazar, 6 assists to 20 assists (16 assists to 30)
- Alex Vlasic, 8 assists to 50 assists (18 assists to 60)
- Lukas Reichel, 16 assists to 50 assists
- Jason Dickinson, 13 assists to 100 assists
- Ilya Mikheyev, 15 assists to 100 assists
- Connor Bedard, 17 assists to 100 assists
Assists aren’t always as fun as goals, but there are some notable numbers here for a few players to strive for. Nazar, no brainer! Bedard, easy peasy! Vlasic will easily reach eight helpers.
Reichel could have a hard time finding 16 assists; last year’s 14 assists was his career high. But, if the German forward finally breaks through, 16 assists should be attainable. Dickinson and Mikheyev’s numbers seem pretty doable as well.
Points
- Frank Nazar, 3 points to 30 points (23 points to 50 points)
- Alex Vlasic, 1 point to 50 points
- Lukas Reichel, 6 points to 60 points
- Sam Lafferty, 10 points to 100 points
- Ilya Mikheyev, 5 points to 170 points (35 points to 200 points)
- Andre Burakovsky, 13 points to 400 points
- Nick Foligno, 3 points to 600 points
So, when do you think Vlasic gets that 50th point?!! I’d say by the third game. How soon for Foligno on 600 points? I’m gonna bet within the first 10 games.
I’ll be rooting for Mikheyev to secure 35 points and make it to 200 career points; last season he had 34 points and the season before he hit 31 points. This would be a great accomplishment for a player who went undrafted.
Goaltender Win Achievements
Let’s move on to the goaltenders and their number of wins. Soderblom and Knight are both young netminders on the rise, being 26 and 24 years old, respectively.
- Arvid Soderblom, 3 games to 20 wins
- Spencer Knight, next win is 50 wins
I think it’s pretty safe to say Knight will be the Blackhawks’ starter on opening night (Oct. 7) against his former team, the Florida Panthers. Wouldn’t it be something if he could secure his 50th win in his old barn?! Needless to say, his next win will put him at that 50 mark, just as he’s embarking on this new chapter as the starting goaltender for the Blackhawks.
I’m also betting that Soderblom will be Knight’s backup. We don’t know the status of veteran goaltender Laurent Brossoit, who missed all of last season with a knee injury. Rumor has it he’ll be healthy and competing at training camp. But the Blackhawks also committed to Soderblom when they gave him a two-year extension in July. We’ll have to see how it all plays out, but Soderblom should be able to get three more wins under his belt in pretty short order.
First Goal Alert!
Ah, it’s always a special to get that first goal. These players are still looking for their first NHL tally.
- Artyom Levshunov
- Sam Rinzel
- Oliver Moore
- Ryan Greene
There could be plenty more prospects on this list, depending on who gets called up throughout the season. But for now, we know these players have already suited up for the Blackhawks, but they still need that elusive first goal.
Related – Takeaways From Blackhawks Frank Nazar’s Media Availability
Levshunov played in the most games (18) and has six assists to his name. As a defenseman, it’s not a surprise he hasn’t scored yet, but I’m sure he’s anxious for that first tally. Rinzel and Moore only played in nine contests, and Greene in two. Plus, we don’t know for sure which of these players will make the team out of training camp.
Any bets on who nets the first first out of this group?! I’m thinking Rinzel.
Longshot Milestones for the Blackhawks
Here’s a few other milestones I came across that are pretty big longshots to occur this season.
- Tyler Bertuzzi, 29 assists to 200 assists
Bertuzzi had 23 helpers last season, and 32 assists was his career high in the 2021-22 season. 29 helpers is certainly attainable, especially if he can play more consistently. The 30-year-old has always been a streaky player, but him getting to 200 assists this season is certainly something we can all root for!
This is not out of the question for Teravainen. He’s notched 55 (2018-19), 48 (2019-20) and 43 assists both last season and in the 2021-22 season. Considering the team is expected to be better this coming season, and that the Finnish forward is expected to be a huge veteran presence, 53 assists could come to fruition.
- Connor Bedard, 72 points to 200 points
Is this a longshot, or isn’t it?! Bedard attained 61 points in his rookie season and 67 points last season. But let’s also remember he missed 14 games in his first season, and many (including himself) were disappointed with his production last season.
With more help around him, 72 points could easily happen for Bedard. Our Matthew Zator predicted in our Blackhawks’ season preview show that Bedard would hit 100 points this season. It’s a given Bedard has a much higher ceiling than what he’s shown so far. Is this the year he takes that next step?!
Miscellaneous Stats
I didn’t really delve into many of the miscellaneous stats for this article, but here are a few that stood out to me as I was reviewing the players.
- Jason Dickinson, 16 hits to 800 (116 to 900)
For reference, Dickinson recorded 102 hits last season (tied for fourth on the team).
For reference, Murphy was credited with a team-leading 160 blocked shots and 117 hits for second on the team last season.
- Nick Foligno, 143 hits to 2900
For reference, Foligno doled out 200 hits last season to lead the team.
Hits and blocked shots shouldn’t be taken for granted. Playing an aggressive, physical game is needed for team success, not to mention it takes a toll on the body. Kudos to these veterans for continuing to do their part on the physical side of play.
Related – Blackhawks 5 Keys to Success in 2025-26
We have all the above milestones to look forward to this season, and to celebrate when they’re achieved. Another fun marker to follow will be how many players make their NHL debuts in the 2025-26 season.
Bookmark this article and follow along with me, so you can keep me on my toes and remind me if I miss any! It’s important we celebrate these players and their milestones, be them big or small, throughout the upcoming campaign.
