The Chicago Blackhawks have made it clear they’re committing to their youth this upcoming season. But in response to my recent 2025-26 player projections, I received numerous comments that despite the organization’s commitment, there are still plenty of veteran players in the lineup. As a matter of fact, many feel there are still too many veterans who might be holding the youth movement back.
Related – Blackhawks 2025-26 Roster Projections 2.0: Post Draft & Free Agency
So how can the youngsters thrive with such a veteran presence? And what purpose do the veterans play? Let’s delve into the balancing act between the veterans and the kids, and the evolution of what we might expect to see this season.
How the Blackhawks Got Here
First off, I’d like to discuss how the Blackhawks got to this point. A big complaint from the fans is why general manager Kyle Davidson didn’t go out and snag a big fish or two in free agency. After all, Connor Bedard needs a wing man! Yet, the organization made minimal moves in free agency, saying they’re going to focus on their youth. That’s only partly true. The truth of the matter is Davidson probably would’ve made some bigger moves if he could. Unfortunately, the salary cap going up and the precarious state of this rebuilding team right now doesn’t exactly bode well for attracting big players.
So, the Blackhawks will have to make do with what they have for yet another season. Why not focus on the youth?! It makes sense considering the situation. I’m sure Davidson and company already had this in mind, but now they’re really going to lean into this mindset.
But if we dig a little deeper, the team does have a number of veterans in the fold. Not the kind of big-player veterans the fans might want. But veterans, just the same. Can the existing group work together to find more success moving forward?
The Blackhawks’ Projected Roster: Considering the Veterans & the Youngsters
We’ll start with the projected roster from my most recent article. I’ve gone ahead and denoted the younger players in bold.
Ryan Donato – Connor Bedard – Ilya Mikheyev
Teuvo Teravainen – Frank Nazar – Tyler Bertuzzi
Nick Foligno – Jason Dickinson – Andre Burakovsky
Landon Slaggert – Lukas Reichel – Sam Lafferty
Alex Vlasic– Sam Rinzel
Kevin Korchinski – Connor Murphy
Nolan Allan – Louis Crevier
Spencer Knight/Arvid Soderblom
Forward Extras: Oliver Moore, Colton Dach, Ryan Greene, Nick Lardis
Defensive Extras: Artyom Levshunov, Ethan Del Mastro, Taige Harding, Wyatt Kaiser (RFA)
Remember, usually 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders make up the 23-man roster. That’s one of the things that can be easily overlooked. The “extras” aren’t exactly extras when it comes to playing an entire 82-game schedule. For a number of different reasons, everyone needs to contribute.
For the purposes of this article, I’m going to go ahead and go with Knight and Soderblom as the tandem in the crease. Yes, 32-year-old Laurent Brossoit is rumored to be healthy and ready to compete for a spot in training camp. But the Blackhawks just signed Soderblom to a two-year extension. I don’t believe they would do that unless they felt they were going to use him. Right off the bat, you have a 24-year-old and a 25-year-old in net. Mark off two for the youngsters!
Blackhawks’ Youth Paving Their Way
Now we’ll consider the forwards and the defensemen separately, because they both are in slightly different situations when it comes to the presence of veterans and youngsters. We start with the forward group.
The Kids at Forward
If you look at the offensive side of things, only three young players; Bedard, Nazar and probably Slaggert, are locks to make the team right off the bat. So, that leaves us with eight veteran forwards. That’s a lot! From this perspective, I understand where fans would be leery of saying the team is being handed over to the kids.
But, there are four extra forwards who all have a chance to be a part of the lineup throughout the season. For arguments sake, all these young players (with the exception of Lardis) made contributions last season. Here’s a breakdown of how many games each one played in the 2024-25 season.
- Bedard (82 games)
- Reichel (70 games)
- Nazar (53 games)
- Slaggert (33 games)
- Dach (25 games)
- Moore (9 games)
- Greene (2 games)
Also remember, this happened last season even with the Blackhawks adding five veteran forwards in free agency (Mikheyev, Teravainen, Bertuzzi, Pat Maroon and Craig Smith). We already know injuries always play a factor, giving other players a chance to step up. Plus, just like last season, I believe there will be an ongoing rotation of players in and out of the lineup.
Bedard and Nazar will be leaned on heavily to drive play and take the next step towards being the superstars we hope they will become. They will be given a ton of minutes in meaningful situations, and it should be super fun to watch their ongoing progression. Meanwhile, the other young players will have plenty of opportunities to showcase their talents. Veteran forward Dickinson said something quite insightful during his exit interview after last season to supports this theory.
This is, quite frankly, a team with open spots everywhere. Not one of us has a solid spot, so to come in, you have to come in and kind of take your job and make it happen, because this team is looking for guys to do that, and it’s on them (the young players) at this point, because they are the guys that are going to take this team forward, that they got to take it. And their confidence that they come in with gives me the hope and the inspiration that that is what they want to do, and they’re going to do.
Even with all the veterans in place, the youngsters at forward are still going to have those opportunities to “take the job” and run from there.
The Kids on Defense
Let’s take this same concept and apply it to the defense. As you can see from the above projected lineup, there are only two veterans; Murphy and Vlasic. Even including 24-year-old Vlasic as a “veteran” is a stretch, but he will be starting his third full season in the league. We’ll go with it based on his previous success.
Related – Blackhawks’ Vlasic Removing Doubt With Strong Rookie Season
Following the same concept we did with the forwards, here are the number of games played last season by the younger defensemen.
- Kaiser (57 games)
- Allan (43 games)
- Crevier (32 games)
- Del Mastro (24 games)
- Levshunov (18 games)
- Korchinski (16 games)
- Rinzel (9 games)
- Harding (8 games with the Rockford IceHogs)
Once again, these young D-men had chances to play and contribute even last season, despite veterans Alec Martinez and T.J. Brodie being on the team. This season there will be even less of a veteran presence on the blue line. One could argue there’s not enough of a veteran presence. It goes without saying the blue line will be very young, and they will definitely be baptized by fire.
But like I’ve said before, the organization seems confident that most of their defensive prospects are NHL-ready. Sure, there will be mistakes and growing pains, but there are also plenty of prospects and plenty of options between all of them.
The Role of the Blackhawks’ Veterans
We’ve established that the young players will get plenty of opportunities this season, especially on defense. But what about those 10 veterans that are still included in the projected lineup? What exactly will their role be?
Well, it’s obvious you can’t just throw all the kids out there without some veteran leadership and mentorship. The more experienced guys can set the tone and lead by example. As Dickinson disclosed,
To be able to come into the league and feel super confident and know you can have an impact and you can make a difference, is a really hard thing to get your head around, at first. So, for the kids that are coming in, they’re feeling good about themselves, and I hope that’s because we’re creating a culture and a place that they feel confident and comfortable to come into. We don’t want them to feel undervalued or feel like they’re less than any of us, just because we’ve been here for a while.
It’s a really tough thing to build and maintain a winning culture when you’re doing a lot of losing. But the veterans understand this. They can pull from past experiences in the NHL that the younger players don’t have. That’s why three-time Stanley Cup winners Maroon and Martinez were brought in last season. Just ask a shy and subdued Reichel about the impact Maroon had on him.
I know him for one season and we’re already so close. That’s how, what we mean to each other and the way he helped me this year; talking about hockey, talking about anything in life, anything. Just having fun together, playing on the line together, creating that chemistry. That was a lot of fun.
Burakovsky, just signed this offseason to the Blackhawks, has two Stanley Cup wins under his belt. This kind of experience could be priceless to the young Blackhawks. In his introduction to the Chicago media, the 30-year-old spoke about the kind of mindset needed to win.
It’s (the Stanley Cup) the hardest trophy to win in the world…to be able to win you gotta, you gotta perform every single day, every single game, every practice. There’s no rest days in practice. You gotta go all out. If you have a good practice, there’s a bigger chance that you’re going to play the game good. So that’s something I’m going to bring to the young guys to just let them know what it takes to win and just trying to help the team be better.
Teravainen won a Cup with the Blackhawks as a rookie in 2015. I’m sure he can impart some of that experience from when he was the same age as many of the new Blackhawks. Donato hasn’t won a Cup, but he’s another veteran with the right mindset.
Before he signed his four-year extension with the Blackhawks, the 29-year-old was asked if it ever crossed his mind to be like Seth Jones and go to a team that was closer to the playoffs than the Blackhawks. Ever a true professional, Donato didn’t even take the bait. Instead, his answer was all about this young Chicago team.
Once you get in the playoffs, it’s anybody’s game. Anybody can win a series, you just got to get to the point where you give yourself a chance to get in the playoffs. And teams change quickly. We have, obviously, a super bright future here (in Chicago). There’s going to be guys that make tremendous gains this summer that help the team win more games. And I think Blackhawks fans and a lot of people are going to be surprised how quickly things can turn around.
Now, we all know the Blackhawks aren’t likely to be that much better this season. They have a lot of raw talent in the youngsters, but they’re also going to go through many growing pains as they try to find their way. But Donato’s attitude is just what they need. They need to believe they can win. This is what the veterans can provide.
Related – Blackhawks Extending Ryan Donato Was the Smart Move
It’s worth noting that Foligno, Dickinson, Mikheyev, Lafferty and Murphy all have contracts that expire at the end of this upcoming season. A handful of them might even be moved at the trade deadline. Depending on offseason additions, the 2026-27 season will really be when the youngsters can call this team their own. These veterans know that; they know the assignment and they’re committed to embracing it.
Take it from the 37-year-old captain, Foligno. He doesn’t have a Cup to his name either, even though he’s headed into his 19th season in the league. The eternal father figure, he wants to be a part of molding these young players.
I’m proud to be a part of this right now. I knew what I signed up for when I got here.
This is the evolution, right? This is how we grow into the team we hope to become. But we’ve got to lay the groundwork. And that’s what I’m talking about with the culture and the identity — who are we? — so that when these guys come in, they already know this is what we’re supposed to be and we can work toward that. That’s starting right now. It’s the early stages, but it’s promising and it’s exciting to see. There are so many young players with opportunities in front of them. I’m thrilled for them.
(from ‘Why Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno is planting a garden he’ll likely never see bloom’, The AthleticCHI – 4/2/25)
Foligno further went on to say,
I’d love to be here to reap the benefits, but it’s not about me at this point. I’m not looking at it for myself. I’m looking at it for this group. And if it’s not with me around, I’m going to be pretty damn proud sitting back on my rocking chair watching this team go in the next few years, knowing that I had a small part in it.
Well said by the captain!
Related – Blackhawks’ Offseason Strategy Shows Next Stage of Rebuild Has Arrived
This season is going to be about a lot of young talent that is emerging right now. But the kids certainly still need help along the way. They’re going to gain such valuable experience this season, with the veterans there to guide them. As Foligno said, they need to focus on where they are and who they are right now, and work towards the team they can become.
They’re laying the groundwork, and that’s going to take a healthy balance between both the veterans and the kids.
