Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
The Chicago Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups over the past decade, but they've fallen into setbacks over the years since then. Connor BedardThe No. 1 pick in 2023 has laid the foundation for the Blackhawks to build on, but it will take more than just the No. 1 pick to build a championship club.
It's a strong supporting cast that has led the team from regular season success to annual Stanley Cup contender, and that's where the Rockford IceHogs come into play.
Chicago's AHL development route has worked before. Their Stanley Cup teams in 2010, 2013 and 2015 were all built heavily from within because of players like Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford, Troy Brouwer, Niklas Halmarsson, Dustin Beefglien, Colin Fraser and Chris Versteeg From the Blackhawks' AHL system.
Now, similar building plans are in place as management embarks on another long-term project. Good scouting and drafting are the first steps. Then comes development, where all talents are refined. That’s why Rockford matters.
Much of Chicago’s young core — including Frank Nazar, Colton Dach, Alex Vlasik, Wyatt Caesar, Louis Crevier and Arvid Söderblom – already through Rockford. The IceHogs, meanwhile, are in pole position to ride the next wave after winning four of their first five games of the season.
forward Oliver MooreThe 19th overall pick in the 2023 draft out of the University of Minnesota has scored four goals and six points in his first five AHL games. Nick RadiceAnother 20-year-old rookie who just won the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week award after scoring seven points in three games last weekend; he has 71 goals in the 2024-25 Ontario Hockey League season. Martin Misiak He spent two seasons with the OHL's Erie Otters, scoring 23 goals, before transferring to Rockford this fall. forward Gavin Hayes and Samuel Savoie It's a pair of third-round draft picks trying to find their way professionally.
On defense, there’s a 2021 first-round pick Nolan Allenwho played 43 NHL games a year ago and was the seventh overall pick in 2002 Kevin Korchinski. rookie Tiger Harding About to attend Providence College for four years, and Ethan del Mastro About to break through to the NHL.
Goalie prospects Drew Comeso’s third professional season is underway, and he joins Stanislav Bereznoia 22-year-old free agent signed from Russia, is off to a strong start in Rockford; time may tell, there's something there to provide the Eagles with further internal competition.
Of course, not everything about this process goes according to plan. Chicago announced this week that knee injury means Rockford's second-year forward Paul LudwinskiAfter just three games, the season was over.
Any development plan will have its ups and downs. Introduced to manage it all is Jared NightingaleRockford’s new head coach. Nightingale, a former Rockford assistant coach and longtime defenseman in the AHL, returns to the IceHogs with considerable optimism. In his first season as head coach and director of hockey operations for the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays, he set franchise records with 52 wins and 109 points and earned ECHL Coach of the Year honors.
The IceHogs are off to a 4-1-0-0 start, including three overtime wins — one more than all of last season. They lost 6-5 to Chicago on Sunday but have allowed just seven goals in four wins. The team will play two games this weekend in Colorado against the Eagles before returning to Rosemont to face the Wolves again on Tuesday morning.
Last Sunday's loss showed both the IceHogs' talent and their inexperience. They fell behind 3-0 in the first 6 minutes and 40 seconds of regular time, fought back and took the lead twice, but ultimately lost the game.
“Proud of the guys, how we responded and slowly saw the makeup of our team and who we are,” Nightingale said this week.
“There’s a lot to like and a lot of work to do, but it’s definitely a positive step.”
About two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. In 2016, he received the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league.
