Regarding the Chicago Blackhawks’ future, there is a lot of enthusiasm in the community. According to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, the prospect system is still among the finest in the NHL—it ranks seventh—and that’s before you even factor in players like Kevin Korchinski, Alex Vlasic, and Connor Bedard. However, rather than being snake oil, there is a solid basis for hope in the rebuild when you consider the future as a whole, taking into account all of the players in the system as well as the future top draft picks who are still untapped.
When a player from the prospect system advances to the professional ranks, some of that excitement increases. Landon Slaggert, a 2020 third-round pick, will probably be the next new player we watch skate onto NHL ice on Friday at the United Center.
During his first media appearance as a club member, Slaggert said, “This is a day you dream of as a kid,” beneath a paper nameplate because FedEx was running late bringing his actual one here in time. “To have it realized in a city like Chicago is amazing. with a team like the Blackhawks, which has a long history.
The Blackhawks and Slaggert reached an agreement after his senior year at Notre Dame, albeit the two-year contract will really only last roughly 13 months because it expires at the conclusion of the 2024–2025 season. The short turnaround increases the significance of Slaggert’s first impression.
“I’m thrilled to be doing it here and hopefully, I can make a name for myself, because you only get one chance to make an impression.”
Slaggert’s first impression with the Blackhawks fan base has come through his four-year college career at Notre Dame, where he established himself as a hard-working forward who uses speed and an unrelenting motor to out-duel opponents rather than being able to out-skill them all. Even if, as a one-time Red Wings fan, he looked up to Pavel Datsyuk.
“My Dad is from Saginaw, Michigan, so it was great when I was about five or six years old seeing them in the Cup Finals against the Penguins,” Slaggert “confessed” to the Chicago media. “Obviously, I grew up around here playing for the Chicago Mission, so a lot of my friends were Blackhawks fans right around the time they were building their dynasty, so it was pretty easy for me to hop on the bandwagon, and I’ve been a ‘Hawks fan for a while now.” The 21-year-old said one of the players he grew up watching and building his game after, that Blackhawks fans should feel alright with given the team’s success against him back in the day, is Zach Parise.
In his senior season at Notre Dame, Slaggert finished as the team’s leader in goals (20) and points (31) and set his own NCAA career highs in both categories. It was a stark difference year-over-year for him after a Junior season that saw him only tally seven goals and 13 points. While coming back for his Senior year gave Blackhawks fans a bit of stress about his future with the organization, his signing with the team was never in doubt, and the bounce-back year was incredibly important for him.
“I found my love for the game again,” the South Bend native said of his Senior season for the Irish. “It showed up on the scoresheet, but that wasn’t what it was about. It was about having fun and playing well with my teammates…It was frustrating in my Junior year, but a necessary year. I learned a lot about myself and about overcoming adversities.”
The majority of Slaggert’s 20 goals this season came around the net. Chicago hasn’t had a good run this season of finding players at the front of the net to take advantage of rebounds and redirections to pick up those goals in the garbage areas. Nick Foligno does it well, but he can’t be the only one, and he won’t be the one to do it for the long term in the organization. But Slaggert could be.
“Net-front presence was a big focus on my game this year. The pucks tend to end up around the net, so it was about finding a way to put more of those home and definitely having poise in those high-pressure areas.”
There’s still a lot for Slaggert to learn before making his debut, slated for Friday in Chicago against the Los Angeles Kings, so much so that he’s probably going to have to take the playbook home with him to get up to speed. But there’s promise to his game and character. Slaggert’s a likable person, a leader, a hard-working player, and although his ceiling at the NHL level isn’t as high as other young forwards in the organization like Oliver Moore or Frank Nazar, there are roles to be played on championship-caliber teams. He’ll need to get past game No. 1 first, but there’s optimism and energy around his arrival with the organization, and he can feel it too.
“You get a taste of it at development camp, but you don’t truly understand it until you get here…There’s definitely a lot of hype and a lot of excitement around this organization, and there should be. It’s an exciting time to be a ‘Hawks fan, and it’s only going to get better.”
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