Corey Pronman’s latest deep dive gave Chicago fans plenty to chew on Wednesday, and the headline for the Blackhawks is simple: the pipeline still looks loaded. One day after unveiling his 2026 NHL pipeline rankings, Pronman followed up by stacking the league’s best 156 players and prospects who have not yet turned 23, and two Chicago forwards landed in the top 20.
The Blackhawks also showed up all over the list. Pronman’s full ranking included 10 total Chicago players, with Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, and Roman Kantserov leading the group. In a separate breakdown, Pronman ranked the Blackhawks’ U23 pipeline as the fourth-best in the NHL, a drop from last year but still a strong sign of how much depth GM Kyle Davidson has built into the system.
There was also a fresh note on Spencer Knight. The NHL Network left Chicago’s starter out of its current top-10 goalie rankings, but Chicago Hockey Now pointed out that Knight wasn’t far from that conversation. The 25-year-old was on pace to push his way into the mix before the Blackhawks’ second half in 2025-26 went off the rails, and the argument remains that he has a real shot to be in that top 10 by this time next summer.
Elsewhere around the league, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks wrapped up a minor trade on Thursday, sending Cruz Lucius to Anaheim in exchange for future considerations. Pittsburgh Hockey Now joked that Dan Kingerski finally got a few days “off” before the move hit.
The NHL also made two official announcements. First, the league and NHLPA confirmed that the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers will be part of the 2027 Global Series. Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl is a Cologne native, while Bruins forward JJ Peterka is from Munich, and the Oilers will play regular-season games in Germany in each of the next three years.
Second, the league unveiled its “Hometown Remix” alternate uniforms for the 2026-27 regular season. In the NHL’s statement, the jerseys are designed to “uniquely and authentically celebrate the fans, city, and local culture of each team.”
A few other bits of business crossed the wire as well. The New York Rangers signed defenseman Scott Morrow to a one-year, two-way contract, and Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin spoke with a Russian outlet about what he expects from himself in 2026-27. Ovechkin, who turns 41 in a couple of months, indicated a change in role is coming, which fits with the way his ice time has already dipped in recent seasons.
In Other News...
Blackhawks Nostalgia Hits Hard As Bedard And Kane Share Spotlight
With training camp and the new season creeping closer, the Blackhawks are in that late-summer phase where the present and the past keep colliding. A stream of team content is already rolling out, from player profiles to rankings, and Connor Bedard sits atop the group in NHL 27, another reminder of how much the organization is centered on its young star.
At the same time, Chicago fans are getting a heavy dose of nostalgia tied to a different era. Zdeno Charas farewell game, Zees Final Shift, is set for Trencin, Slovakia, and it will feature Blackhawks Hall of Famers Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith, a neat reunion of names that still carry weight in this market. For a fan base still measuring every new development against the Stanley Cup years, it is the kind of crossover that makes the offseason feel a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Patrick Kane Still Owns A Blackhawks Mark Connor Bedard Is Chasing
The Blackhawks scoring history has a short list of club members, and it still begins with Patrick Kane. Of the five Chicago players who have reached 100 points in a season, Kane is the only one to do it this century, a reminder of how rare that level of production has been in a team uniform that has seen plenty of star power over the decades.
Connor Bedard is the name that naturally enters the conversation now, because any young offensive centerpiece in Chicago will be measured against that standard. The company Kane keeps on the franchise list includes Steve Larmer, Bobby Hull, Jeremy Roenick and Denis Savard, which gives Bedard a clear target and also shows just how hard it is to join that group. [Read more 🡒]
Patrick Kanes Return Could Be Exactly What Bedards Blackhawks Need
Patrick Kane is back in Chicago after three years away, and for a franchise still trying to turn promise into results, the move carries both nostalgia and practical weight. The Blackhawks have spent the early stages of this rebuild looking for more finishing touch and more support around Connor Bedard, while also trying to help young talent like Frank Nazar grow into a faster, more dangerous lineup.
Kane and general manager Kyle Davidson have both framed the return as a hockey decision first, one meant to make the team better right now. For the Blackhawks, the appeal is obvious: an elite playmaker who knows the city, knows the organization and could help tilt close games while giving Bedard and the rest of the youth movement a veteran who understands how to create offense at the highest level. [Read more 🡒]