The Chicago Blackhawks are walking into the 2026-2027 season with something they haven’t had in a long time: choices. Jeff Blashill has a deeper, more talented group to sort through in year two, and the spotlight is naturally on Connor Bedard, Bowen Byram, Patrick Kane, Anton Frondell, Roman Kantserov, Frank Nazar, Nick Lardis, Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel.
But the more interesting story might be the players tucked just beneath that headline group - the ones who could end up mattering more than expected.
Ryan Greene fits that mold perfectly. He entered last season as one of the quieter names in a rookie class that included Oliver Moore, Nick Lardis, Levshunov and Rinzel, yet he finished with the most production of the bunch: 12 goals and 17 assists in 81 games.
There was some help along the way - Moore missed the final two months with injury, Lardis spent half the season with the Rockford IceHogs, Levshunov missed a month, and Rinzel bounced between Rockford and Chicago - but Greene still earned his place. He went from a player who wasn’t even a sure thing to make the roster to someone Blashill trusted almost every night.
He also closed the year with goals in three straight games. If he can keep that going, and if he sticks alongside Bedard and Kane as the third piece on that kind of line, there’s real upside.
Even if he slides lower in the lineup, he could still click with players like Lardis and Moore.
Moore is easy to lose in the shuffle after the way his rookie season ended. Injury cut his year short in the second half, but his summer gave Chicago plenty to think about.
He stood out for Team USA at the World Championships in May, and Matthew Tkachuk called him a "future stud player." Moore also spent time training with Bedard in Florida earlier in the summer.
The raw numbers from last season - five goals and 14 assists in 51 games - were solid, but they also feel like a starting point for a former 2023 first-round pick who was viewed by many prospect experts as a steal. His speed, release and playmaking ability all point to more offense.
He’ll likely land in a third-line role, and that might suit him just fine.
Wyatt Kaiser may not get the attention he deserves, but he was arguably Chicago’s best defenseman last season. In 77 games, he put up six goals and 11 assists while being one of the few dependable pieces on a young blue line that had plenty of problems.
Even now, he still gets overshadowed. Byram and Alex Vlasic will draw the most defensive responsibility, while Levshunov and Rinzel come with the weight of their draft pedigree.
That leaves Kaiser in the background again. Still, this is a big year for him.
He’s in a contract season, and the chance to cash in next summer is right there. His defensive game already looks sharp, and with the skating ability and wrister he brings, there’s still room for more offense.
Kevin Korchinski is the kind of player who has already been written off by a chunk of the fan base, and his path has taken longer than expected. The 2022 seventh overall pick remains something of a mystery, and even the source here makes clear the skepticism is real.
He still needs a new contract, and he sits seventh on the defensive depth chart with Ethan Del Mastro also in the mix for that final spot. He may not even crack the opening-night roster after spending most of his last two seasons in the minors.
But that’s exactly what makes him a true dark horse. If he does force his way into an everyday role, the urgency should be obvious.
This could be a make-or-break season for him.
Drew Commesso rounds out the list, and his situation is familiar: he may start the year in Rockford again. Right now he’s behind Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom, which puts him as the third-string option in net.
A fourth season with the IceHogs is possible. Still, there’s a clear path back to Chicago if Soderblom stumbles.
Commesso has looked good in his limited NHL action, and the question hanging over the position is whether the Blackhawks need much more proof that Soderblom is not the backup of the future.
In Other News...
Spencer Knight Has A Chance To Change The Blackhawks Conversation
A fresh round of league chatter has only sharpened the spotlight on Chicagos young goaltending picture, even as Patrick Kane heads toward another season loaded with milestone watch. The Blackhawks still have plenty of reasons to stay focused on their own rebuild, but the conversation around how quickly the roster can turn competitive keeps circling back to whether the team can get more reliable play in net as the foundation for everything else.
Spencer Knight sits right in the middle of that discussion, even if the wider NHL conversation hasnt caught up to him yet. The NHL Networks list of the top 10 current goaltenders left him off entirely, which is the sort of omission that can sting and motivate at the same time. For Chicago, it adds another layer to a season in which Knight has a chance to reshape how the rest of the league views both his game and the Blackhawks direction. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Fans Got An Early Read On Spencer Knights NHL Respect
NHL.coms early look at the leagues best goaltenders offered a familiar kind of respect for the usual names, with Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck and Igor Shesterkin occupying the top of the list heading into the 2026-27 season. For Blackhawks fans, the more interesting part was the absence that followed, because Spencer Knight was coming off a strong first year as a starting goalie and still found himself on the outside of that conversation.
It is the kind of ranking that does not change a teams plans, but it does sharpen the debate around how quickly a young goalie has earned his place among the NHLs elite. Knights play gave Chicago reason to believe it has a real foundation in net, even if the broader league view is still catching up, and the gap between those two perceptions is exactly where the next step of his career will be judged. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Have Enough Talent Now The Pressure Is On
The Blackhawks have spent the rebuild phase collecting talent, and the conversation around the organization is starting to shift from patience to proof. With Patrick Kane back in the picture and Connor Bedard leading the next wave, the roster has the kind of star power that makes people around the league look twice, even as the team continues to sort through changes in special teams personnel and the rest of the supporting cast.
What comes next is less about whether the Blackhawks can add more pieces and more about when the whole thing has to start looking like a real team. The 2026-27 season is shaping up as the checkpoint, a year when progress will be measured against a Central Division that rarely gives anyone an easy path and against the expectation that playoff positioning should finally be in reach. [Read more 🡒]