Connor Bedard’s name finally showed up where Chicago fans expected it to be: on NHL Network’s top-20 centers list.
After missing out in 2025 following a sophomore season that didn’t match the hype, the Blackhawks star broke through this time around thanks to a career-best 30 goals and 75 points in 2025-26. It’s the first time he’s been included in the rankings, and the buzz around his game only grew after an intense summer training regimen helped him take a clear step forward this past season.
The list still left room for debate, though. Bedard’s placement sparked the kind of “he should be higher” conversation that usually follows a young player coming into his own, and the source material says he likely would have slotted even better if not for a fluky midseason injury.
There’s more Blackhawks chatter beyond Bedard, too. Forward prospect Nick Lardis remains on the outside looking in when it comes to Corey Pronman’s latest August evaluations for The Athletic.
The 2023 third-round pick was left off Pronman’s top 156 players under 23, then missed again on the ranking of the top 100 players under 23 selected on day two of the NHL Draft. Even so, that opinion doesn’t change his outlook with Chicago, and his solid first pro season in 2025-26 still stands out.
Another young Blackhawks forward, 2024 first-rounder Sacha Boisvert, is also making noise this summer - just in a different way. A Blackhawks fan account on X posted a photo of him looking shredded, and a video showed him working the heavy bag in boxing gloves. If anybody is thinking about dropping the mitts with him this season, the message was pretty clear: good luck.
Anton Frondell also popped up in the Blackhawks orbit, filming content as part of the NHL’s European Media Tour. Chicago’s social media account shared behind-the-scenes footage on Monday.
Around the league, Leon Draisaitl said he’s on board with Mike Babcock as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers after the team’s best players met with Babcock earlier this summer. Draisaitl said no topics were off-limits in that sit-down, and given Babcock’s history, there was plenty to discuss, including his long list of allegations and his brief tenure with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In San Jose, Macklin Celebrini is increasingly being treated like the obvious choice for the Sharks’ next captain. Sheng Peng followed up on a May report that Celebrini was “all but guaranteed” to get the job, and a separate source told him the same thing. If it happens, Celebrini would become the 11th captain in franchise history and the first since Logan Couture in 2023-24.
The Flyers are also in the mix for a new season narrative, with William James laying out five predictions ahead of training camp in a few weeks. The questions center on Matvei Michkov’s role to start the year and whether Philadelphia can make the playoffs for a second straight season.
Elsewhere, Matt Larkin took a look at the best unrestricted free agents still available with September approaching, led by Patrik Laine, Logan Stanley, and Vladimir Tarasenko. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon stayed No. 2 on NHL Network’s top-20 centers list for a second straight year, behind only Connor McDavid. And in New Jersey, Daniel Amoia dug into Martin Brodeur’s all-time wins record, with the exercise suggesting one current goaltender - the reigning Vezina Trophy winner - has a real shot to catch it.
In Other News...
Blackhawks Fans Just Got Another Reason To Watch Expansion Chatter
The NHLs expansion talk is starting to feel less like distant league chatter and more like something worth tracking closely, especially for Blackhawks fans who know how quickly the ripple effects can reach a roster. League plans call for a jump from 32 to 34 teams in the coming years, with Texas emerging as one possible landing spot, and any serious expansion push has a way of reshaping opportunities for players, prospects and teams trying to manage their pipeline.
There is also plenty going on around the margins of the hockey world that keeps the attention moving. Los Angeles Kings prospect Liam Lefebvre has changed course and committed to Boston University after originally heading to the University of Vermont, a reminder of how fluid the college path can be for young players. Meanwhile, former Blackhawks forward Mike Hardman has verbally agreed to a deal with HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League after two seasons in the New Jersey Devils organization, another example of a familiar name taking a different route as the wider hockey landscape keeps shifting. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Fans Are Revisiting One Big Kevin Hayes What If
Kevin Hayes career has become one of those familiar Chicago what-ifs, the kind that gets revisited every time a former draft pick finds a new chapter somewhere else. The Blackhawks took Hayes 24th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft, but his path away from the organization opened the door to a long NHL run elsewhere, with stops in New York, Winnipeg, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Pittsburgh.
Now there is another twist to track. Hayes has signed with AK Bars Kazan in the KHL, adding an overseas move to a rsum that has already taken plenty of turns, and it is not clear whether an NHL return is still part of the story. For Blackhawks fans, it is a reminder of how one missed connection can linger for years, especially when a player drafted by the team goes on to carve out a solid career somewhere else. [Read more 🡒]
Oliver Moore Is Giving The Blackhawks A Real Lineup Dilemma
Oliver Moores first NHL season gave the Blackhawks a little more to think about than they may have expected from a rookie still settling in. The former 19th overall pick appeared in 51 games, put up 19 points and showed he can handle more than one role, spending time at both wing and center while moving between Chicago and Rockford after a brief stint with the IceHogs.
The upside has been obvious enough that Moore and coach Jeff Blashill have already talked about what comes next, and that is where the roster puzzle really starts. Chicago needs young talent to keep growing into dependable NHL pieces, but Moores ability to fit in different spots also makes it harder to pin down exactly where he belongs when the lineup gets healthy again. [Read more 🡒]