Blackhawks Win In Milwaukee Provides Hope For IceHogs

On Saturday night, the Chicago Blackhawks took down the St. Louis Blues at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a part of their “Home Away From Home” game. Their 6-2 victory was a dominant way for them to finally earn their first preseason win in their final game. 

Connor Bedard and a few other NHL regulars suited up for this game but it was mostly an AHL lineup for Chicago. On the other side, it was largely an AHL lineup for the Blues as well. 

Right before the game, the Hawks had to call most of these guys up because they had already been sent down. It was set straight right away that they were going back to Rockford on Sunday no matter what. Well, all of them were great. 

This game was proof that the Rockford IceHogs should be expecting a big year in 2024-25. Almost every goal that Chicago had was either scored or assisted by one of the called-up Rockford players. 

Rockford having a strong AHL season would be incredible for the development of so many young players. High-end minutes in key situations in a good Rockford team will be way more beneficial than limited minutes on a bad Chicago team. The AHL is a great place for young players with great NHL potential to learn. 

The Blues, as mentioned before, also mostly iced an AHL lineup. That’s a good thing because that is the level of competition that most of these Blackhawks players are going to face down in Rockford this year. Guys like Frank Nazar, Nolan Allan, Ethan Del Mastro, and Colton Dach all should be able to match what they did on Saturday all season.

Players like Lukas Reichel, Arvid Soderblom, and Drew Commesso haven’t even been sent down yet. If they go down to Rockford, the team would be getting even more of a boost. There will be a few guys up and down all year long so the lineup won’t ever be truly consistent during the regular season but there will always be tons of talent.

The IceHogs have had playoff success recently but should be eyeballing the Calder Cup this season. A few of their prospects are still in college or junior, but many of them will be in Rockford as well. These Rockford players are also guys that help make up the number one farm system in the NHL. An AHL championship is a realistic goal due to that fact.

These guys won’t be without more help either. Artyom Levshunov, the defenseman that the Blackhawks just drafted second overall in June, hasn’t played yet this season as he recovers from an injury. When he joins all of these guys down in the AHL, they will get even better. This team is already good so adding a potential star defenseman certainly won’t hurt anything.

Every goal scored in this game was helped along by someone who may be with the IceHogs for stretches in 2024-25 and it came against another AHL-type squad at a neutral site. If there was ever a time to be optimistic about your AHL team, it is now for the Chicago Blackhawks who showed why on Saturday night.