Four Chicago Blackhawks Prospects To Watch During the Calder Cup Playoffs

It'll be a real barn burner on Wednesday, as the Rockford IceHogs take on the Chicago Wolves in the AHL's Calder Cup playoffs.

In game one at Allstate Arena, a great number of Blackhawks prospects will work to play their best game in the AHL. They'll compete for the top prize in the AHL, a Calder Cup, and the notoriety it brings.

With the stakes rising during the playoffs, prospects who are developing in the AHL will learn from their first bit of professional playoff experience. The competition will be fierce.

Here are four players Blackhawks fans to pay close attention to:

The Blackhawks were swift to sign Thompson after his collegiate season ended in 2024-2025. This season, he scored 55 points (21 goals, 34 assists) in 44 games as the Captain of Denver.

Artyom Levshunov has found himself in Rockford, the majority of 2024-2025, having played 52 games with the IceHogs during the regular season. He'd score a total of 22 points (5 goals, 17 assists). While he did start the year in Rockford, he'd play a significant stretch of games in the NHL with the Blackhawks and would be returned in time for the Calder Cup playoffs.

The former 2nd overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft could find himself playing meaningful hockey deep into the season. A great development for his professional career.

Korchinski is the other defenseman I'll be listing. Korchinski earned himself the AHL All-Star MVP this season. With a significant amount of NHL games under his belt, he played 16 games with the Blackhawks this season, scoring only 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist). While his offensive talent is his bread and butter, he'll need to continually develop his defensive game, and could be a key factor as an offensive defenseman in the IceHogs lineup.

The Blackhawks have an excellent combination in the NHL of Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom in the net. Waiting in the wings is Blackhawks prospect Drew Commesso, who could be a major factor in the NHL, but he'll have to prove he's worth it by playing well in the AHL with the IceHogs.

This season, he has a record of 18-15-4, 2.54 GAA, and a .911 save percentage.

If he plays well during the Calder Cup playoffs, he could yet again find himself getting another look in the NHL.