The Chicago Blackhawks announced their 2025 training camp roster on Wednesday. Kyle Davidson invited 53 players to compete for spots (30 forwards, 17 defensemen, and 6 goaltenders). Camp officially opens Thursday, Sept. 18 at Fifth Third Arena, kicking off a critical preseason for a team in transition.
The Blackhawks roster features everything you want in a camp: top prospects, PTO veterans, injury concerns, and open battles for jobs. General manager Davidson has made it clear — Chicago is still building. This camp will reveal who’s ready to take the next step.
Key Storylines Heading Into Blackhawks Camp
Can Matt Grzelcyk Steal a Job?
The 31-year-old veteran defenseman was invited on a professional tryout (PTO) and will be one of the most interesting names to watch.
Grzelcyk has played over 400 NHL games and brings puck-moving ability. But if he impresses and earns a contract, it could come at the expense of a younger prospect like Kevin Korchinski or Nolan Allan.
The Hawks want to give kids a chance — but proven NHL experience is hard to ignore. (Note: The AI-driven “voiceover” video below about the Grzelcyk PTO is awful, but it’s some comic relief for your day. The AI “broadcaster” mispronounces the player’s surname repeatedly.)
Goaltending Picture Already Settled
With Laurent Brossoit sidelined, there won’t be a battle in net. The Blackhawks are expected to start the year with Spencer Knight and Arvid Soderblom as their NHL tandem.
That gives prospects like Drew Commesso and Stanislav Berezhnoy more time to develop in Rockford, though they’ll still see preseason action.
The Wyatt Kaiser Question
Perhaps the biggest mystery is Wyatt Kaiser. He’s on the camp roster but still doesn’t have an NHL contract. Why hasn’t a deal been signed?
His participation suggests both sides expect something to get done, but the delay raises questions.
If Kaiser returns and Grzelcyk makes the team, suddenly Chicago’s crowded blue line could push some young names back to Rockford.
Blue Line Battles
There are at least seven defensive spots up for grabs, and the competition will be fierce:
- Locks: Alex Vlasic, Connor Murphy, Sam Rinzel
- Likely In: Louis Crevier, Artyom Levshunov (but nothing guaranteed)
- Bubble: Kevin Korchinski, Ethan Del Mastro, Nolan Allan
Add in Kaiser’s contract situation and Grzelcyk’s PTO, and someone will be squeezed. Korchinski and Levshunov in particular need to prove to the coaching staff that they’re ready for a full NHL season.
Forwards Fighting for Ice Time
Chicago’s forward group is crowded too. Three young players who saw NHL time last season — Landon Slaggert, Colton Dach, and Lukas Reichel — aren’t guaranteed spots.
Veterans like Joey Anderson will push hard to earn a roster spot.
As for the prospects, Oliver Moore has shown flashes of elite speed, but is it enough to grab a roster spot?
Meanwhile, players like Nick Lardis, AJ Spellacy, Ryan Greene, Aidan Thompson, and Marek Vanacker are more likely to start in Rockford or junior.
Their camp performances, however, will be a measuring stick for where they fit in Chicago’s long-term plans.
A New Voice Behind the Bench
The summer coaching change also looms large. Jeff Blashill takes over as head coach after years of experience in Detroit and most recently as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
He has NHL pedigree, but the big question is: can he guide this young roster’s development and help them take a step forward in the rebuild?
His systems, structure, and ability to balance ice time between vets and prospects will define the Blackhawks’ season.
Blackhawks Camp Schedule
The Blackhawks will practice daily at Fifth Third Arena and play six preseason games:
- Sept. 23 at Detroit — 6 PM CT
- Sept. 27 at St. Louis — 6 PM CT
- Sept. 28 at Minnesota — 5 PM CT
- Sept. 30 vs Detroit (UC) — 7 PM CT
- Oct. 3 vs Minnesota (UC) — 7 PM CT
- Oct. 4 vs St. Louis (UC) — 6 PM CT
Three Big Takeaways
- Prospect Depth Is Forcing Competition – Chicago’s rebuild pipeline is real. Nazar, Moore, Rinzel, and Levshunov headline, but even depth names like Spellacy and Vanacker are showing upside.
- Veterans vs. Youth Battles – Grzelcyk, Anderson, and other experienced players are pushing kids for jobs. Davidson and Blashill will need to balance development with winning.
- A Defining Year for Culture – The Blackhawks have invested heavily in leadership and culture-building, from Foligno’s mentorship to Davidson’s roster decisions.
- This camp will test whether that foundation holds under pressure.
Final Word: Blackhawks Seek Next Step
The Blackhawks head into training camp with 53 players and no shortage of storylines.
From Kaiser’s contract limbo to Grzelcyk’s PTO, from goalie certainty to defense battles, the next three weeks will set the tone for Chicago’s season.
The rebuild is still ongoing, but optimism is building. The young core is deeper than ever, and with a new coach in Jeff Blashill, the Blackhawks are ready to see who steps forward when the puck drops.
Here is the full list of forwards invited to Blackhawks training camp, including their height and weight.
This mix of top prospects, established NHLers, and AHL depth players will compete for roster spots when camp opens Sept. 18.
| # | Player | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Oliver Moore | 5-11 | 195 |
| 20 | Ryan Greene | 6-1 | 174 |
| 79 | AJ Spellacy | 6-2 | 195 |
| 76 | Nick Lardis | 5-11 | 176 |
| 22 | Joey Anderson | 6-0 | 207 |
| 83 | Marek Vanacker | 6-1 | 174 |
| 92 | Gavin Hayes | 6-1 | 177 |
| 90 | Paul Ludwinski | 5-11 | 172 |
| 68 | Martin Misiak | 6-2 | 194 |
| 67 | Samuel Savoie | 5-10 | 189 |
| 78 | Aidan Thompson | 5-11 | 180 |
| 25 | Dominic Toninato | 6-2 | 201 |
| 64 | Nathan Behm | 6-2 | 192 |
| 82 | Jack Pridham | 6-1 | 176 |
| 56 | Parker Holmes | 6-3 | 222 |
| 62 | Brett Seney | 5-9 | 156 |
| 63 | Jackson Cates | 6-0 | 201 |
| 98 | Connor Bedard | 5-10 | 185 |
| 91 | Frank Nazar | 5-9 | 175 |
| 28 | Colton Dach | 6-4 | 196 |
| 73 | Lukas Reichel | 6-0 | 170 |
| 84 | Landon Slaggert | 6-0 | 185 |
| 59 | Tyler Bertuzzi | 6-1 | 200 |
| 86 | Teuvo Teravainen | 5-11 | 185 |
| 16 | Jason Dickinson | 6-2 | 200 |
| 24 | Sam Lafferty | 6-1 | 195 |
| 28 | Andre Burakovsky | 6-3 | 201 |
| 8 | Ryan Donato | 6-0 | 193 |
| 17 | Nick Foligno | 6-0 | 210 |
| 95 | Ilya Mikheyev | 6-3 | 195 |
| # | Player | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Sam Rinzel | 6-4 | 195 |
| 55 | Artyom Levshunov | 6-2 | 208 |
| 14 | Kevin Korchinski | 6-1 | 185 |
| 42 | Nolan Allan | 6-2 | 195 |
| 46 | Louis Crevier | 6-8 | 228 |
| 47 | Taige Harding | 6-6 | 235 |
| 93 | Dmitry Kuzmin | 5-10 | 188 |
| 58 | Ryan Mast | 6-5 | 221 |
| 57 | Ashton Cumby | 6-5 | 216 |
| 23 | Cavan Fitzgerald | 6-1 | 190 |
| 85 | Andrew Perrott | 5-10 | 216 |
| 72 | Alex Vlasic | 6-6 | 198 |
| 44 | Wyatt Kaiser | 6-0 | 180 |
| 5 | Connor Murphy | 6-4 | 212 |
| 38 | Ethan Del Mastro | 6-4 | 205 |
| 48 | Matt Grzelcyk | 5-9 | 176 |
| xx | Ty Henry | 6-2 | 197 |
| # | Player | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Spencer Knight | 6-3 | 192 |
| 40 | Arvid Soderblom | 6-3 | 210 |
| 33 | Drew Commesso | 6-2 | 181 |
| 31 | Stanislav Berezhnoy | 6-4 | 194 |
| 80 | Mitchell Weeks | 6-2 | 190 |
| xx | Laurent Brossoit | 6-3 | 200 |
Frenchy, quite frankly I’m overwhelmed. If a franchise/fan base is lucky they have a couple high quality prospects pushing for a spot in camp but the Hawks legitimately have 10 of those types and enough spots open no matter the position you play there is an opening.
Overwhelming but damn fun. … But, Bedard will be the biggest question until he’s not when a few yrs will tell us what he is and is not. The guy is the centerpiece of everything and gets huge minutes meaning he’s on the ice, “for better or worse”.
My stance is he’s the worst defensive NHL player I had ever seen during his rookie yr. IMO he could have put up 100 pts and he’d have been on the ice for 25 more goals against than for. Someone got to him after his rookie season and showed him it’s impossible to win being such a defensive liability even if you pot 100 pts.
And without writing a book right off the bat last yr you could see Bedard below both endlines maybe even a couple times a game whereas his rookie yr you rarely did. Besides eliminating 1:30 shifts you could see the kid understanding and trying to help in the other 2 zones……. A start for a kid who IMO is learning things players learn as pee wee’s, he’s that far behind to becoming a HOCKEY player not just a pts machine.
That’s where my eyes go no matter the situation, what’s Bedard doing. Well at least last yr he was in the picture two steps behind a check whereas his rookie season he was completely outa the picture in a whole different zone legs not moving….. Kid is learning and we’re watching that process.
After that, good Lord where to start on getting a grasp of 10 mostly blue chippers on NHL ice with NHL quality opponents. …… Completely new coaching staff is huge and if it ain’t right for some reason that’ll set the club back 3 or so yrs. Lev still has a lotta wild horse in his game. I guess he’s my #2/3 question but as of today he goes to RKF and skates 25:00 a night in all situations.
Thank you so much for your comment — I really enjoyed reading it. You’re right, the Blackhawks have done an excellent job with their draft picks the last three years, and now everything comes down to development. That means time on ice, making mistakes, and learning from weaknesses. Development is the key.
About Connor Bedard — there are still more positives than negatives. Every young superstar comes into the NHL as an offensive machine first. MacKinnon, McDavid, Matthews… all of them had to learn the defensive side of the game over time. It usually takes 4–6 years, sometimes more, to become a true 200-foot player. There are rare exceptions like Kopitar, Barkov, or Bergeron, but for most, this is the normal progression.
Bedard is already starting to show signs of growth — cutting down on long shifts, being in the picture defensively, and learning the little details. Now it’s up to Blashill and the development staff to keep pushing him in that direction. His faceoffs under 40% also need work, but that’s part of the process too. Nazar will go through the same learning curve.
I follow the Canadiens closely, and watching how Martin St-Louis developed players like Suzuki and Caufield is a perfect example. Both had to grow into 200-foot players, and Bedard will need the same coaching and patience.
And even look at guys like Kucherov, Stamkos, and Point in Tampa — almost 100 points each, but their plus/minus barely cracked +10. Offense comes first; the rest takes time.
The truth is, Bedard will explode offensively this season, but Davidson still needs to find him another top winger, maybe next summer. That’s the missing piece. For now, patience is the key. Blackhawks fans should be excited — the talent is here, the development path is set, and the future looks very bright.
Frenchy, at the other joint 25 games into his rookie season I could not take the 1:30 shifts, the never ending coughs of the puck instead of dumping, hanging around his own blue line waiting for a mate to win a puck and get it to him, being whole zones behind on back checks when I unloaded on the kid. … Of course I took loads of incoming but as the season wore on even fan boys could see what I did. …. This kid is the worst defensive NHLer I’ve ever seen and as he was no team could win with him and a possession black hole.
You bring good context, most every elite offensive prospect is a defensive liability to some degree and grow out of it. That is true but the MCDavids, Matthews or MacKinnons are bigger much faster players with better reach and range so just on that account they weren’t as bad as Bedard defensively.
But truth be told is skating takes an enormous amount of blood in your legs and oxygen used. To be elite offensive players simply said there ain’t much blood/oxygen left to play defense. To some degree any elite offensive player will be a liability off the puck.
I also posted that goofs like Messier, Subban and the rest of the national guys had it ass backwards. They heaped praise on the kid at any chance his rookie yr when he was as bad off the puck as any of these guys had seen. Then last yr when anyone who has watched more than his replays saw his off the puck game improved a good bit but they FINALLY decided to focus on his bad backchecks?? Look Messier said, he’s two steps off his check and his guy scored.
Well, his rookie yr he wasn’t even in the picture of his check, hell, not in the same zone!!! That’s when the whole world should have spoken up and last yr should have pointed out his IMPROVEMENT. ….. Chances are, as you point out with other elite offensive talent, Bedard will settle in and it is what it is. The hope is he decides the way he played off the puck is totally unacceptable and that teams can’t win with a player like that eating all the big minutes and does enough off the puck not mortally hurt his club.
He’s a tough little SOB with a crazy drive that has allowed him epic success playing 2-3 yrs up all his life. Gonna be a day the kid is a stout, experienced, grizzled vet at 25 yrs old with his boatload of talent. … That’s a damn nice visual in my mind’s eye!
You bring up a lot of strong points here. About his ice time, I’ve always said this is the responsibility of the coach — you can’t let a young star run 1:30 shifts all night. Discipline is key. Play for the team, not just for yourself. I think Jeff will be stricter on TOI than Richardson was.
Yes, Bedard doesn’t have the same size, reach, or speed as guys like McDavid or MacKinnon, but that doesn’t mean he can’t grow into a stronger three-zone player. With experience, he’ll realize the NHL is all about details without the puck. When you scout a player, the question is always: what do they do when they don’t have the puck? The best players create space, give their teammates better options, and help tilt the ice.
If Bedard can take steps this season in the 200-foot game, improve in faceoffs, and tighten up his coverage, then even a 65-point year could still be a big success. Like I’ve said many times, in a rebuild it’s all about patience and daily improvement. The hope now is that Blashill and the development staff have the right tools to guide Bedard — and the rest of the young Hawks — the right way.