7 Chicago Blackhawks storylines to follow this season

The Chicago Blackhawks are loaded with storylines to talk about.

4. Wyatt Kaiser and Alex Vlasic getting a chance

Korchinski is not the only other highly touted defensive prospect set to play in their first career NHL season opener. Wyatt Kaiser and Alex Vlasic made the club out of training camp.

That means Kaiser and Vlasic will be given an opportunity to get a leg up on the other top blue-line prospects to show they can be part of the Hawks defensive rotation.

Isaak Philips could see some time this season with the Chicago Blackhawks depending on if Korchinski is sent back to the WHL.

Ethan Del Mastro and Noah Allen will start the season in Rockford while Sam Rinzel is playing in college at Minnesota.

Kaiser worked in the offseason to get stronger after getting manhandled on the ice during the brief time he got last season.

There is not much more for Vlasic to do at the AHL level so he needs to prove he can play at the NHL level.

5. Arvid Soderblom playing a lot

Soderblom went between the Ice Hogs and the Blackhawks last season. He can probably forget the directions to get Rockford from Chicago this year as he will be sharing the net with Petr Mrazek. Soderblom showed the potential to be a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL.

Hawks’ goalie coach Jimmy Waite had high praise for Arvid as he compared Soderblom to Corey Crawford. That is a nice compliment considering Crawford was the goalie on two Stanley Cup-winning teams.

Soderblom has the size to become a wall in goal. Plus, it is not a matter of if, but when Mrazek will get hurt. That should give Soderblom a shot to start more games and become the long-term answer in goal.

6. Drew Commesso might get a shot to make his NHL debut

Commesso is the other highly touted goaltending prospect the Hawks have. He will start the season in Rockford. The expectation is he will play the whole year in the AHL.

Remember Mrazek is likely to spend some time on short-term IR. Jaxson Stauber is listed as the third goalie so Commesso getting NHL ice time in the case of Mrazek getting hurt seems unlikely.

Add an injury to Soderblom or Stauber in the scenario of Mrazek going down and then Commesso might have to be pressed into service.

7. Kyle Davidson will make big trades

Despite all the Connor Bedard hype, the Chicago Blackhawks are another season or two away from competing for a playoff spot.

That means at some point before the trade deadline, Davidson will move some of the veterans on the roster to acquire more draft capital.

Corey Perry and Nick Foligno have provided veteran stewardship during training camp but at some point, they might have more value to a contender.

Andreas Athanasiou is back on a two-year deal with an affordable $4 million cap hit that could be moved for a team looking for speed and scoring help. He is also more than a few-month rental because of the extra year.

However, Davidson not only brought in veterans like Foligno, Perry, and Taylor Hall to improve the talent on the roster but also to help young players like Bedard and Reichel learn the NHL game.

It is possible Davidson does not have a major fire sale as he did at the last trade deadline. At least this season will not be hard to watch like last season.