2024-25 Midseason grades for Blackhawks prospects: Part IV, CHL and Europe

23 hours ago  /  Second City Hockey

The Blackhawks return to game action in a little over 24 hours, so it’s time for the homestretch of our midseason prospect grades. This final article in the series covers the two remaining areas with prospects who could be part of the long-term picture here in Chicago.







Roman Kantserov



Right/Left Wing, drafted in the second round (44th overall) in the 2023 Draft



2024-25 season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL): 36 GP, 12 G, 16 A, 28 P



Grade: A



A breakthrough season, Kantserov has been one of the best young players in the entire KHL. When comparing his current numbers to historical KHL production, it’s one of the best seasons of all-time for someone of his age (he turned 20 in September) in terms of point production.



After beginning to show higher-end play during last year’s KHL playoffs, Kantserov hit the ground running this year. Not only have his raw points seen a noticeable improvement, but his tendencies have improved further as well. His playmaking has become more precise and accurate, refined in terms of touch on passes and timing on release. His vision has improved, as he’s now going through multiple reads before making a decision with the puck in a short amount of time, which allows far more chances not only for himself to score, but to set up his teammates as well. Kantserov’s best trait this year has been his ability to produce an effective release off a short burst of speed. While he’s not the biggest player, his shot and passing ability produces a great amount of power as he steps off his left foot’s inside edges. It creates explosive power, and also allows him to utilize his now sublime edges to either generate power on a shot, or to push off to chase down pucks.



The difference in transition work this season is night and day: Kantserov can act not only as an accessory winger who’s able to capitalize on strong passes for breakaways, but he can also utilize his skating and IQ to create breakout opportunities. He effortlessly transitions back and forth, and can vary his pace easily depending on the scenario, or the puck’s movements. Despite playing against men as a shorter player (5-9, 176 pounds), Kantserov hasn’t shied away from contact, either. While his decision making isn’t quite amazing, he’s still made improvements in that area and has dialed back his tendency of turning the puck over when put under pressure. He’s been a much more reliable two-way player than the prior season and he’ll utilize his speed to break up plays on the defensive end of the ice as well.



Kantserov’s continued growth is making it seem more and more like he’ll be worth the wait in Chicago, whenever it is that he finally arrives on North American ice. According to this 2024 article from The Athletic, Kantserov’s KHL contract runs through the 2025-26 season.



Roman Kantserov's best season continues!5-game point streak, 16 PTS in 18 GP (15 PTS in 53 GP last season). pic.twitter.com/cVI0eJSuyd— KHL (@khl_eng) December 23, 2024







Nick Lardis



Left Wing, drafted in the third round (67th overall) in the 2023 Draft



2024-25 season with Brantford Bulldogs (OHL): 54 GP, 60 G, 39 A, 99 P, 314 SOG, 16 PIM



Grade: A-



Nick Lardis is embarking on one of the most standout seasons for a Blackhawks prospect in recent memory, solidifying himself as the best goal scorer in all of junior hockey. Forget a point-per-game pace: Lardis is averaging over a GOAL per game and his shot remains his most important weapon, building off of an amazing release and stellar accuracy that make him a threat from anywhere in the offensive zone.



Lardis’ current run of play is just incredible:



⭐️ #OHLPerformer of the Night ⭐️Another terrific night for @BulldogsOHL's Nick Lardis, who buried his sixth hat-trick of the season to reach the 60-goal mark! He's scored in 17 straight games!#Blackhawks | @bastardburrito pic.twitter.com/lMmftCEgGE— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) February 21, 2025



He’s continued to improve this season by finding new ways to score. He’ll attempt to do new things with the puck, be it snapshots on an off-angle, traditional wristers, or legitimate slapshots from the point despite his size, or dazzling dekes/backhands to show off his skills. Lardis excels in finding weak spots in defensive coverage, looking for an area where he can use his edges to quickly pop inside to receive a pass and create a high-danger scoring opportunity. As a good skater, Lardis’ speed and agility allow for decent separation or breakaway speed from defenders, making him not only lethal in the cycle, but in transition, or off an activated rush play.



His scoring IQ is evident. He anticipates plays from linemates like O’Brien, and often finds himself ahead of the play with a nose for the back of the net. He thrives on exploiting small openings – if you give Lardis an inch, you give him a mile. There’s already an NHL-level shot in his profile, and his creativity in finding ways to score continues to impress. However, Lardis doesn’t quite have the complete profile that the organization and scouts were hoping he would develop, hence his slightly lower rating despite all of the gaudy numbers. His playmaking remains a secondary aspect of his game, as he prefers to let others drive the plays and capitalize, rather than create a play himself. He’ll pass up better passing opportunities to drive to the net, often losing the puck, or simply taking a low-danger shot that leads to a turnover or a reset. Additionally, both his defensive play and his willingness to engage physically still need refinement and coaching. He’s not consistently effective when it comes to breaking up plays, utilizing an active stick in his defense, or retaining poise in his own zone. He’ll often cheat up looking for breakaway opportunities, but ends up costing his team because of the inconsistency. Lardis is still an amazing prospect, but how well his game will translate up to higher levels of hockey is still a fair question to have. At the moment, it’s easier to project him as a middle-six, complimentary talent instead of as a top-six one until the rest of his game develops.



Nick Lardis (CHI) with four goals and 10 shots through two periods for Brantford, bringing him to 48 goals in 47 games. The leading scorer in the CHL and one of the most underrated prospects in hockey. Lethal on the power play with that one-timer, too. pic.twitter.com/VKTkgWVFnK— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) February 2, 2025







Jack Pridham



Right wing, drafted in the third round (92nd overall) in the 2024 Draft



2024-25 season with Kitchener Rangers (OHL): 37 GP, 19 G, 21 A, 40 P, 147 SOG, 30 PIM



Grade: A-



Pridham has surprisingly made a seamless transition to the OHL in his post-draft season, proving that the offensive skillset that he flashed in the BCHL was translatable with further development, even against far tougher competition.



The foundations of Pridham’s game remain his skating and his size (6-2, 185 pounds). While going to the OHL may have been easier than moving directly to the NCAA, Pridham has leveraged his great straight-line speed and explosive feet to exploit the gaps between defenders. His shot and continuing growth with goal scoring have also been essential parts of his game this season: he’s more apt to be aggressive on offense and has been rewarded for it. He’s adjusted well to the increased speed and physicality of the OHL and has used his naturally solid hockey IQ to find appropriate positioning and identify where to be on the ice. It’s great to see a prospect with a strong toolkit jump up to another league and really hit the ground running.



Pridham, though, is not without his flaws. His defensive game remains a work in progress and he’s still unsure when to leverage his tools versus playing a more conservative stlye. That’s the crux of where improvements need to happen: the decision making process. It was a question in his draft year, and remains a question now. While he’s been more assertive and willing to take more offensive risks, there were still be some pessimism on the side of long-term projections until there’s a better approach to the other sides of his game. Increased confidence on and off the puck would be a big help in that regard, as his size and skating could help Pridham develop into a premium, rush-oriented, transition forward. Despite the flaws, Pridham still deserves his high grade. He’s taken on a much larger top 6 role in a far harder league and has hit the ground running. Many people didn’t even expect him to be fully ready to play in the OHL this year, especially due to his sub PPG numbers in the BCHL. Pridham has proved the doubters wrong; there’s a long way to go in his development to reach the NHL, but he’s having a great year.



What a rocket from #Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham for his 17th goal of the season!pic.twitter.com/8pgPUoIrPw— Talkin’ Hawkey (@TalkinHawkey) February 9, 2025







AJ Spellacy



Center, drafted in the third round (72nd overall) in the 2024 NHL Draft



2024-25 season with Windsor Spitfires (OHL): 50 GP, 13 G, 15 A, 28 P, 131 SOG, 52 PIM



Grade: C-



Spellacy was drafted as a project. He split his time between hockey and football prior to the draft, and he was expected to begin to take the next step as he put more emphasis on hockey specific training. This season, though, Spellacy hasn’t made quite as much progress on that hockey development side as one might’ve hoped.



As a physical player, he needs to learn to utilize his size and strength better on the ice. He has an electric motor, but at times his unwillingness to deliver hits or be a disrupter can limit his impact. He’s taken a slight step forward when it comes to his defense, but his offense is relatively disappointing in projecting his ability to get to the next level. Spellacy is on pace for the exact same production he had last season, and hasn’t seen his ability to read the ice or distribute the puck improve in meaningful ways. There’s still upside in the player, but as a project with a long runway, flashes are to be expected more often than they’ve seen this season. Without clear progress in his offensive instincts or playmaking ability, his path to an NHL role will become increasingly difficult. Physical ability goes a long way, but Spellacy needs to show more in terms of translating his physical tools into on ice impact. By and large, Spellacy may have had a great camp with the Blackhawks, but his OHL play this year has been disappointing due to lack of growth.



Big day for #Blackhawks prospects and how about this one from A.J. Spellacy. Pure power down ice. pic.twitter.com/9NMZvtIKvq— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) February 3, 2025







Marek Vanacker



Left Wing, drafted in the first round (27th overall) in the 2024 Draft



2024-25 season with Brantford Bulldogs (OHL): 33 GP, 18 G, 13 A, 31 P, 90 SOG, 28 PIM



Grade: D



This grade may be a bit harsh on Vanacker, who had shoulder surgery in the summer that delayed him from getting on the ice this season. Even for the limited sample size he’s had this winter, though, it’s hard to land on anything but disappointment with Vanacker’s overall performance, considering he is a first-round pick.



After a promising draft season that led to him being drafted by Chicago, Vanacker has regressed in his comfort and ability to move the puck and be a playmaker on the ice. One of his greatest strengths was his willingness to pursue puck battles and actively engage along the board to create openings, but that’s been far more limited this season. On top of the inconsistency and despite his linemates improving, Vanacker’s scoring is falling off: he’s averaging 0.94 points per game this season after clocking in at 1.21 last season. Defensively, he’s no longer a strong disruptor of play, this season erring toward using his body to deliver hits instead of using a smarter stick lift or finding another way to steal as he so often did in the prior season. While he still generally has a high motor and willingness to be involved around the ice, questions remain regarding his overall pace and ability to read the offense. Vanacker often finds himself in the wrong spot on both ends of the ice compared to how well he positioned himself during plays last season. His skating isn’t top-tier but it’s not causing him problems: Vanacker is just not getting into the right spots.



There are still areas of marginal growth in some aspects of his game. His goal scoring is growing — particularly off the rush. While skating on the power play, he’s been effective at activating from the blue line when he’s given time and space, allowing him to go in and pick a corner with solid power and accuracy — although not to the level of the Lardis. It’s slightly concerning that most of his goal scoring this season just relies on sitting in front of the net waiting for someone else to get him the puck, which is so unlike the player we saw last season.



The hope here is that this overall regression is attributable to his late arrival and slow ramp-up period following injury recovery. In terms of gauging his current play, though, he’s not nearly as effective on offense, defense, or in transition, as he often fires errant passes at the feet of his teammates — or misses them entirely. We’re still holding out hope on this one, as there was a genuine argument that he could be a player in a mold similar to Andrew Shaw based on last year’s draft. This season just hasn’t offered much evidence in support of that projection.



Blackhawks prospect Marek Vanacker lights the lamp for the Bulldogs. pic.twitter.com/E768HYUcNF— CHGO Blackhawks (@CHGO_Blackhawks) February 9, 2025







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