Prospects Talk, Foligno Recruits, Kraken Make History, and Other Blackhawks Fourth of July Bullets

Gavin Hayes Chicago Blackhawks
Gavin Hayes Chicago Blackhawks

Happy Fourth of July, Blackhawks fans. Hopefully there are fireworks in your plans at some point last night, tonight or this weekend. And a barbecue. And a parade. And some other safely executed extracurricular activities. I plan on all of the above.

  • Let’s get a little Blackhawks content out there before we celebrate the day, shall we? Some more prospects chatted with us on Wednesday and I was able to grab some video. We’ll start with this from Nick Lardis.
  • And now Lardis’ teammate with Brantford and, in the future, Chicago, Marek Vanacker.
  • ICYMI yesterday I wrote about some comments from Artyom Levshunov and Mark Eaton about what the future might hold for the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. It sure sounds like the Blackhawks would like him to be in Rockford as a pro this coming season.
  • The IceHogs chatted with a few guys who might be in their opening night lineup this fall. Nice clean summer cuts for the boys. Love to see it.
  • I tweeted on Monday that most of the 2024 draft picks mentioned getting text messages from Nick Foligno after they were selected by the Blackhawks. Well, on Wednesday we got to hear a little from Alec Martinez and who do you think sold him on the vision in Chicago? Foligno and Connor Murphy, your two senior leaders in the room. Martinez likes the vision, but he also thinks the Blackhawks are going to be pretty good, too.
  • Connor Bedard is up for Sportsnet’s Goal of the Year. If you’re able to vote, you know what to do… early and often folks.
  • This is awesome! The Seattle Kraken are making history this coming season. On Wednesday, they hired Jessica Campbell as an assistant coach, making her the first woman to work in that capacity in NHL history. Ryan S. Clark tweeted yesterday that one of her first missed calls after the news broke was from Brent Seabrook.
  • Steven Ellis at Daily Faceoff has already turned the page (Metallica or Seger?) to the 2025 NHL Draft with his extremely early top 32 prospects.
  • Corey Pronman also has way-too-early rankings for the 2025 NHL Draft out.
  • Speaking of drafts, the CHL import draft was on Wednesday. Calgary Flames first-round pick Matvei Gridin was the first overall pick this year; last year, Blackhawks prospect Martin Misiak was the top pick. He was committed to the University of Michigan — emphasis on was. Connor Earegood reported Gridin will not be a Wolverine this season for academic reasons, so he’ll head to junior instead. Gridin left Russia to pursue hockey in North America a couple years ago. Hard to blame a kid for his grades suffering in those circumstances. I really like him as a prospect (would have loved the Blackhawks to get a shot at selecting him).
  • The Red Wings signed Vlad Tarasenko on Wednesday.
  • Tarasenko will replace Robby Fabbri in the Red Wings’ lineup. Detroit sent Fabbri to Anaheim so the Ducks can be above the floor. Good times.
  • Finally, the kid from Hinsdale signed a contract. The Bulls and their first-round pick put pen to paper. Fabulous. Awesome. Red Devils are proud. Now let’s turn the fortunes around in the NBA.
  • written by

    Tab Bamford has been writing about the Chicago Blackhawks for almost two decades. He joined Bleacher Nation as the lead Blackhawks writer in May 2022. Tab is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and is the author of two books about the Blackhawks: "100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die" (Triumph Books) and "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter/X/Instagram/Threads at @The1Tab

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