As the Blackhawks battle to reach the playoffs, some of their college hockey prospects are already there
Blackhawks fans can’t help looking toward the future. As much as it would be nice to make the playoffs, most of us know what a playoff roster looks like and it’s debatable whether the Hawks have that right now or not. But as we’ve been saying all season, help should be on the way. There are a handful of Blackhawks prospects that are participating in their conference tournaments right now for a chance to earn a NCAA tournament berth.
Last year was a unique Frozen Four with three Big Ten teams in Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. But this year there are a lot of good teams heading into the tournament that aren’t just from the Big Ten. With traditional powerhouses like North Dakota and Boston University having down seasons, there may be some new faces this year in Buffalo.
Let’s take a look at where the Blackhawks prospects are.
Photo courtesy of PennLive.com
Evan Barratt – Penn State University
Barratt has had an outstanding sophomore season with the high flying Nittany Lions of Penn State. He more that doubled his point total from his freshman year scoring 16 goals and 27 assists this season. Penn State won their first two series of the Big Ten Tournament by defeating Wisconsin in the first round and shocking #1 seed Ohio State. Penn State will face Notre Dame in the conference final this Saturday. Should Penn State lose, they will be on the cusp of the Frozen Four Tournament bubble team as they’re current #16 in the pairwise rankings.
Photo courtesy of cornellsun.com
Beau Starrett – Cornell University
The ECAC was a very competitive conference this season and Cornell finished tied for first with Quinnipiac. Beau Starrett chipped in seven goals and six assists in the regular season, and now can help the Big Red reach the conference finals if they can defeat Brown University this Saturday in the semifinals. The Big Red ended Union’s season last week, the team Blackhawks prospect Parker Foo plays forward for. If Cornell advances to the championship, they will play the winner of the Harvard vs Clarkson game this Friday.
Photo courtesy of goterriers.com
Chad Krys – Boston University
What a wild ride it’s been for the Boston University Terriers this season. After going 16-17-4, the BU has found some life at the end of the year. Winners of four of their last six games, Boston went into UMass-Lowell and won their first round matchup of the Hockey East Tournament. Chad Krys scored four points in the series and has proven to be one of BU’s leaders on the ice and in the locker room. The Terriers will play Northeastern University for the chance to play for the final against either UMass or Boston College. This is probably the best chance BU has at getting into the NCAA Tournament.
Photo courtesy of 929theticket.com
Ryan Shea – Northeastern University
#3 seed Northeastern has had a great year in Hockey East tying for second in the conference with 36 points. Their offense did well, but their defense and goaltending gave up a conference low 73 goals all season. A quiet reason why is Blackhawks prospect Ryan Shea who finished the regular season with 15 points and was a +21. As the #8 team in the nation, it looks like Northeastern will dance in the NCAA tournament even if they don’t win Hockey East.
Photo courtesy of dobberprospects.com
Ian Mitchell – Denver University
After eliminating the University of North Dakota last weekend, Denver enters the Frozen Face-off in St. Paul with a chance to defend their title from last year. Ian Mitchell has been a big leader for the Pioneers this season, a young team that has shown they are capable of beating any team in the NCHC. With 23 points on the season, Mitchell’s game has grown to a new level being more aggressive and owning more responsibility on the ice. Despite only being a sophomore, Mitchell will be showing a lot of younger players how to manage playoff hockey in one of the hardest conferences in the NCAA.