Blackhawks 2025-26 Report Cards: Bedard, Nazar, & Rest of Young Forwards

Here’s Part 2 of Chicago Hockey Now’s report card grades for the 2025-26 Blackhawks, with eight young forwards up next. Preseason expectations were considered for each player.

Connor Bedard

After a sophomore slump that resulted in plenty of criticism from NHL media members and questions surrounding his “generational talent” label, Connor Bedard turned a corner in 2025-26 by improving every aspect of his game. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick was faster, scrappier, and more well-rounded than ever before, resulting in his first 30-goal and 75-point campaign in the NHL.

Bedard clearly played with a chip on his shoulder in the first two months of the season before a shoulder injury in early December derailed his momentum and forced him to miss 13 games. At the time of his injury, Bedard was among the league’s leading point scorers and was on par with Macklin Celebrini in terms of overall production. It felt like he was robbed of a potential 95-100 point breakout season, as he couldn’t keep the magic going in the second half once he returned.

Part of that was certainly impacted by the drastic dip in Andre Burakovsky’s play over the final three months. Despite Burakovsky’s continuous struggles, head coach Jeff Blashill kept him alongside Bedard on the top line for most of the second half, up until the final 2-3 weeks of the season. Bedard’s other most consistent linemate was rookie Ryan Greene, who had a strong first year, but isn’t a true top-line offensive threat. Even without much help once again, Bedard impressively found a way to make serious strides.

With a notable uptick in his speed, Bedard was also able to impact the game defensively more often, getting in on the forecheck and forcing turnovers at a better rate. Plus, after being arguably the worst faceoff man in the league during his first two seasons, Bedard won 47.1 percent of his draws as a junior. On both ends of the ice, Bedard was a far more complete player than in the past.

Overall, the 2025-26 season could be reflected on in the future as the one where Bedard proved that he’s one of the most talented players in the NHL. While he didn’t finish as well as he started, Bedard still silenced many of his biggest critics and cemented himself as the cornerstone of the rebuild. The most significant part of this season for the Blackhawks was Bedard’s development into near-superstardom.

Grade: A-

Frank Nazar

The start to Frank Nazar’s first full season with the Blackhawks couldn’t have been better, as he recorded a point in seven of the team’s first 10 games and was the leading scorer. Sadly, a lower-body injury on Nov. 7 against the Calgary Flames halted his early mojo, as he never looked to be fully healthy when he returned before getting hurt again on Dec. 20.

Nazar suffered a serious jaw injury that forced him to miss over a month, and he was ice cold in his first eight games back leading into the Olympic break. But once the calendar flipped to March, the 2022 first-round pick found his footing and closed out the year on a high note. Nazar tallied 17 points over his final 22 appearances, including eight of his 15 goals on the season. He also racked up seven multi-point efforts during that stretch.

Despite all the injuries and lack of consistency, Nazar still totaled 41 points in 66 games, good for third on the Blackhawks in production. His 26 assists were also tied for second on the team. Had he avoided getting hurt and played all 82 games, he likely would have reached 20 goals and eclipsed the 50-point plateau. For a 22-year-old with only 56 games of NHL experience coming in, that’s a pretty promising season.

While he wasn’t necessarily a driving factor in the Blackhawks’ success while shorthanded, Nazar was a part of one of the league’s best penalty kills and gained valuable experience for the future. Like Bedard, he also took some steps defensively and improved at the faceoff dot. Nazar won 47.4 percent of his draws in 2025-26, up from 44.6 percent in 2024-25.

It’s still unknown whether Nazar will be a center or a wing in the Blackhawks’ rebuild, but regardless of his position, his development and growth moving forward will be crucial in determining how fast the team becomes a postseason contender again. He managed to overcome adversity and have a stout first full season, but he’ll have higher expectations and must be more consistent in 2026-27.

Grade: B

Oliver Moore

In terms of the analytics, Oliver Moore was one of the best Blackhawks this past season. Among all players on the team to appear in at least 50 games, Moore ranked first in 5v5 expected goals percentage (48.01), first in 5v5 scoring chance percentage (49.06), and second in 5v5 Corsi percentage (47.12), barely trailing Tyler Bertuzzi (47.33) in that category.

While the underlying metrics didn’t necessarily result in top-tier production, with Moore tallying 19 points (5G, 14A) in 51 games, they suggest that he made the most of his limited ice time and was sturdy on both ends. When actually watching Moore, aka the “eye test”, that checked out for the most part. Like most rookies in the NHL, he had a few quiet stretches along the way. But even when he wasn’t impacting the game offensively, his effort never wavered, and he always took his defensive responsibilities seriously.

One other tidbit that should be mentioned when reflecting on Moore’s first season is that he never played in a consistent role during his time up with the Blackhawks. He frequently bounced between lines, and he also played both center and wing for separate stretches. Even though he was moved all around, he still had an encouraging start to his career and proved capable of already playing at the highest level.

Like Nazar, it’s still unknown exactly where Moore fits into the rebuild, both in terms of his future role and position. But regardless of whether it’s at center or wing, or in the top six or bottom six, Moore has the speed and motor to be an effective depth piece for the Blackhawks moving forward. The 2023 No. 19 overall selection had an encouraging first pro season, and it will be fascinating to see how he looks during training camp. He seemed extra motivated to return better than ever in the fall when speaking during his exit interview.

Grade: B

Nick Lardis

Nick Lardis made the jump to pro hockey this season alongside Moore, and the two started the 2025-26 campaign together with the Rockford IceHogs. Lardis hung around in the AHL much longer than Moore did, but he still ended up appearing in 41 games for the Blackhawks after earning his first big-league promotion in December.

Somewhat strangely, Lardis was limited to a fourth-line role for most of his time in the NHL, before apparently doing enough to prove to Blashill that he was ready for a larger opportunity during the home stretch. Finally, the 2023 third-round selection played in a more natural, offensive-minded role over the final 13 games, scoring five goals and adding two assists for seven points during that stretch.

With a tally in the season finale against the San Jose Sharks, Lardis reached double-digits goals as a rookie and ended up finishing ninth on the team in that category. He flashed both his strong shot and ability to find open ice in the offensive zone, which were the primary strengths that led to him being the OHL’s first 70-goal scorer in nearly two decades during the 2024-25 campaign.

Because of the limited role he mostly played for the Blackhawks, the jury is still out on the 20-year-old, as far as what caliber player he’ll become in the NHL. But Lardis showed he has 20-goal upside, and he also fared better than perhaps expected against the physicality at the highest level. While his lack of size will always give him trouble, it didn’t seem to discourage him or prevent him from going to the dirty areas whatsoever. That’s encouraging for a player of his age, who’s best known for his goal-scoring touch.

Grade: B+

Ryan Greene

If someone said back in September that Ryan Greene would finish the 2025-26 season with the second-most games played on the Blackhawks, most fans and/or team media members wouldn’t have believed it at all. And that’s not a knock on Greene whatsoever, it just seemed like a complete long shot during training camp.

After spending three years playing college hockey at Boston University, Greene joined Moore and Lardis in transitioning to the pros for the 2025-26 campaign. But unlike Moore and Lardis, Greene cracked the Blackhawks NHL roster out of camp and never played a single game with the Rockford IceHogs. He ended up appearing in 81 of the team’s 82 games, with his only absence coming via a peculiar healthy scratching in the final game before the Olympic break.

Another statement that no one would have believed in the fall was that Greene would wind up leading all of Chicago’s rookies in scoring, but that’s precisely what occurred. The 2022 second-round draft choice outproduced both 2024 No. 2 overall pick Artyom Levshunov and 2022 first-round selection Sam Rinzel, with the latter getting plenty of Calder Trophy steam entering the season. Greene finished with 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points, which was eighth on the roster in scoring.

Greene spent most of the year alongside Bedard on the top line, and while he might not been an ideal linemate offensively, he held up better in that spot than most would have expected. Compared to Burakovsky, a 12-year NHL veteran with over 700 career games, Greene was the more effective player. Especially during the second half.

With Anton Frondell now on the NHL scene, plus Roman Kantserov’s potential arrival next season, there’s a high likelihood that Greene finds himself in a much different role for the Blackhawks moving forward. He probably fits in as a third or fourth-line player in the long term, as his defensive qualities and attention to detail feel like his best assets at this level. However, it was undoubtedly encouraging to see Greene offer more offensively than initially imagined, and that will help his chances of becoming a well-balanced impact player in the rebuild.

Grade: B+

Landon Slaggert

Although he’s only 23 years old himself, Landon Slaggert feels like somewhat of an old man, considering he’s spent time with the Blackhawks since the end of the 2023-24 season. A 2020 third-round pick, Slaggert has bounced between the AHL and NHL during his first three years professionally. He did so again in 2025-26, but made a career-high 53 appearances with Chicago.

Offensively, Slaggert perhaps didn’t make the strides he or the organization was looking for, recording only one more point (7) than he had in just 33 games the year prior. While offensive production is never what he’ll be best known for, he had plenty of chances to at least become a double-digit point producer for the first time. It was fairly disappointing that he couldn’t convert more often.

Slaggert’s best asset is his skating abiity, as his stout top speed is what led to most of his scoring opportunities this season. For the first time as an NHLer, he started to learn how to finally utilize that to his advantage, as he developed into an improved pressure player on the forecheck. That skill also translated well on the penalty kill, which helped Slaggert carve out a niche role for himself after Jason Dickinson and Nick Foligno were traded at the deadline.

Because there will be more and more young talent attending training camp in the fall, Slaggert is by no means a lock to make the Blackhawks’ 2026-27 opening-night roster. He’s coming off his strongest season yet, but he still has more to prove to secure his spot as a fourth-liner in the rebuild.

Grade: C+

BONUS

Anton Frondell

After an already-chaotic post-draft season, in which he played in Sweden’s top professional league AND led the Swedes to a Gold Medal at the U20 World Junior Championship, Anton Frondell came over to North America and joined the Blackhawks for the final three weeks of the NHL campaign.

The 18-year-old was immediately thrown into a top-six role and looked more than comfortable, serving as arguably the team’s best player following his arrival. Frondell impressively recorded nine points (3G, 6A) in his first 12 NHL contests and also flashed a formidable defensive presence. While Frondell struggled as a center to quickly adapt to Blashill’s system, which isn’t surprising, his brute strength in the dirty areas and desire to impact the game without possessing the puck was notable.

Frondell’s two-way play, booming shot, and high hockey IQ were all evident in his first NHL stint. Aside from Bedard’s individual growth this season, there might not have been a more significant development in the Blackhawks rebuild than Frondell already looking like a legitimate weapon. The Bedard and Frondell combination could become the next incredible 1-2 punch in the Windy City, and that alone will make the 2026-27 season more exciting.

The sample size was admittedly small, but Frondell’s first look with the Blackhawks couldn’t have gone much better.

Grade: A

Sacha Boisvert

Joining Frondell in signing an entry-level contract with the Blackhawks late in the regular season was fellow former first-round pick Sacha Boisvert. The 2024 No. 18 overall selection had a disappointing sophomore year of college hockey with Boston University, but the organization still deemed it was best for him to transition to the pro level at 19 years old.

Boisvert mostly played as the team’s fourth-line center in his first seven NHL appearances and didn’t get much of a chance to prove himself. However, he got his first big-league goal out of the way, which proved to be a game-winner, and also recorded his first official scrap in his second game against the New York Rangers. While Blashill kept the training wheels on by limiting Boisvert’s minutes, he at least got a taste of the highest level and can now better understand what he must improve upon during offseason training this summer.

After playing in the USHL during his draft year, Boisvert was always likely to play two or more years of college hockey before turning pro. But had he made that decision after the 2024-25 season, where he was one of the best freshman in college hockey, the feeling around his upside would feel much different than it currently does.

At 18 years old, Boisvert tallied 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points in 37 games with North Dakota. After the season had ended, it felt like Boisvert had the chance to be a legitimate top-six forward in the Blackhawks rebuild. But after scoring only 3 goals and totaling just 17 points in 26 games during 2025-26, not to mention a few off-ice issues, he doesn’t quite have the same luster.

Being so young, the truth is that Boisvert’s future role in Chicago is still very much to be determined. Without elite speed in his arsenal, a third-line player seems more likely than somewhere in the top six, but he just turned 20 this past March. There’s still plenty of runway for Boisvert, but the 2026-27 season will be crucial for his development.

Grade: C

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