The NCAA Frozen Four Tournament kicked off this afternoon. The Chicago Blackhawks had 5 prospects in the first round. Landon Slaggert would have made it 6, but Notre Dame had to withdraw due to COVID protocols. Josh Ess, Wyatt Kaiser, Drew Commesso, Alex Vlasic, and Jake Wise are the five others.

So, who are these players and how did they end up in the Blackhawks prospect pool?

Boston University

The Blackhawks prospects remaining in the first round all play for Boston University. BU is doing the heavy lifting when it comes to developing Chicago’s draft picks at the college level - having 3 players this season. Colorado College was second in line having 2 prospects in their lineup. Josiah Slavin signed his entry level deal at the conclusion of their season.

Boston University plays their first game of the tournament on Saturday at 12pm CST against St. Cloud State.

Drew Commesso (Boston University)

Goaltender - 6’2” - 18 years old

Drew Commesso was a 2020 2nd round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks. He’s in his Freshman season at BU and already creating some buzz. He handled the majority of the starts for the Terriers and was named to the Hockey East All Rookie Team. In 10 games, Commesso had a record of 6-2-1 with a .924 sv% and 2.68 GAA.

Before his college hockey career, he put up some impressive numbers with the US Development U18 team. In 27 games, he had a record of 18-7-0 with a .920 sv% and 2.05 GAA.

The Blackhawks don’t draft goaltenders high very often. The most notable 2nd round goalie pick by the Blackhawks was Corey Crawford in 2003. Since then, Commesso is only the second goaltender to be chosen in the first or second round by Chicago. The other was Kent Simpson in 2010. Let’s hope Drew Commesso turns out to be more like the former.

Alex Vlasic (Boston University)

Defense - 6’6’” - 19 years old

Alex Vlasic was a 2019 2nd round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks. 2020-21 is his 2nd year with BU. In 49 games, he’s registered 3 goals and 9 assists. He’s a defensive defenseman who can use his size to his advantage. He spent time on the 1st defensive pairing which is exciting news for his development. It’s reported that he’s a smooth skater. That, combined with his size, makes Alex Vlasic a very interesting prospect.

He’s in his Sophomore season and has a few more years of development before signing his first contract.

Jake Wise (Boston University)

Center - 5’10” - 21 years old

Jake Wise was a 2018 3rd round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks. He’s been with BU for 3 seasons but has only played 49 games recording 2 goals and 14 assists. It’s hard to know what the Blackhawks have with Wise. He’s had terrible injury luck and missed most of the 2020-21 season - playing only 4 games before the tournament.

He’s a junior, so he has another year of college hockey to play. There will be a lot of eyes on him in this tournament and next year before the Blackhawks decide whether to give him a contract or not.

Advanced to Quarterfinal

Wyatt Kaiser (Minnesota Duluth)

Defense - 6’0” - 18 years old

Wyatt Kaiser was the first Blackhawks prospect to advance to the Quarterfinals. But, it was from Michigan having to withdraw due to COVID. UMD’s first game will now be played Saturday at 6:30 pm CST. 

Kaiser was a 2020 3rd round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks. 2020-21 is his freshman year at UMD, but he earned a lot of ice time. According to NBC Sports Chicago, he saw time on the top defensive pairing and on the power play. 

In 26 games, he put up 10 assists and finished the regular season as a +3. There’s only 1 season of college hockey stats to look at, but Kaiser was over a point-per-game playing 3 years of Minnesota high school hockey. He’s often mentioned as a two-way defender, so it’ll be interesting to see how his offensive game develops. 

There are a lot of young defensemen in the Blackhawks system. At 18, he’s got a few more years to play in college if he so chooses. There should be a much clearer picture of how many of those prospects turn into everyday NHL players and stay with Chicago. There could be a spot for him in Chicago or Rockford when he’s ready to turn pro.

Eliminated

Josh Ess (Wisconsin)

Defense - 5’11” - 21 years old

Josh Ess was the first Blackhawks prospect to be eliminated from the tournament due to gameplay. Wisconsin faced Bemidji State Friday afternoon and suffered a 6-3 loss. Ess registered 1 shot on goal and ended the game as a -2. 

Originally a 2017 7th round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, Ess has played the last 4 seasons at the University of Wisconsin. He’s played 135 games registering 11 goals and 21 assists. In the 2020-21 season he notched 2 goals and 5 assists. 

It remains to be seen whether he will get a contract from the Blackhawks or IceHogs. Wyatt Kalynuk was a former teammate of his and has been a really nice addition to the Rockford blue line. So, bringing in Ess out of that same Wisconsin program could be an intriguing option for the club.