The Chicago Blackhawks prospects took the ice at USG Arena against the St. Louis Blues prospects on Monday night. This was the first of two meetings in the 2026 Prospect Showcase that the two organizations are participating in.
For the Blackhawks, marquee prospects like Sacha Boisvert, Marek Vanacker, AJ Spellacy, Adam Gajan, and Ryan Roobroeck all took part. The leadership group was led by captain Taige Harding and alternate captains Paul Ludwinski and Jake Furlong.
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There were some notable spectators taking in the game. For one, Kyle Davidson, Jeff Blashill, and multiple executives/coaches were on hand to get a glimpse of the future. A handful of players within the organization were also in attendance, including Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov.
The Blackhawks started with as good a top line as they could put out at this event: Sacha Boisvert, centering AJ Spellacy and Ryan Roobroeck. Adam Gajan started in goal.
After the top line created some good chances off the jump, they were forced into a penalty-kill situation. Martin Misiak, however, scored a shorthanded goal to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead.
The Blackhawks continued to march to the penalty box after that, and eventually, one of them caught up with them. In the latter half of the first period, Jakub Stancl scored for the St. Louis Blues to tie the game at 1. That score held through the first intermission.
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It was a physical first period, and that continued into the second. Just about halfway through the middle frame, AJ Spellacy got into a little bit of a skirmish behind the St. Louis net after missing a chance. To his defense came Ashton Cumby, who fought Blues prospect Colin Ralph. He will bring another layer of physical hockey to Rockford this year.
Not long after that, the Blackhawks went to the penalty kill. It led to another Blues power play goal. Shortly (10 seconds) later, they found another to make it 3-1. At that point in the game, the Blues were in a groove.
After two periods, the Blues hung onto that two-goal lead. With under a minute remaining in the middle frame, AJ Spellacy rang one off the pipe after bursting into the offensive zone, but it wouldn’t go in.
In the third period, the ice was a lot more level, but no goals were scored. The final score of 3-1 held in favor of the Blues. It was a physical battle from the opening whistle onward, but the Blackhawks took the bulk of the penalties which put them in trouble.
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One more match between these two groups of prospects will take place at 4 PM on Tuesday evening at USG Arena.
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