Blackhawks By Design: Goalie

The ultimate tank goalie, Petr Mrazek returns for his second season with the Blackhawks. Mrazek was acquired by Chicago as a cap dump from the Toronto Maple Leafs, who departed with their 2022 first-round draft pick to get rid of Mrazek's $3.8 million cap hit. 

Mrazek has one more season on his current contract, perfect for the Blackhawks competitive window down the road. Last season, Mrazek started 38 games (appeared in 39), finishing with a 10-22-3 record while accumulating a 3.66 goals against average and .894 save percentage. The team found themselves down early in a lot of games with Mrazek in net. 

Entering the season, Mrazek will likely be the starter once again. However, he will share the net, rather than command the net. Mrazek has not played more than 50% of games in a season since his days in Detroit. Ideally, Mrazek plays about 35 games for the Blackhawks and they get to see a lot of the next guy.

Arvid Soderblom

Soderblom saw some time with the Blackhawks at the beginning of last season. However, that was also the same time when the Blackhawks' defense was a metaphorical slice of Swiss cheese. Soderblom started 13 games (appeared in 15), compiling a 2-10-2 record, 3.45 GAA, and .894 save percentage. 

Despite some rough numbers early on, Soderblom got healthy and rebounded in Rockford. Over 33 games with the IceHogs, Soderblom owned a 15-12-5 record with a 2.92 GAA and .905 save percentage. While some might think those numbers aren't that impressive, Soderblom is only in his second professional season in North America and is still 23 years old. He will be 24 when the season opens in October. 

In a perfect world, Soderblom shows a lot of promise in his third professional season with the Blackhawks. He doesn't have to be perfect, or carry this team to a playoff appearance, but growth would be a major plus. Knowing the Hawks might have three good, young goaltenders in the pipeline is exactly what Kyle Davidson wants.

Ideally, Soderblom yanks the starting job away from Mrazek early in the season and never looks back. 

Depth Options

In all sports, health and depth are important factors. The Blackhawks experienced that last season, using four different goalies in games throughout the season. Aside from Mrazek, Stalock, and Soderblom, Jaxson Stauber made appearances in Chicago. 

Entering this season, newly-signed Drew Commesso and Stauber will split duties in Rockford. In the event of an injury to either Mrazek or Soderblom, its fair to expect Stauber gets the first look, since he has NHL experience. The Blackhawks want Commesso to develop and play a lot, so he'll only appear in Chicago if absolutely necessary. Not to say that can't happen, but the top job in Rockford belongs to the Boston University product. 

As training camp nears, the Blackhawks could add another veteran goaltender on a one-year contract. However, the belief is that this group of four will be the group the Blackhawks roll into the season with. If Commesso and Soderblom take developmental steps in 2023-24, then recently-drafted Adam Gajan can take his sweet time developing at the NCAA level. 

What's On Tap Next?

Now that the depth at each group of positions is established, we'll move on to the third-line forwards and second-pair defensemen. Be on the lookout in the coming days to see who will be featured throughout the lineup for the Blackhawks.