The Chicago Blackhawks didn’t have a winning season in 2024-25. They came in expecting to be much better but they failed to come out of the league’s basement. For a consecutive year, Chicago finished with the second worst record.
In the early stages of the season, the Blackhawks had an older roster that was lethargic on the ice. Players like Taylor Hall and Seth Jones clearly weren’t enjoying their position on a team going nowhere.
By the season's end, most veterans were shipped out or regular healthy scratches in favor of youth. Despite the lack of wins, they became much more exciting.
There were a handful of players on the team who exceeded expectations placed on them before the season began. These three, in particular, were so good that even the most positive observer couldn’t predict the success that they had.
Ryan Donato
Ryan Donato has always been a solid NHL player. However, he knew that he could reach another level. He spent the entire summer of 2024 working on his skating, which led to him having a career year.
Donato scored 31 goals and had 31 assists for 62 points in 80 games. Connor Bedard was the only player with more points, and nobody had more goals.
Donato only scored five of those 31 goals on the power play, which tells the story of a player who did a great job playing at even strength. He plays the game correctly, and it has finally paid off for him.
Donato’s contract is set to expire on July 1st. Unless the Blackhawks extend him before that, he will be free to sign with any team in the NHL. They decided not to trade him at the deadline, so both sides would be wise to make a deal.
For Donato, he’d get to stay where he had the most success so far in his NHL career. The Blackhawks would be keeping a good veteran to surround the young talent looking to take a step.
Alex Vlasic
It was always expected that Alex Vlasic would become a contributor to this team. However, Vlasic, being their number one defenseman, was not on anyone’s radar coming into the year. He was fantastic in all situations.
Is Vlasic going to be the number one going forward? It’s hard to say with studs like Artyom Levshunov and Sam Rinzel in the mix. However, he showed that he is a valuable piece to this team, especially on the defensive side of the puck.
Vlasic has a ceiling offensively, but he did have four goals and 26 assists for 30 points in 82 games on a losing team. Whether it’s at even strength or on the man advantage, Vlasic has the tools to contribute.
Next year, Vlasic won’t come in wondering if he can stick around. He will come in looking to help lead this team to significantly more wins.
Ilya Mikheyev
Ilya Mikheyev has been a speedy winger who can bring some jam offensively throughout his career. He is a lock for double-digit goal totals, and his career high was 21 in 2021-22. Reaching the 20-goal mark again felt unrealistic for him coming in.
Mikheyev was not expected to be a key contributor in 2024-25, but that’s exactly what he was. Mikheyev is arguably the fastest player on the Blackhawks, and his speed was on full display every night. He shockingly reached that 20-goal plateau and added 14 assists for 34 points in 80 games.
Those aren’t star numbers or anything like that, but he was a solid contributor in the middle six and on the penalty kill. It's impressive that he scored 20 goals with 0 on the power play. Three of them were shorthanded, and 17 were at even strength.
At 30 years old, Mikheyev earned himself another look in 2025-26 despite the team looking to get even younger. His speed and skill will help everyone in all situations in the future.
For being the 31st-place team, there were some pleasant surprises. If these guys can do it again next season, the team should take steps in the win column.
