The Chicago Blackhawks are loaded with great prospects. Some of them are the “stars” you know, like Anton Frondell, Sam Rinzel, and Artyom Levshunov, but there are others who hope to be depth NHL pieces one day.
One of those is AJ Spellacy, an American-born forward who Chicago selected in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft. He is currently slated to resume his OHL career with the Windsor Spitfires this fall.
This week, Spellacy has been attending the World Junior Summer Showcase as a member of Team USA. They brought enough players to dress two teams (Team White & Team Blue), which shows how deep this country is in terms of hockey development.
On Wednesday, however, they combined the two teams with their best players to go up against Team Sweden. AJ Spellacy earned an opportunity to play with the big boys in the lineup.
Spellacy played as the fourth line center. Will Horcoff of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Shane Vansaghi of the Philadelphia Flyers were his wingers. It was a big-bodied line that was hard to play against.
AJ Spellacy didn’t record a point in the Team USA loss, but his physicality was noticeable. He isn’t a guy who will always impress with his puck handling or goal scoring, but he is hard to play against, which could make him a typical fourth-line forward at the highest level. Spellacy never avoids contact with opponents, and he doesn't let anyone get away with getting too close to him.
It seems, based on his role at this camp, that Spellacy has a shot to make the World Juniors squad when the time comes during the winter. USA Hockey will see much turnover this year as a lot of players who won back-to-back Gold Medals have moved on to pro hockey, which opens the door for guys like Spellacy.
It isn’t only USA Hockey that has confidence in Spellacy at this time. He was outstanding with the Blackhawks in the preseason last year, and they eventually signed him in the middle of the season. It’s unlikely that he plays in the NHL before 2026-27, but the Blackhawks saw him as worthy of a deal. Now, everyone is catching on to how impactful he can be.
