The Chicago Blackhawks will have a handful of players represent their countries at the 2025 World Championships. This tournament is far from best-on-best, but it is loaded with good players who play at a high level.
USA Hockey will have a couple of Blackhawks on the team as Frank Nazar and Alex Vlasic will represent the red, white, and blue. Vlasic confirmed that he would play at Worlds during exit interviews, while Nazar took some time to decide.
Both of these guys were with the Chicago Blackhawks for a significant portion of the season. Vlasic was there from the beginning, and Nazar was afforded some more development in Rockford to begin the year before coming to the NHL full-time.
On defense, Vlasic is a wonderful defensive defenseman who has another level to get to offensively. He'll never be a top-flight offensive player due to his commitment in his own end but he still brings a high-end two-way game.
As for Nazar, he is a speedy forward who creates using his speed, tenacity, and hockey IQ. It doesn't matter if it's at wing or center, Nazar gets the job done. His motor might be the best on the Blackhawks.
Every time Nazar scores a goal, he goes right into celebration. He cares deeply about winning and being the best player he can be. It shows on every shift.
All of Nazar's skills make him a good player at even strength and on the power play, but his secret ability is his work on the penalty kill. Team USA is sure to use all this to their advantage in games.
Nazar and Vlasic will have some elite NHL teammates. Clayton Keller of the Utah Hockey Club, Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres, and Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins are a few examples. We will see how this tournament affects the selections made for the 2026 Olympics in Italy.
Team USA and the rest of the hockey countries will kick off on May 9th in Sweden and Denmark, which will act as co-host countries.
