Douglas Schwamb’s Blackhawk Up piece picks three IceHogs to watch this season: Nick Lardis, Sacha Boisvert and Marek Vanacker. Lardis, sent down when Connor Bedard returned, has been on Rockford’s top line and already scored after a feed from Gavin Hayes.
Schwamb frames Boisvert as a raw but physical center still finding his NHL role, and Vanacker as a long-term power-forward project adjusting after his big OHL goal season.