Blackhawks Development Camp Notebook: Vanacker, Spellacy, Boisvert, Byram, More

The Chicago Blackhawks‘ 2026 Development Camp is in the books. 12 forward prospects, five defensemen and two goaltenders gathered in Chicago to bond, participate in on-ice and off-ice activities, and walk away with a development plan for their future. It was a busy week of camp, with the start of free agency coinciding as well. General manager Kyle Davidson extended defenseman Bowen Byram to a long-term deal, plus acquired some depth in veteran forward Cole Smith and defenseman Ian Cole. We also heard from those prospects most likely to go pro next season.

Let’s empty out the notebook with highlights from camp, as well as a few other interesting takeaways from the week.

Prospects Most Likely to Play for IceHogs/Blackhawks in 2026-27

Day 1 of camp was all about meeting the 2026 draft class. Xavier Villeneuve, Ryan Roobroeck, Samu Alalauri and William Sorbrand all made good first impressions and seemed super happy to be in Chicago.

The theme for Day 2 was checking in on the 2025 draft class. Among others, we learned about Vaclav Nestrasil’s hunger for scoring goals, Mason West’s super eventful transition from football to hockey and Parker Holmes’ successful campaign with the Brantford Bulldogs.

Day 3 was a tad bit overshadowed by the first day of free agency. But we were able to catch up with some members of the Blackhawks’ 2024 draft class, three of which could very well turn pro this upcoming season. At the most, that could mean cracking the Blackhawk’s lineup as a dark horse out of training camp. But the most likely scenario is they will have the opportunity to make a big impact as members of the Rockford IceHogs.

Marek Vanacker

Marek Vanacker had a big 2025-26 season with the Brantford Bulldogs, potting 47 goals and 82 points in 60 regular season games, along with eight goals and 18 points in 15 playoff contests. The 20-year-old’s 47 tallies led the OHL.

Blackhawks’ Assistant General Manager of Player Development Mark Eaton was extremely complementary of Vanacker when asked about him at camp.

Marek, I thought he had a great year last year. A lot of times young players learning the type of player that they are, it takes a little while. But Marek knows exactly the type of player he is, kind of that bulldog mentality. He goes to the hard areas, scores a majority of his goals right around the net front. And that’s not going to change regardless of the level that he’s at. So again, it’s going to be harder to get to those areas as you progress through the pro ranks, so just continuing to add the power and the strength of his game. Which will add a little pep to his stride as well, to get to those areas just a half second quicker is what makes all the difference at the next level.

The 6-foot-1, 187-pound left winger describes himself as a big power forward with a 200-foot game. He touts his ability to score, but also his tenaciousness on the ice. I told him Eaton’s description of him reminded me of Tyler Bertuzzi, another forward who’s relentless at hounding the puck and finding his way to the net to score goals. Vanacker liked the comparison.

Bertuzzi, he’s a hell of a player, works extremely hard. He’s got a knack around the net too. So, yeah, I’ll continue to work on that through the offseason, and that’ll be a big part of my game, is getting to the dirty areas and burying dirty goals.

Nick Lardis, drafted by the Blackhawks in 2023, is an old teammate of Vanacker’s from the Bulldogs. Lardis suited up for 41 games in Chicago last season, but he also but in his time (35 games) with the IceHogs. Vanacker acknowledged he could follow a similar path.

Yeah, I talked to him (Lardis) a little bit. He was kind of just telling me to go out there and play your game, play how you know you’ve been playing. So I think coming out of training camp that’s the goal, is to try to make the Blackhawks. But if not, and I go to Rockford, it’s kind of just the beginning, so you just gotta do what Lardy did, go there, play my game, and hopefully get a call up.

Whether Vanacker is in Rockford or Chicago next season, he should be a fun player to watch.

AJ Spellacy

Unlike Vanacker, AJ Spellacy isn’t exactly known for his goal-scoring prowess. Instead, his strengths include physicality and just generally being hard to play against. Nevertheless, he has a bit of a sneaky offensive side to him. Last season with the OHL Windsor Spitfires, Spellacy notched 13 goals and 31 points in 51 regular season games, along with three goals and eight points in 13 playoff contests.

People don’t really expect me to create offense all the time, said Spellacy. But I think that’s something that I continue to improve on. And with my speed, I think I can create a lot of offense, but when I’m not creating offense, I think that defense style and playing hard, I think that’s where my game really takes off.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound forward also prides himself on his abilities on the penalty kill. He feels this could be an asset to whatever team he ends up on out of training camp, whether it be the Blackhawks or the IceHogs.

Special teams wins and loses you the game, so obviously when you have a couple really good penalty killers, you can break the other team down, not letting them get in the zone. I think that’s huge for the penalty kill, and obviously last year I think was one of my biggest strengths for our team, and I was able to help a lot in the playoffs, and just throughout the year for Windsor.

Spellacy got a long look at training camp two years ago, and is carries a lot of experience and confidence with him now in his third development camp. Per Eaton, “He’s grounded, he’s focused on this week, and then when training camp gets here, he’ll be ramped up, ready to go. But yeah, just another year of experience and maturity will serve him well.”

Sacha Boisvert

Finally, we get to Sacha Boisvert. He has the highest pedigree of the three, being drafted 18^th overall versus 27^th for Vanacker and 72^nd for Spellacy. The Trois Rivieres, PQ native boasted 18 goals and 32 points (in 37 games) with the University of North Dakota in the 2024-25 season. But his 2025-26 season with Boston University was mired with controversy and injury issues. He only played in 27 games, registering three goals and 17 points.

But where Boisvert has the advantage is that he joined the Blackhawks for seven games at the end of last season. He lined up mostly on the fourth line and contributed one goal and two points. He feels his short NHL stint will only help him get to the next step.

It definitely helps my confidence and everything, but also just seeing the pros with the lifestyle they live. They get prepared and everything, just getting can see that day in, day out. Being up here it was awesome, and kind of changed my mentality on everything, and then gives me some momentum moving forward in the summer.

Another stride Boisvert has taken is bulking up. The 6-foot-2 center revealed he was between 190 and 195 pounds at the end of last season, but now he’s “staying at probably 205 going up”. That’s a 10 to 15 pound weight gain in a very short amount of time.

All three of these prospects will be ones to watch this upcoming season. Even if all of them end up with the IceHogs out of training camp, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them with the Blackhawks at some point.

Coach Nightingale on 1^st Year With IceHogs, Korchinski

While we’re on the subject of the IceHogs, their head coach Jared Nightingale was at development camp, overseeing the proceedings. Last season was his first year behind the bench in Rockford, and he gave some insight into his experience.

It was great experience. I learned a lot. I’m a work in progress, along with these prospects. But I’m really thankful. I think we were spoiled with the communication with Chicago and Rockford. Obviously standings-wise we weren’t happy with wins and losses. But in all reality I was really proud of the players that did get the call up (to the NHL) and have an impact. And we’re looking to improve, just like these prospects, and take a step this year.

The IceHogs had a tough time of it last season. Players such as Lardis, Oliver Moore and D-man Sam Rinzel were called up to the big club just when the team was finding some success. They also dealt with a plethora of injuries.

But Nightingale understands that’s the way it works at the AHL level. Your job is really more about development than it is to win. He did give some positive insight on young defenseman Kevin Korchinski.  

I thought Korch had a really good start to the year. You know, it takes a while. What I love about Korch is he’s just an unbelievable human, wants to get better. It was tough, he was up and down a few times there. And then stretches when we were quite thin. We asked a lot of Korch. But he always, you never questioned his attitude and effort. He’s somebody that we’re not giving up on, he’s a joy to work with.

Korchinski received a qualifying offer from the Blackhawks, which usually means a contract in imminent. But the organization also recently added blueliners Byram and Cole to the roster, leaving Korchinski’s place in the lineup unclear.

The young blueliner would have to clear waivers next season, so it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Byram Shows Respect for Niklas Hjalmarsson, Will Wear No. 24

One final note from this week. Newly acquired defenseman Byram got married over weekend in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. But instead of heading out on a honeymoon, he and his new wife came to Chicago in search of a place to live. Byram was able to get in some skating sessions with defensive teammates Alex Vlasic and Artyom Levshunov, who are training in Chicago for the summer. During these sessions, the number 24 was reflected on his helmet. Byram has worn No. 4 previously, so it wouldn’t have been a surprise if he chose that number.

But it seems that will not be the case. When he met with the media on Wednesday (Jun. 1), Byram was asked if No. 24 would be his number with the Blackhawks.

I just felt coming here, nobody told me or said don’t wear a number, don’t wear this number, that number. But I think everyone in the hockey world has a lot of respect for some players on their team, and what they did. There’s a select number of guys that won three cups in a short amount of time.

So I just wanted to make sure that, I don’t think I was stepping on anyone’s toes, but I want to wear No. 24, so that’s what I’m gonna wear. I think Hjalmarsson wore No. 4 in the past, and I want to make sure that was his. I have a lot of respect for him.

Well there you have it. Niklas Hjalmarsson is revered in the Blackhawks’ world, and the hockey world in general, for being one of the best defensive defensemen in the game. He was obviously an integral part of the Blackhawks winning three Stanley Cup championships, and he is a celebrated member of this elite club. It goes without saying Byram is off to a good start to his tenure in Chicago with his respect for Hjalmarsson.  

It’s been a busy week for the Blackhawks, with another development camp in the books and some additions in free agency. The dog days of the summer are upon us. But now we have a better picture of the 2026-27 roster moving forward. We’ll have roster projections and thoughts on forward lines and defensive pairings coming soon. Plus, we’ll finish our goaltender player grades from the 2025-26 campaign.

Keep it here at The Hockey Writers for more offseason analysis, news and notes!