The Chicago Blackhawks have traded forward Ryder Rolston to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations.
The move comes after Rolston only played six games this season with the Blackhawks’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, scoring one goal. Last season, in his first professional season with Rockford, Rolston scored 10 goals and added nine assists for 19 points in 62 regular-season games.
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The 23-year-old Rolston was chosen in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche, then was traded with Josh Dickinson to Chicago in April 2021 as part of the Carl Soderberg trade.
After being drafted in 2020, Rolston enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, where in three seasons with the Fighting Irish, he scored 18 goals and added 35 assists for 53 points and 59 penalty minutes in 93 games. After finishing his third season with Notre Dame, Rolston signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Blackhawks.
Before enrolling at Notre Dame, Rolston spent parts of three seasons in the United States Hockey League (USHL), including time with the U.S. National Team Development Program. His best season came in 2019-20 with the Waterloo Black Hawks, where he scored 16 goals and added 17 assists for 33 points in 42 games, leading to him being drafted by the Avalanche later that spring.
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Going into the Nov. 27 slate of games, the Blackhawks are dead last in the NHL with a 7-12-2 record and 16 points. Forward Connor Bedard leads the team with 15 points, but his season has been relatively disappointing, with just three goals through the first quarter of the campaign. Depth forward Ryan Donato has surprised fans with strong production, with a team-leading eight goals, and defenseman Seth Jones has 10 points in 17 games.
