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Chicago Blackhawks: One Career Milestone For Each Player in 2024-25

As the Chicago Blackhawks head into the 2024-25 season, there is a good picture of who we are going to see on the team. Each player is playing to win more than for individual accomplishments, but every player also has an important career milestone that they can reach this season as well.

Joey Anderson

200 hits: Joey Anderson had a career year in 2023-24, but he also got the best opportunity he's had in his career. He played 55 games in the NHL and was great on the defensive side of the puck. Don't expect him to play a ton this season, but he should get close to or reach 200 hits for his limited career thus far. He had 48 hits last season and sits 55 away from the milestone. If he plays, he will be in even more of a checking/defensive role and will throw his larger frame around.

Andreas Athanasiou

500 games: Andreas Athanasiou battled injuries last season after a strong first season with the Blackhawks in 2022-23. He is back to full health and ready to bounce back. He's 30 years old and won't need many games (13) to reach the 500 game mark for his career. It's been an up-and-down career, but he's effective when healthy and that's what the Blackhawks are hoping for.

Connor Bedard

100 points: Connor Bedard is only going into his second season in the NHL, but he lived up to the hype and was the best offensive player on the Blackhawks last season. Albeit there were injuries, other inexperienced players, and a weak team, he is set to lead Chicago offensively once again. Along with a number of other early career milestones, Bedard is set to reach 100 points by just scoring 39. He reached 61 points in 68 games last season, so this should come in the first half of the 2024-25 season for the young star.

Tyler Bertuzzi

300 points: One of the newcomers to the Blackhawks is Tyler Bertuzzi and he is set to hit a few milestones himself. The most important one will be 300 points though. His offense has always been there throughout his relatively young career and he sits just 39 points away. Expect this to come later than Bedard's point milestone as Bertuzzi recorded 43 points in 80 games last season, but he was also able to put up 62 points in 68 games in the 2021-22 season. He will play more than in Toronto last season and have a good opportunity to shine.

T.J. Brodie

1500 blocks: T.J. Brodie has been a great shot-blocker throughout his career which has gotten him to the point of nearly reaching 1500. It is a very impressive milestone to reach and the veteran sits 125 blocks away. He blocked 159 shots last season with the Maple Leafs, will be in a defensive role this season, and has topped 100 blocks in a season seven times.

Laurent Brossoit

150 starts: Laurent Brossoit was signed to give Petr Mrazek some relief and give the Blackhawks a very good secondary option in net. He is going to miss a short time at the beginning of the season, but should still easily be able to reach 150 career starts. The 31-year-old, who should've already been given a chance to start more games in a season, is 32 starts from the milestone.

Brossoit started 22 games behind Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck last season, but Mrazek will be given some rest this season to keep him fresh and healthy all season long. If Brossoit is putting up incredible numbers like he did in each of the past two seasons, he will get lots of starts in Chicago.

Jason Dickinson

500 games: Jason Dickinson stepped up into a much-needed role last season for the Blackhawks and he is set to hit five bigger career milestones. The most important may be 500 career games. He has changed his game and battled his way to more playing time and opportunities and Chicago is lucky to have him. Dickinson needs just 57 games to reach 500 for his career.

Ryan Donato

500 hits: Ryan Donato has been around for a while in the NHL, but doesn't have a ton to show for it. While he could hit 200 points in his career, I think the more important milestone for him this season is 500 hits because of the style of game he plays and the role he is going to play this season for the Blackhawks. Donato is 124 hits away from 500 and recorded over 100 last season. It may take all season, but at the very least he is going to come close in a fourth line checking role.

Nick Foligno

600 points: Nick Foligno has had a long career and he is a great leader who has continued that on a younger Blackhawks team since arriving. While he is known for a gritty style of play and is close to a couple of milestones related to that, he is also nearing 600 career points. He will come close, if not hit that this season as the veteran is 38 points from the mark. He recorded 37 points last season, but is in a lesser role heading into 2024-25.

Taylor Hall

750 points: Taylor Hall is going to be back with a vengeance after missing 72 games last season. He is healthy and ready to do what he has done throughout his entire career, produce points at high speed. Hall is 53 points from 750 in his career and by playing in the top-6 or on the same line as Bedard, that milestone will be easily reached if he remains healthy. Hall topped 60 points just a few seasons ago in Boston.

Seth Jones

1000 hits: Seth Jones does a lot of things for the Blackhawks on the back-end, both offensively and defensively. While he wears the mark of number one defenseman on the team, not only does he lead the defense in scoring, he also hits and blocks a ton of shots. Jones may block more shots than he delivers hits, but he is quickly approaching the 1000 hit mark for his career. He is 82 hits away and every season where he's played at least 70 games since 2016-17, he has hit many more that 82 times.

Kevin Korchinski

100 blocks: Kevin Korchinski didn't have an overly impressive rookie season, but he did fine for the situation he was put in. The sophomore is set to have a little more consistency and will have developed from a season in the NHL. Despite struggling at times in 2023-24, he still got in front of a lot of shots. Korchinski blocked more than a shot per game and he sits just 18 blocks away from 100 already. That shouldn't be a difficult mark to hit.

Philipp Kurashev

100 assists: Philipp Kurashev had a breakout season beside Bedard on the top line last season and his points shot up. That should be a good indication of how this season will go as well as there is a case to keep the young winger on the same line as Bedard. If so, it will be a breeze for Kurashev to hit 100 assists in his career as he's just 25 away.

If not, he is also set to play on the top power-play unit again and will be on the second line. He's going to get a lot of offensive opportunities this season to produce and his confidence has to be higher than ever after 18 goals, 36 assists, and 54 points last season.

Pat Maroon

1500 hits: 36-year-old Pat Maroon has been around a long time and with a lot of different teams, but has now found himself in a depth role with the Blackhawks this season. He may not get into every game, but he should get into most of them as he provides a physical presence and some offense still. His physicality has always been a staple of his game and he is just 12 hits away from 1500 for his career. The veteran should easily reach that mark in just a couple of games.

Alec Martinez

2000 blocks: Like Brodie, Alec Martinez was brought in to be a stable defensive presence that would help keep the shot volume on the goaltenders down. Martinez has blocked over 1800 shots in 14 seasons and just needs 197 more to reach 2000. He shouldn't have a problem doing so if he plays at least 70 games, but he also has only done that once in the past six seasons. His role will be a little reduced from what he's used to, so that might keep him healthier than normal.

Ilya Mikheyev

100 blocks: Ilya Mikheyev has been solid on the penalty kill his entire career and that isn't likely to change this season. The Blackhawks would be smart to continue to utilize him when he thrives. Along with using his speed to be effective at both ends of the ice on the PK, he'll also block some shots. It's not all that impressive for a forward, but he also only needs seven to reach 100. The lowest Mikheyev has recorded in a season has been 13.

Petr Mrazek

10,000 saves: When Mrazek is healthy, he is a very good goalie. That was the case last season for the Blackhawks as he was one of the only bright spots for the team amidst a down season. While he is set to reach a few impressive career milestones, the veteran is very close to recording 10,000 saves. He stopped over 1500 shots last season and is only 46 saves away. He will reach that mark in the first two games.

Connor Murphy

1500 hits: Connor Murphy is a strong defensive presence for the Blackhawks and the team missed him when he was injured for half of last season. No matter what, Murphy is going to defend first, blocking shots and making hits. He is a little closer to 1500 hits than blocks, but both are reachable this season. Whether he is very healthy or not, Murphy is going to be able to record 45 hits and reach 1500 for his career.

Lukas Reichel

100 games: It is a big season for Lukas Reichel after falling short of expectations in 2023-24, but he finished the year strong outside of the NHL. He could be in line for a bigger role this season if his offense transfers over, but regardless, he should get into a grand total of one game to reach 100 for his career.

Craig Smith

1000 games: Craig Smith is set to do something only one other member of the Blackhawks has already, and it's reach 1000 career games. He has had a pretty successful career across five different teams and needs 72 games to reach the mark. He has played at least that many games in two of the past three seasons.

Teuvo Teravainen

500 points: Teuvo Teravainen returned to Chicago after a successful eight seasons spent in Carolina. He returned after becoming a very good offensive and two-way player. All that production has gotten him close to 500 career points as he sits just 41 away. Some projections think Teravainen will play on the top line. He will certainly reach 500 points in his career faster if that's the case, but if not, all he has to do is stay healthy and he will hit the milestone this season.

Alex Vlasic

200 blocks: Alex Vlasic made a great impression last season earning top pairing duties. He isn't noticed because of his offense, but rather his defensive abilities at a young age. The now 23-year-old blocked 143 shots last season and is just 27 off of 200 for his career already. That shouldn't be difficult for him to reach early in the season.

There is a lot to look forward to in Chicago this season as the team is going to be better and every player will hit or come close to multiple milestones in 2024-25.

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