Ep. 133: Evaluating Blackhawks defensemen prospects with Mark Eaton

On the latest edition of the Hawks Talk Podcast, Blackhawks director of player development Mark Eaton joins the show to evaluate the organization’s top defensemen prospects and where each of them are at in their developments. Which ones could make the NHL jump next season? Pat Boyle and Charlie Roumeliotis offer their takeaways from the Eaton interview and outlook the Blackhawks blue line group as a whole. 1:00 – Eaton on Henri Jokiharju’s development 3:30 – Adam Boqvist’s growth in North America 6:50 – Evaluating Nicolas Beaudin’s progression 8:15 – Surprised about Ian Mitchell’s decision to return to college? 10:55 – Assessing Chad Krys in college and AHL 13:10 – Challenge between stressing defensive side of game but not taking away from who the player is 15:55 – Which defensemen prospects could be in NHL next season? 18:25 – The message Erik Gustafsson’s breakout season sends to prospects 21:15 – Takeaways from Eaton interview 31:25 – Reviewing Blackhawks defensemen contracts 33:35 – Thoughts on Gustav Forsling 35:20 – The challenge for Blackhawks defense this offseason