Jack Pridham makes final Blackhawks decision before NHL Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Chicago Blackhawks and Jack Pridham weren’t meant to be.
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The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler reported that Pridham won’t be signing with the Blackhawks by the June 1 deadline.
That means he won’t join Chicago’s organization. Instead, he’ll be eligible to be drafted again.
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Pridham may only be a mid-round talent, but it’s still not the kind of thing the Blackhawks would’ve wanted.
They originally took him No. 92 in the 2024 NHL Draft, part of the third round.
At the time, he was playing in the BCHL for the West Leowna Warriors.
He has since played two seasons for the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL. This year, he had 46 goals and 44 assists in 65 games for a total of 90 points.
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The 20-year old right wing is 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds with a righty shot, and he’s got legitimate potential.
It appears Pridham saw where he’d sit in the Blackhawks’ prospect pecking order and chose a different path.
He decommitted from Boston University, which allowed him to return to the OHL to keep playing for Kitchener and opened up this path.
Not every team signs every player they draft, but Chicago seemed to get it right that Pridham would keep improving as he moved through the ranks. It’s a bummer that the Blackhawks don’t close the deal here.
