A look at Blackhawks players who have plenty to play for down the stretch

The last few weeks have been wild for the Blackhawks, with a slew of new faces either joining or rejoining the roster.

The remaining 19 games are an incredible opportunity for this entire group, but especially for prospects who want to prove they can be part of this rebuild for quite a while.

"You've got to make sure if you're a prospect in this organization that you're pushing," coach Luke Richardson said. "There's gonna be some internal competition coming up. So the guys that are here have that head start on it and they have to take advantage of it."

In the next year or so, fierce competition will arrive from the 2022 draft class, which includes defenseman Kevin Korchinski (No. 7 overall), center Frank Nazar (No. 13), D-man Sam Rinzel (No. 25) and others. The Hawks are loaded with top picks in the next three drafts as well.

Here's a look at those on the current roster who must take advantage of the next six weeks:

• Lukas Reichel and Philipp Kurashev

Reichel, the 17th overall pick in 2020, has shown some nice flashes in his seven NHL games this season and should be one of the big faces of the future. It's unknown how long Reichel will stick around as GM Kyle Davidson wants the young forward to play a big part in the Calder Cup playoffs for Rockford.

Kurashev is a different story. The 23-year-old Swiss native impresses at times and makes you wonder why he's not a 20-goal scorer. One eye-opening moment came Monday when Kurashev toe-dragged a puck around a defender and fired home his ninth goal of the season in a win over Ottawa.

It's the kind of high-level play Richardson wants to see more often.

"Kurshy individually just has to get a little bit more fire in his desire in certain things," Richardson said. "He does get a little bit revved ups sometimes, but he needs it a little more consistently. ...

"Like getting it off a little quicker (and being a) more dominant shooter because he can really shoot it. Sometimes he likes to dust it off a little bit, look around."

• Caleb Jones and Ian Mitchell

Both young D-men will be restricted free agents with arbitration rights this summer, so it's imperative they impress. Jones is currently on the first pairing with brother Seth, but he's been a bit too inconsistent during his two seasons in Chicago. Still, he has a high motor, and that goes a long way with Richardson.

Meanwhile, there have been high expectations for Mitchell since he was drafted in the second round in 2017, but he has only played 24 NHL games this season. The next week will be a big one for the 24-year-old because Andreas Englund (hamstring) will not be on the upcoming three-game road trip.

Richardson wants Mitchell to improve his gap at the defensive blue line ("steal the puck and go"), and shoot more on the power play.

"He does have a great shot and we see it a lot in practice," Richardson said. "We just would like to see a little bit more in the games."

• Anders Bjork

The forward recorded 3 primary assists in a span of 8.5 minutes during a 5-0 victory over Ottawa on Monday. These weren't cheap assists, either. The first was a gorgeous give-and-go with Seth Jones; the second a well-placed cross-ice pass to Jones; and the third a high-IQ pass to Jason Dickinson from behind the net.

The 26-year-old Mequon, Wisconsin, native was acquired from Buffalo for future considerations Thursday. A fifth-round pick of Boston in 2014, Bjork was a full-time player for the Bruins and Sabres from 2019-22. This season, however, he played 42 games in the AHL and just one for Buffalo.

"Last season wasn't my best season," said Bjork, whose career highs in goals (9) and assists (10) came in 2019-20. "I was mainly in the bottom of the lineup. ... They had their top nine (forwards) pretty solid and I wasn't in the mix of that, which is a little bit tough mentally. ...

"(GM) Kevin Adams told me, 'Use this time. ... You'll have more time and freedom to develop your game and go through mistakes.' That has helped tons of players in the past and that's the mentality I took. Hopefully it's gonna help me out now with this opportunity."

Bjork, whose cap hit is $1.6 million, will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights in July.

• Cole Guttman

The 23-year-old center continues to get a long look after tearing it up in Rockford. He has 3 goals in 11 games, has won 53% of his faceoffs and is averaging more than 14 minutes of ice time. He's won 32 of his last 51 draws. Guttman is signed through next season.

• Mackenzie Entwistle and Taylor Raddysh

Believe it or not, Entwistle has appeared in the fourth-most games in a Hawks uniform among healthy players at 108. With only 7 goals in the last two seasons, however, his future likely won't extend past 2023-24.

Raddysh is tied for third on the Hawks with 14 goals, but he's been awfully cold of late with just 2 assists in the last 15 games. He's cheap ($758,333 cap hit) and signed through next season, but needs to show more consistency.

• Joey Anderson

Acquired from Toronto in the Jake McCabe/Sam Lafferty deal, Anderson hasn't shown much in five games, although he's in a fourth-line role. If re-signed, he figures to be a depth guy who can be called up from the AHL.

•Andreas Englund

Acquired from Colorado for Jack Johnson, Englund has delivered a few crunching hits during his five appearances. It's the kind of physical play that Richardson loves, so even though Englund is 27 and an impending UFA it would be no surprise to see the Hawks sign the bruising Russian defenseman to a short-term deal.