FEATURE: 2018 prospects tournament primer

The Chicago Blackhawks will be sending a group of their young players to participate in the 2018 Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Mich. From September 7-11. They'll skate against prospects from the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, and New York Rangers.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of the tournament.

SCHEDULE

All times listed are local time in Traverse City.
Friday, Sept. 7
9:30 a.m. - Morning Skate
4 p.m. - Chicago vs. Columbus (West Rink)
Saturday, Sept. 8
8:30 a.m. - Morning Skate
3 p.m. - Carolina vs. Chicago (Davids Rink)
Sunday, Sept. 9
9:30 a.m. - Practice
Monday, Sept. 10
11:30 a.m. - Morning Skate
7:30 p.m. - Chicago vs. St. Louis (West Rink)
Tuesday, Sept. 11
TBD - Practice
3 p.m. - 7th Place Game (Davids Rink)
3:30 p.m. - 5th Place Game (West Rink)
6:30 p.m. - 3rd Place Game (Davids Rink)
7 p.m. - Championship Game (West Rink)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Click HEREto view the whole roster.
The Defensemen:
Most of the eyes will be on the defensemen for the Chicago Blackhawks at this year's tournament. The group is headlined by 2018 first-round picks Adam Boqvist and Nicolas Beaudin, as well as 2017 first-rounder Henri Jokiharju.
For Jokiharju, this is his next step to competing for a roster spot with the Blackhawks. How does he look against fellow prospects? How does he look physically after his off-ice offseason work was applauded by SVP/General Manager Stan Bowman at Development Camp?
Jokiharju could build some momentum heading into main camp with a solid performance in Traverse City.

Boqvist impressed at Development Camp earlier this summer and even had some of those in attendance talking about how he stood out from a pure talent perspective. The eighth-overall selection in June, who is often times compared to Erik Karlsson with his style of play, is undoubtedly a player to focus on. He's offensively dynamic and those skills could show up in this tournament.
Beaudin was taken 27th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft and also brings a tantalizing skill set to the table. Bowman described him as having really good instincts and as "polished" and "smooth." Will he continue to show growth playing with and against his peers?
2015 third-round pick Dennis Gilbert is also interesting, having left the University of Notre Dame to turn pro heading into this season. He stood out at Development Camp earlier this summer.
The Veteran Group
Dylan Sikura, Blake Hillman and Victor Ejdsell are among the group of young prospects who got just a small taste of NHL action last season.
The 2014 sixth-round pick has left college for the pros and a promising forward prospect. Scoring more than 20 goals in each of his last two seasons at Northeastern, the skilled forward has thrust himself into the Blackhawks big picture of who may contribute this season. He played five games at the end of last season with Chicago, recording three assists.

Hillman is another sixth-round pick (2016) who has left college for the professional ranks. Following a three-year career at the University of Denver, the defenseman played in four games in 2017-18 for the Blackhawks, scoring one goal.
Victor Ejdsell really stepped up and found his offensive game in the playoffs for Rockford. With the IceHogs, Ejdsell scored seven goals and added five assists in 13 games. The 23-year-old forward was acquired in a trade with Nashville. He has great size (6'5'', 195 lbs) and has a chance to make an impact in Chicago once he transitions more to the North American game.
The New Guys
There are a handful of new faces who are not draft picks on this Blackhawks roster. A few of note are MacKenzie Entwistle, Dominik Kahun and Jacob Nilsson.
Entwistle was a part of the Marian Hossa trade with Arizona on July 12. Although he went in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft, there were some analysts who thought he could have gone even higher. The Hamilton Bulldogs winger is a big kid with good skill. He scored 13 goals and added 25 assists in 49 games last season. He also stepped up with 10 goals in the postseason, helping Hamilton win the OHL Championship. He showed well at Development Camp despite having just been traded and having just participated in a long hockey season and Arizona's camp.
Kahun, who we wrote about earlier this week, is an intriguing prospect with a lot of skill that could eventually be complementary to what the Blackhawks currently have. The Czech-born, German player is an Olympian and won the scoring title in his elite junior league a few years ago. Can he transition to the NHL game and smaller rink? These are questions he'll have to answer as he competes against fellow prospects.
Nilsson is another Blackhawks offseason signing. The organization had a good scouting report on the forward from Rockford Head Coach Jeremy Colliton, who coached Nilsson with Mora IK in the Allsvenskan league in 2015-16 and 2016-17. In the latter season, Nilsson scored 20 goals and added 22 assists. He finished eighth in the league in scoring. (Fun fact: Ejdsell was the league leader with 57 points that season for BIK Karlskoga.)