Unsigned by his original draft team. Room to add muscle. Fierce competitor on the forecheck. Fast, energetic NHL level skater. Tireless worker both offensively and defensively. High-level shooter of the puck. If I were to show you this name-less scouting report and describe them as a past or present Icehog, you may answer back with “Brandon Hagel?”. Nope. It’s none other than 2020 5th round pick via Colorado, Ryder Rolston.
Rolston found his way to Chicago in the April, 2021 trade that sent Carl Soderberg to Colorado in exchange for Jason Dickinson and the rights to Rolston. The son of former NHL’er Brian Rolston, Ryder signed with the Blackhawks in March of 2023 after a junior season in which he led Notre Dame in scoring with 20 points.
The first time Hogs fans laid eyes on Rolston was the Icehogs home opener in October of last season. He didn’t appear on the score sheet and only had 1 shot but the one thing that stood out was his skating and work ethic. If given the puck with room up ice he has the speed to beat most AHL defenders on the wing and the strength to force his way inside and create plays at the net front. His edge work is solid and he uses his hands to protect the puck while driving towards the net. If he continues to add more strength you’ll see him finish on more of those plays to the net. Undoubtedly allowing his point-production to jump up from the 19 he chipped in for the Hogs last year. The bulk of his 10 rookie year goals came via his ability to make plays in front of the net:
The under-rated part of Rolston’s game to me is his shot. Deadly on the one timer with the strength to force his way to the middle of the ice, it’s a combo that if developed and paired with a growing frame on Rolston, could push him to a breakout sophomore season. Below is an example of Rolston letting loose his sneaky one-timer:
The majority of his ice-time last season came via the bottom-6 of Rockford’s lineup. With players like Lukas Reichel, Joey Anderson, Michal Teply, David Gust, Luke Philp and Rem Pitlick looking to have moved on from the Icehogs, could we see Rolston in the occasional top-6 role for Rockford? Rolston’s speed and tenacity paired with the play making ability of a Brett Seney, Cole Guttman or Frank Nazar could spell out a deadly duo for Rockford and a kickstart to the development of Rolston, who is looking to build off his 19 point rookie season for Rockford.
At 6’2” , 190 LBs it’s the room to add muscle that has me excited for Rolston coming into his sophomore season. Pair that with the skating ability, energizer bunny-like worth ethic with and without the puck and a sneaky good shot, you start to see the frame of a prospect that could easily slide into ear shot of hopeful Blackhawk fans, who are ready for the fruits of the Davidson rebuild. Rolston, along with players like Jalen Luypen, Samuel Savoie, Marcel Marcel, Ryan Greene and Paul Ludwinski all form a deep group of middle-tier prospects for the Blackhawks. If one or two could breakout this year for Rockford and make a push for the Blackhawks roster, you'd see not only a high-level Icehogs team, but also a jump start to a Blackhawks rebuild thats already working with a wealth of talent.
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