The Chicago Blackhawks have signed four players this Monday morning, announcing deal for Dominik Kahun, Lucas Carlsson, Darren Raddysh and Kevin Lankinen. Carlsson has signed a three-year entry-level deal, while the other three have inked two-year entry-level contracts.
Kahun, 22, is coming off a huge season in which he won his third consecutive DEL championship and represented Germany in both the Olympic Games and World Championship. Germany was able to shock many with their surprise silver medal performance at the Olympics, and Kahun was a large part scoring five points in seven games. The young forward can compete at both ends of the rink, and could vie for a spot on the Blackhawks in short order.
Carlsson and Raddysh might not be quite as close, but will provide more depth and skill to the Chicago defense pipeline. The 20-year old Carlsson was a fourth-round pick in 2016, and played this season in the SHL. Raddysh went undrafted, but signed an AHL deal with Chicago after his huge 2016-17 campaign in junior. Playing for the Rockford IceHogs this season, he recorded 22 points in 66 games and showed that he may have some late development coming in the defensive zone. An offense force in the OHL, he’ll try to prove he can play a two-way game at the professional level.
Lankinen, 23, has performed well in the Finnish Liiga for several years but never been given much of a chance to be the number one starter. That changed in the playoffs this season for HIFK when he posted a .936 save percentage in 13 postseason contests. Chicago has struggled with goaltending depth the last few years when faced with injury, something that Lankinen could help to address if he proves he can keep up his high level of play in North America.