The Blackhawks announced Monday that they will hold their 2016 Prospect Camp from July 10-15 at Johnny's IceHouse West. Roster information and practice times have yet to be determined.
Prospects such as recently-drafted Alex DeBrincat, Gustav Forsling, Ryan Hartman, Tyler Motte, Ville Pokka and Nick Schmaltz figure to headline the group, and there may not be a more important camp over the last half decade than this one.
With the Blackhawks up against the salary cap and the offseason departures of Andrew Shaw and Teuvo Teravainen, there are opportunities up and down the roster for young players to step up in larger roles.
General manager Stan Bowman and head coach Joel Quenneville both acknowledged over the weekend that they will look for solutions to fill out the rest of the lineup from within, first and foremost.
"Part of the thing you have to look at for the future is, you have to give the young players that are in our system that have been waiting patiently, you have to have some spots for them to be able to earn and I think more than ever we're going to have opportunities," Bowman said after Day 1 of the NHL Draft.
Prospect camp will serve as a chance for guys to make a strong first impression.