9 players to watch as the Rockford IceHogs join camp with the Chicago Blackhawks

With no training camp in Rockford for the IceHogs this season, the Chicago Blackhawks have gathered their largest contingent of skaters ever for their own camp — and everybody is battling it out.

Two players were recently sent down to their junior clubs, leaving 61 on the roster. On Oct. 11, just before the Hawks open the season in Denver, Colorado, on Oct. 13, that roster will have to be trimmed to 23. The Hogs will really come together then — and will have to do so quickly, with their opener in Grand Rapids, Michigan, set for Oct. 15. They have preseason games in Coralville, Iowa, on Oct. 7 and 8 to work out some of the kinks.

With everything closing in fast, here are the top Hogs to watch at Hawks camp, broken down by goalies, forwards and defensemen:

Goalies

There is a slew of goalies at Blackhawks camp right now, led by new addition Marc-Andre Fleury, and returning veteran Malcolm Subban. Arvid Soderblom is also a Swede the Hawks like, and have continued to try and work into the mix.

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Former Hog goalie Kevin Lankinen was the surprise star in net for the Hawks last year, though, and he's not planning on relinquishing his starting role easily. Fleury is going to have to win it.

"I still want to be No. 1, that's my goal," Lankinen said. "I'm a competitor, and I've been competing my whole life. And to compete with a guy like him, who's been through it all, seen it all, he's going to be a good one for me to battle with, and maybe learn something from as well."

Lankinen, who took the shootout loss to the Red Wings in the preseason opener on Wednesday, went 17-14-5 with two shutouts a 3.01 goals-against average last year, with a .909 save percentage. Fleury got the start in Friday's contest, with another former Hogs' goalie, Collin Delia, backing him up.

Delia will need to show a lot this camp if he doesn't want to end up back in Rockford. But Delia racked up a 2.72, a 2.48 and a 2.66 goals-against average in his three full seasons with the Hogs, so they would be glad to have him back.

Cale Morris, a rookie out of Notre Dame who played well when he got his chances in Rockford last year, is another goalie who will get a look in a Hogs' uniform this season. In seven games with the Hogs last year, Morris went 2-3-0 with a 2.52 goals-against average and a . 923 save percentage.

Forwards

Although the Hogs have gone through a bit of a scoring drought of late — they were third to last in the league in goals scored two seasons ago and then fifth from the bottom last season — they do have some scorers coming back this year.

As long as they don't lose more to the Hawks early on.

Rockford has had 99 players called up to the Hawks — Evan Barratt could very well be No. 100. He had five goals and nine assists in 27 games with the Hogs last season, and he finished the season plus-1 — not an easy feat on a team that went 12-19-1.

MacKenzie Entwistle, who was acquired in the Marian Hossa deal back in the 2018 offseason and signed a two-year contract extension in the offseason, is another guy with the potential to either start the season with the Hawks, or get an early call-up. If he's not skating with the Hawks, he will be starring for the Hogs.

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He had a goal and an assist in five games with the Hawks, and he added four goals and eight assists in 22 games with Rockford.

Another winger who made a lot of progress last year during his rookie campaign, and who will be watched closely by the Hawks' brass this preseason, is Andrei Altybarmakian. He had five goals and seven assists in 29 games for the Hogs last season, and the lefty from Russia could get his NHL shot sooner than later.

Defensemen

After two powerful seasons for the Hogs and then splitting time between the AHL and NHL last year, Nicoals Beaudin could be in line for a full-time gig with the Hawks this year. If he doesn't, or if it's delayed, he will be on the ice a lot for the Hogs.

Beaudin, Chicago's first-round draft pick in 2018, had eight assists and a pair of goals in nine games with the Hogs last season, and he added four assists and two goals in 19 games with the Hawks. And he's a force on the defensive side of the ice whenever he's in.

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"There have been a lot of good performances," Hawks head coach Jeremy Colliton, a former Hogs head coach, said of the early portion of camp. "And there's a lot of competing going on. We've got a lot of evaluating to do to see who's going to be on this team.

"And we likely have a good chance of having a good team in Rockford, too, which is important, for the environment of developing players and getting them ready to help us."

Two more defensemen on the fast-track to the NHL are Alec Regula and Isaak Phillips. Regula played three games in the NHL last season, just getting a small taste while scoring four points in 16 games for the Hogs. Phillips had two goals and seven assists in 27 games for Rockford last year, earning Rookie of the Year honors in the process.

They both will most likely start the season in Rockford, but could make the move up at any moment.

Jay Taft: jtaft@rrstar.com; @JayTaft