Could Henri Jokiharju make the Blackhawks roster out of training camp?

Henri Jokiharju, the Blackhawks’ first-round selection in last year’s draft, may have a chance at a roster spot with Gustav Forsling missing the first part of the season.

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Gustav Forsling is going to miss the start of the season due to a right wrist injury he suffered. He’s expected to be out for 14 weeks after having the surgery today. With him being out for a while, that opens up the door for Henri Jokiharju for potentially getting a roster spot out of training camp.

Jokiharju played for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL this past season and put up some very impressive numbers. He played in 63 games for them and had 12 goals and 71 points in his second season there. He also played for Portland during the 2016-2017 season and had nine goals and 48 points in 71 games. In the WHL playoffs this season, he had three goals and eight points in 12 playoff games.

All of these numbers are very impressive for Jokiharju as he looks to potentially start the season in Chicago. Of the six defensemen currently on the roster, if he made the team, he’d likely replace Erik Gustafsson who’s signed for this season and next season at $1.2M per season. Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy, Jan Rutta and Brandon Manning are all locks to play, especially when they just signed Manning this season to a two-year deal. Gustafsson appeared in 35 games last year for the Blackhawks and had five goals and 16 points. He also played 41 games the season before and had 14 assists.

If Chicago decides not to promote Jokiharju, he’d be sent back to Portland to play in the WHL for another season. He wouldn’t be eligible to be called up to the team if more injuries come up as he’s not on their AHL team. Whatever happens, this training camp battle is going to be very interesting as the Blackhawks don’t have a lot of defensive depth beyond Forsling, especially if they don’t put Jokiharju on the team for opening night.