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Reports: Former Wild first round pick Nick Leddy signs with Blackhawks

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One of the effects of the great Chicago fire sale of 2010 is that after trading away so many players to help clear salary cap space, Chicago’s system has taken a hit so as to help fill out the Blackhawks roster. Many players who spent major time in the AHL with Rockford will be virtually forced into roles with the Blackhawks next season. Bryan Bickell and Jack Skille among others will be fighting for time on Chicago’s third and fourth lines whereas last year they were fighting for time with the Ice Hogs.

The side effect to this is that Chicago’s depth within the system has taken a major hit and icing a complete team in the AHL with your own prospects to help grow. Enter defenseman Nick Leddy to the equation. Leddy was a 2009 first round pick of the Minnesota Wild who was dealt to Chicago for Cam Barker last season. Leddy was playing his college hockey at the University of Minnesota, but upon being traded by the Wild, one of the reasons given as to why they traded him away was because they weren’t happy with his development with the Golden Gophers. If you’re not familiar with Minnesota, the Gophers are the king of king college hockey programs in the state and obsessed over much the same way college football is obsessed over in Alabama or college basketball is in North Carolina.

Fast forward to today, and reports are surfacing that Leddy has decided to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks and will report to AHL Rockford unless he manages to win a job with the Blackhawks right out of camp. While this story is just a blip on the radar for Blackhawks fans, this is a bombshell in the world of the Gophers. Leddy is just 19 years-old and still filling out in size, so the likelihood of him making it to the NHL right away are slim and besides, it appears the Blackhawks want to help him develop into an NHL-caliber defenseman under their own watch.

As for what Golden Gophers coach Don Lucia would think of this, one can only imagine that he’s not pleased but he’s got bigger problems on his hands with the Gophers not having reached a Frozen Four since Thomas Vanek left school and one of his other players running afoul of the rules of the school and instead of facing up to punishment for it, is leaving Minnesota instead. One organization’s gain is another one’s loss and for college hockey, losing any amount of talent sooner than not hurts. For the Blackhawks, it’s now on their shoulders to ensure Leddy’s development and for their sake, they’d better hope they can do things better than the University of Minnesota apparently can.