Breaking down the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators trade this week
On Wednesday, the Chicago Blackhawks traded young forward Ryder Rolston to the Nashville Predators for future considerations, technically nothing.
This trade isn't terrible, as the Blackhawks have a prospect surplus and Rolston didn't have much of a future here except continuing to play on the Rockford Icehogs.
But trading him to the Nashville Predators, who the fans hate, and is a division rival, probably wasn't the best team option.
Rolston is 23 years old and is an American native. He was selected in the 5th round in the 2020 draft by the Colorado Avalanche. Ryder didn't last very long in Colorado, and was traded to Chicago in 2021 for Carl Soderberg.
Ryder in his first year of college play in the 2020-21 season at the University of Notre Dame only had six points in 28 games. But, in 2021-22, Rolston saw a 21-point increase as he tallied 27 with ten goals in 38 games.
Then, in the 2022-23 campaign, his last year at Notre Dame, he had 20 points in 27 games.
The 2023-24 season was his first year in the AHL, and he did pretty well down in Rockford. Rolston tallied ten goals and nine assists, adding up to 19 points in 62 games. This year on the Icehogs, he had one point and only participated in six games.
Ryder will continue his hockey career with the Milwaukee Admirals, which is the AHL affiliate of the Predators. We'll see if Nashville finds any room for him in the near future, as they desperately need to shake things up to improve performance.
It's unfortunate things didn't work out with Rolston, because when the Blackhawks traded for him, the trade had some hope mixed along with it, especially after the second season he had at Notre Dame.
Hopefully Ryder picks up and flourishes in Nashville.
