The Chicago Blackhawks continue to get contributions from their rookies as they lead the Western Conference with Christmas around the corner. The latest examples were Vinnie Hinostroza’s game-winning backhand goal against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night, which put the Hawks ahead for good in a thrilling 6-4 win, and his two-point game against San Jose.

A different rookie has emerged from the pack, though, and it’s winger Ryan Hartman. The 2013 first-round pick has been playing well of late after some bumps early in the season, while some of his peers haven’t done so hot. Here’s more on what’s separated Hartman from the others so far.

Ryan Hartman

Stats: 29 games, 6 goals, 5 assists, 60 SOG, 12:13 ATOI, 51.9 percent 5v5 Corsi

Hartman leads all Blackhawks rookies with 11 points in 29 games. None of the others have more than seven. He’s been playing left wing next to Jonathan Toews lately, and shown signs of some nice chemistry with Marian Hossa.

What stands out about Hartman’s production is that he doesn’t get any help from power play minutes. The 22-year-old has never played with the man advantage this season, playing all but 12 of his 354 minutes at even strength. In that time, he’s been very efficient as a point producer (stats via Corsica Hockey):

Player Goals/60 Assists/60 Points/60 Player Goals/60 Assists/60 Points/60 Anisimov 0.95 1.23 2.18 Panarin 0.7 1.39 2.09 Kane 0.75 1.17 1.92 Hartman 1.08 0.9 1.98 Hossa 1.22 0.41 1.63

None of the other rookies come even close to Hartman’s 1.98 points per 60 5-on-5 minutes. Vinnie Hinostroza (1.32) and Tyler Motte (1.31) are in second and third, while Nick Schmaltz (0.65) was way behind the rest. Most of Hinostroza’s points came in the past two games, though.

Hartman has been the Blackhawks’ best rookie so far, and I don’t think anybody would argue that.

Tyler Motte

Stats: 27 games, 3 goals, 3 assists, 38 SOG, 11:52 ATOI, 43.1 percent 5v5 Corsi

Things have really cooled off for Motte. He was a healthy scratch against St. Louis on Saturday, which was difficult to complain about. The rookie has failed to score in 15 straight games, and his possession numbers have only gotten worse since a middling start to the season.

And while people keep trying to talk up Motte’s defensive game, I don’t see it. The Blackhawks allow 61.4 shot attempts per 60 5-on-5 minutes with Motte on the ice, per Corsica Hockey, which is the worst figure on the team by anyone with at least 175 minutes of playing time in those situations. If you go below that barrier, Andrew Desjardins (63.1 shots/60) is the only one allowing shots at a higher rate.

So the wheels have come off for Motte since the start of the season, and it’s fair to wonder whether he might be deserving of a trip to Rockford at some point. This is when it gets tricky for Chicago given its lack of forward depth.

Vinnie Hinostroza

Stats: 25 games, 3 goals, 4 assists, 31 SOG, 11:18 ATOI, 46.5 percent 5v5 Corsi

Hinostroza has not scored a ton this season, but his goals have been timely. The first two were game-winners, including the goal in St. Louis, and the third was a clutch insurance goal against San Jose. The backhander against the Blues was a good example of Hinostroza’s skill as he kicked a loose puck to his stick and fired a backhand into the open net.

Vinnie Hinostroza with the game-winner. pic.twitter.com/17IgcyxH60 — Satchel Price (@SatchelPrice) December 18, 2016

The problem is that he’s lacked consistency. Hinostroza disappears at times during games, and his overall shot attempt numbers have been underwhelming. He’s also struggled badly at faceoffs, winning just 54 of 143 attempts (37.8 percent) this season. The speed is readily apparent, but it’s not clear he has the tricks to consistently get enough separation to make teams pay.

Gustav Forsling

Stats: 28 games, 1 goal, 3 assists, 33 SOG, 15:08 ATOI, 45.7 percent 5v5 Corsi

We’ve talked about Motte’s problems, so let’s flip over to someone who has been trending in the right direction. Forsling got scratched against the Islanders, but that broke up what’s actually been an encouraging stretch for the 20-year-old.

In seven games this month, Forsling has posted a 50.3 percent 5-on-5 Corsi, which is way up from the low-40s numbers he posted through November. During those seven games, the Blackhawks have outscored opponents, 5-1, with Forsling on the ice.

It’s just a small sample of relative improvement, great goaltending helps, and he hasn’t recorded a point since Nov. 13, but we’re seeing signs that Forsling is growing more comfortable. That’s encouraging given how much hope the Blackhawks seem to have riding on him.

Michal Kempny

Stats: 23 games, 0 goals, 2 assists, 27 SOG, 15:28 ATOI, 54.1 percent 5v5 Corsi

The situation with Kempny has become rather interesting. He was playing pretty well earlier in the season, but then the healthy scratches started coming as Joel Quenneville shook things up. Now Trevor van Riemsdyk is laying claim to minutes on the third pairing, and Kempny is increasingly becoming one of the odd men out.

Part of the problem is that Kempny hasn’t helped himself much lately. Maybe the inconsistent playing time has messed with his rhythm a bit. In his last four appearances, he’s posted a 41.7 percent 5-on-5 Corsi, way down from his numbers before that. As I wrote recently, this is a complicated situation for Coach Q, so it’ll be interesting to see if Kempny can get back out of the doghouse.

And meanwhile ...

Nick Schmaltz

Stats: NHL — 26 games, 1 goal, 3 assists, 16 SOG, 11:53 ATOI, 49.4 percent 5v5 Corsi; AHL — 4 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 13 SOG

Schmaltz recently got demoted to Rockford, where he got off to a quick start with two goals in his first game. He’s added another goal and two assists since then, already outpacing the point production he had in 26 games with the Blackhawks. Schmaltz has a lot of potential, so you can see why the team sent him down to the AHL to play a starring role rather than eat fourth-line minutes next to Jordin Tootoo. Assuming he keeps producing at a high level with the IceHogs, I’d be surprised if he spent the remainder of the year down there.

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