2011-12: Roy Radke played for the U16 team at Culver Military Academy in Indiana as a freshman. He was selected by Barrie in the 12th round (243rd overall) in the 2012 OHL Priority Draft.
2012-13: Radke returned to Culver for his second season with the school’s U16 team. Radke was selected by Indiana in the eighth round (106th overall) in the 2013 USHL Entry Draft. He attended the USA Hockey Central District 17 Camp.
2013-14: Radke went from Culver to Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minnesota — skating for the school’s prep team as an 11th grader. In 49 games he scored 19 goals with 21 assists and 46 penalty minutes.
2014-15: Radke left Shattuck to skate for the Barrie Colts in the OHL. In 64 regular season games he scored 9 goals with 9 assists and was -5 with 29 penalty minutes. The Colts finished first in the Central Division and reached the second round in the playoffs. Radke scored 4 goals and was +4 with 2 penalty minutes in nine playoff games. A Chicago native, Radke was ranked 104th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final ratings and was selected by the Blackhawks in the sixth round (164th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Radke is a raw talent and a long-term project for the Blackhawks. A native of Illinois, he is the latest of several local products that Chicago has drafted or signed in recent years. His size and shot are his biggest attributes. He is still developing in terms of his skating, stickhandling and tactical play. The pieces are there that suggest Radke can be a successful NHL forward one day if he can put all of the elements together in a complete package.
Radke is in his second OHL season with the Barrie Colts in 2015-16. After playing in a lower line role in his first season, he will look to take on a larger role for the Colts and contribute offensively. As with many late-round picks, Radke's NHL future is not a certainty. His size and work ethic project him as a lower line, two-way forward if he reaches that level.
In just one year, the Chicago Blackhawks have seen the top end of the prospect pool experience a transition period. Since last spring’s Top 20, the Blackhawks’ top prospect, Teuvo Teravainen, and defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk are now both full-time members of the club, while two skaters, Stephen Johns and Michael Paliotta, were sent out in trades. Furthermore, Philip Danault and Marko Dano, who were featured in the Blackhawks’ Fall Top 20 for the 2015–16 season, were sent out at the trade deadline, and surefire Calder Trophy finalist Artemi Panarin has graduated.
If it weren’t for the selections made in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, the Chicago Blackhawks would have only one prospect skating at the junior level. In fact, four of their seven selections from this past summer’s draft are currently playing in either the WHL, OHL, or USHL. The Blackhawks typically shy away from drafting players from the CHL, but the 2015 draft saw the organization take a different approach when selecting talent for the future.
The months leading up to the 2015-16 season saw the Chicago Blackhawks shuffle several players. In terms of prospects, the Blackhawks sent out Stephen Johns, Michael Paliotta, Alex Broadhurst, and Joakim Nordstrom in a variety of trades. Futhermore, Matt Carey, Drew LeBlanc, and Mac Carruth were not extended qualifying offers with the team, though Carruth signed an AHL deal with the Blackhawks’ minor league affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Defenseman Sam Jardine signed a contract with the IceHogs as well, hoping he can use this opportunity to earn an NHL-contract with Chicago in the foreseeable future.