The Chicago Blackhawks’ 1st round pick (21st overall) in the 2002 NHL Draft, Babchuk performed well as a rookie last year, adjusting fine to the North American style of hockey after previously playing in the Russian Super League.
Anton scored 22 points (8 goals, 14 assists) during the regular season with Norfolk, and contributed a couple of helpers in the Admirals’ playoff run.
He also earned a mid-season promotion to Chicago, scoring his first NHL point on Jan. 14, 2004 against the Detroit Red Wings.
This season, the 6-foot 5-inch Babchuk has had trouble living up to the lofty expectations he set in 2003-04.
His play has been productive at times for the Admirals, scoring 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) in 36 games, but Anton has not enjoyed the breakout season many people anticipated for him.
From the looks of things, Babchuk is going to really have to turn it on in the second half of this season to be successful in the eyes of the organization.
Babchuk slips a few notches on the Fab50 this season, but we still expect him to contribute greatly to some NHL blue line someday.
