John Mustard’s sophomore season at Providence has been a noticeable step forward. He already has 12 points through 16 games, and is on his way to surpass last years production if he can keep things up. Mustard stands out for his skating as being one of the fastest players in the NCAA and he pairs it with strong hands and a heavy wrist shot. That combination makes him dangerous off the rush and a consistent threat in transition. His scoring is keeping pace, already matching last season’s seven goals with plenty of the year left. He’s shaping into a reliable middle-six option who can drive play, contribute offensively, and impact the game with speed and skill. The rest of the season will be telling, but the trajectory is promising.

Mustard is off to a steady start in his freshman season at Providence College, posting 20 points (7 goals, 13 assists) across 37 games. The NCAA has been a good for Mustard’s transition from the USHL. He still has room to grow, especially in developing a more aggressive shooting presence and creating more scoring chances. As he progresses through his college career, Mustard’s two-way game and vision will be crucial in determining how much he can elevate his role and fit within Chicago’s promising prospect pipeline. His offensive ceiling likely sits as a reliable middle-six forward who can fill depth needs.

Analyzing the rest of Kyle Davidson’s Tenure as GM of the Chicago Blackhawks

Now that we’ve talked about free agency, let’s move onto the 2024 entry draft. The Blackhawks selected three players during the first round, 2nd overall Artyom Levshunov, 18th overall Sacha Boisvert, and 27th overall Marek Vanacker. Other players from this class that are worth mentioning are AJ Spellacy a former two sport athlete who I believe can turn into a good bottom six energy player in the future, John Mustard a speedy winger with size and a good shot who’s currently PPG during his sophomore season at Providence, and Jack Pridham who has looked solid during his limited time with the Kitchner Rangers of the OHL. I think it’s fair to say that the Levshunov pick is probably the most controversial pick Davidson has made up to this point, mostly because of the fact that it meant passing on Ivan Demidov. He has had a weird start to his pro career, he missed his rookie season training camp due to injury, he performed ok as an 18 year old rookie in Rockford 52GP 5G 22P but he was far from spectacular most nights, but then he played 18 games for the Blackhawks to end the season and looked ok in those games as well. All in all his rookie season was a mixed bag but he did show promise, he needs to work on his understanding of the game and what is going on around him. If he can improve in that area I have little doubt that he can be a top pair defenseman in the NHL.

Mustard was selected 67th overall by the Blackhawks and will certainly hope to catch up to the NHL level eventually.

DRAFTPRO – 2024 7-ROUND CONTRIBUTOR MOCK DRAFT

40. Seattle Kraken – John Mustard, C, Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) SUMMARY: Mustard was a big factor for the Blackhawks this season in the USHL he was a dynamic center this season setting up his teammates and being a goal scorer as well. He also was one of the best centers and forwards in the USHL this season. He has really good skating really good stickhandling second line third line center that would benefit long-term with the Seattle Kraken filling up that center role. It is for the Kraken to build from centered and around them with the Beniers, Wright mixtures. – Joseph Stanislau

DRAFTPRO 2024 NHL DRAFT COMBINE REVIEW

Agility & Balance: Pro Agility – Left (sec)D Stian Solberg – 4.12F Kamil Bednarik – 4.25F John Mustard – 4.26F Terik Parascak – 4.28F Michael Hage – 4.29

Agility & Balance: Pro Agility – Right (sec)D Stian Solberg – 4.08F Jett Luchanko – 4.23D EJ Emery – 4.23F AJ Spellacy – 4.24F Terik Parascak, F Sam O’Reilly – 4.25

Anaerobic Fitness (Wingate Test): Mean Power Output (watts/kg)F Jett Luchanko – 12.9D Alexis Bernier – 12.8F Linus Eriksson – 12.7D Sebastian Soini – 12.7F Aatos Koivu – 12.6

Anaerobic Fitness (Wingate Test): Peak Power Output (watts/kg)F AJ Spellacy – 18.3F Maxim Massé – 18.1F Linus Eriksson – 18.0D Ben Danford – 18.0F Michael Brandsegg-Nygård – 17.9

Anaerobic Fitness (Wingate Test): Fatigue IndexF Oliver Josephson – 35.1F Ondrej Becher – 39.7F Ryder Ritchie – 40.5F Emil Hemming – 40.9F Christian Humphreys – 41.6

Wing Span (inches)F Dean Letourneau – 83.25D Gabriel Eliasson – 81.00D EJ Emery – 80.75D Jesse Pulkkinen – 80.75F Erik Mateiko – 80.25

Body Composition Yuhasz % Body FatD EJ Emery – 3.64D Sam Dickinson – 3.64F Ethan Procyszyn – 6.84F Simon Zether – 7.11G Mikhail Yegorov – 7.11

Force Plate: Vertical Jump (inches)D EJ Emery – 27.23F Jett Luchanko – 24.63D Veeti Vaisanen – 24.22D Will Skahan – 23.88D Stian Solberg – 23.84

Force Plate: Squat Jump (inches)F Jack Pridham – 19.52F Aatos Koivu – 19.08F Linus Eriksson – 18.96D EJ Emery – 18.82F Tij Iginla – 18.38

Force Plate: No Arm Jump (inches)D EJ Emery – 23.57D Veeti Vaisanen – 21.91F Jack Pridham – 21.21F Jett Luchanko – 21.11F Linus Eriksson – 20.75

Musculoskeletal: Bench Press 50% Body Weight – Power (watts/kg)F Cole Beaudoin – 8.71D Lukas Fischer – 8.26F John Mustard – 7.78F Cayden Lindstrom – 7.69D Sebastian Soini – 7.54

DRAFTPRO – 2024 ALL AMERICAN PROSPECTS GAME REVIEW

#23 F John Mustard, USA White (Waterloo), 6’0” 185, L. 17-08-2006 Mustard may be a name that goes under the radar in regards to the American prospects pool in this years NHL Draft. Mustard caught the eye of scouts through his powerful skating ability & great speed with the puck. Mustard scored the overtime winning goal for Team White displaying his strength with the puck to keep possession & release a nice shot far side beating the goaltender. Mustard is committed to play at Providence College next season.

Mustard had definitely hit a bit of a wall as his USHL season came to a close. The dynamic winger has already done everything to prove he can carry pucks and score off of them, but as he started playing more of a team-game Mustard’s flaws came into focus. Primarily, how raw of a talent he truly is and how lacking his playmaking game currently is. To facilitate his passing, Mustard’s trademark speed had to be taken several notches down and he was tunneling in picks and drop passes then he was at saucers through the slot. He struggled to adapt, and he struggled to score, but his intensity didn’t waver. An encouraging sign, that Mustard is able to put in the effort to diversify his game without getting discouraged at the growing pains. Mustard is still very raw and really needs to get a handle on diversifying his offence and being a full 200-ft player, but the reward for a patient team could be tantalizing, there’s a lot to be excited about in the speed, skill and combativeness that Mustard already brings.

One of the more entertaining players in this year’s draft. Mustard has exploded onto the scene in his first year in the USHL. He’s one of the finer skaters in the draft and can beat defenders with elusiveness, simple dekes, or just raw speed to an unsuppressable level. Not to say he’s all sparkle either, he’s got a lot of upper body strength that he uses to win puck battles, extend offensive possessions or provide some old-fashioned grit. He tends to tunnel-vision at times which leads to him not being the total triple-threat he otherwise would be. Still, he’s one of the younger players in this year’s draft and the progress he’s made is nothing short of staggering. We really might just be scratching the surface of what he’s capable of.

(Fun Fact: He and Trevor Connelly are both committed to Providence. Defenders in the conference, beware.) –