OT: Blackhawks Draft / Rebuild
Posted: Tue Jul 5, 2022 4:48 pm
Hi everyone! For those that have known me for over a decade the following post will appear normal length with expected detail.
The Hawks board is, was, and will be dead so I wanted to see if I could get some discussion with it being draft week:
Recent news / transactions for Hawks:
- New GM (Kyle Davidson) and coach (Luke Richardson)
- New positions and titles within the front office (Hunter)
- Rumors everywhere surrounding Alex DeBrincat
Also an in-person draft in Montreal on Thursday which is so so exciting. Even more so is all the uncertainty of this draft. Shane Wright has been the presumed #1 Franchise altering center prospect for 3-4 years now. He has been good no doubt but some question his recent seasons finish. Look, he got “exceptional status” and got 94pts while also being a legit 2 way center. Long story short…. He is the #1 prospect in this draft. Slafkovsky is a risk, Cooley is an offense only 5’10 center, and Nemec is an offensive defensive so yea Wright will and should go 1st.
With all that said I’d like to present my full 7 round mock with no trades as you can’t project them.
I’d also like to add with all the DeBrincat trade rumors for top 5 picks that it’s extremely rare a high pick like that gets dealt ever (21 years ago Jason Spezza). So while I’d love to take Cooley at 2 and Jiricek at 5 I am in the camp that says it’s very unlikely DeBrincat goes for anything other than prospects and FUTURE 1sts.
1st ROUND
1. MTL - C Shane Wright (Has to be their pick)
2. NJD - RW Juraj Slafkovsky (A big position winger for Hughes)
3. AZC - RW Cutter Gauthier (They want him, typical mistake by Yotes. I expect them trading down for him or stay and take Nemec over Cooley. They should take Cooley and not over think this.)
4. SEA - D Simon Nemec (Has a legit chance at going 2 or 3)
5. PHI - C Logan Cooley (Would be the steal of the draft, I think they want Nemec/Jiricek otherwise)
6. CBJ - D David Jiricek (My #3 overall prospect, sure fire top pair guy)
7. OTT - RW Matt Savoie (Plays fast, super scoring winger)
8. DET - RW Joakim Kemell (Started as a “Luka Doncic” type of season for him before slowing down… still he is going to be amazing)
9. BUF - C Marco Kasper (Flown up boards due to 2way ability)
10. ANA - RW Danila Yurov (True wildcard, could even go late 1st)
11. SJS - D Pavel Mintyukov (Top 5 talent, but has risk attached)
12. CBJ - RW Jonathan Lekkerimaki (I think he may slide if gets past 7/8 and maybe even close to 20s)
13. NYI - D Kevin Korchinski (Super safe pick)
14. WPG - RW Isaac Howard (Could go anywhere 12-35)
15. VAN - RW Frank Nazar (Elite scorer)
16. BUF (VGK) - RW Jagger Firkus (Boom or bust prospect, has elite release point that’s hard to pick up)
17. NSH - C Conor Geekie (A true locker room asset)
18. DAL - C Noah Ostlund (Going to be a mid 6 dependable center)
19. MIN - LW Liam Ohgren (Could truly be the steal of the 1st)
20. WAS - LW Brad Lambert (Is he magic hands amazing or a headache to coach and teach NHL grind game)
21. PIT - D Denton Mateychuk (Really like his game, steady top 4?)
22. ANA (via BOS) - D Lian Bischel (Potential potential)
23. STL - D Ryan Chesley (Will be an NHL mainstay)
24. MIN - D Lane Hutson (So if he was 6ft he would be drafted #1, that’s how talented he is… but he is 5’8 155)
25. TOR - C David Goyette (Perfect fit here)
26. MTL (via CGY) - D Maveric Lamoureux (6’6 great skating D men don’t come along that often)
27. AZC (via CAL) - D Seamus Casey (Could go 25 or 50 honestly)
28. BUF (via FLP) - D Calle Odelius (Looks like maybe a boom or bust prospect.. will need time)
29. EDM - C Nathan Gaucher (Rare a player comes in that you know
30. WPG (via NYR) - C Reiger Lorenz (Great skating center prospect)
31. TBL - C Jiri Kulich (Just looks and sounds like a Tampa type of player)
32. AZC (via COL) - RW Reid Schaefer (Brings that grit and toughness the Yotes sorely need)
2nd ROUND
33. MTL - D Owen Pickering
34. AZC - RW Jimmy Snuggerud
35. SEA - C Owen Beck
36. AZC (via PHI) - D Mattias Havelid
37. NJD - D Elias Salomonsson
38. CHI - D Tristan Luneau (There will be a couple of D prospects that slip to 38 here. Luneau is a late 1st talent but he may present some medical risks. I’ve heard a few media members mention he may have lower back issue. We will see but ultimately I see a Luneau, Pickering, Havelid type slip down here for the Hawks.
39. OTT - RW Filip Mesar
40. DET - C Luca Del Bel Belluz
41. BUF - RW Jani Nyman
42. ANA - C Rutger McGroarty
43. AZC (via SJS) - C Danil Zhilkin
44. CBJ - C Jordan Gustafson
45. AZC (via NYI) - LW Kirill Dolzhenkov
46. WAS (via WPG) -RW Gleb Trikozov
47. MIN (via VAN) - D Ty Nelson
48. VGK - C Topi Ronni
49. SEA (via NSH) - C Filip Bystedt
50. DAL - D Noah Warren
51. LAK - LW Alexander Perevalov
52. DET (via WAS) - LW Adam Ingram
53. ANA (via PIT) - G Topias Leinonen
54. MTL (via EDM) - C Cruz Lucious
55. BOS - RW Ivan Mirochechenko
56. WPG (via STL) - RW Jack Devine
57. OTT (via TBL) - RW Maddox Flemming
58. WPG (via NYR) - LW Julian Lutz
59. CHI (via MIN) - C Paul Ludwinski (He is a 2 way projected 3rd or 4th line center with a last name that just WORKS lol for Chicago. I think this pick is going to be just outside that tier in the 25-50 group that are all around the same ability)
60. SEA (via TOR) - G Hugo Havelid
61. CGY - D Christian Kyrou
62. CAR - C Pano Fimis
63. NYI (via COL) - RW Nicolas Moldenhauer
64. SEA (via FLP) - RW Jordan Dumais
65. MTL (comp.) - C Bryce McConnel-Barker
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3rd ROUND
66. MTL - D Sam Rinzel
67. AZC - D Keaton Dowhanuik
68. SEA - LW Matyas Sapovaliv
69. PHI - D Mats Lindgren
70. NJD - RW Matthew Seminoff
71. CAR (via CHI) - LW Ludwig Persson
72. OTT - C Hunter Haight
73. DET - C Aleksanteri Kaskamaki
74. BUF - RW Devin Kaplan
75. MTL (via ANA) - C Justin Cote
76. SJS - C Jackie Hughes
77. WPG - D Otto Salin
78. NYI - D Kirill Kudryavtsev
79. TOR (via WPG) - C Ilya Kvochko
80. VAN - C Max Namestikov
81. CHI (via VGK) - LW Adam Sykora (This would be a great pick but I see many options here with these 2 picks)
82. NSH - C Liam Arnsby
83. DAL - RW Ryan Greene
84. NSH (via LAK) - D Simon Forsmark
85. WAS - LW Antonin Verreault
86. LAK (via PIT) - D Elmeri Laakso
87. CHI (via EDM) - G Tyler Brennan (Hawks need goalie prospects badly. Bad news: this is the weakest goalie draft in 7-9 years. Brennan may be 1 of the top 2-3 prospects so you have to take a flyer here)
88. OTT (via BOS) - C Fraser Minten
89. STL - C Jake Karabela
90. CBJ (via TBL) - LW Quinn Finley
91. VGK (via NYR) - C Marcus Vidicek
92. MIN - D Tomas Hamara
93. CHI (via TOR) - LW Matthew Ward (Scoring wings are sorely needed here and i think Ward fits our depth issues)
94. BOS (via CGY) - C Fabian Wagner
95. MTL (via CAR) - C Jere Lassila
96. COL - G Jan Spunar
97. FLP - C Kasper Lundell
ROUND 4
98. MTL - D Tyler Dukes
99. WPG - D Artem Duda
100. SEA - C Ben Macdonald
101. PHI - G Ivan Zhigalov
102. NJD - C Vinzenz Rohrer
103. TBL - D Daniil Ivanov
104. OTT - D Jake Livanange
105. DET - C Matyias Sapovaliv
106. BUF - C Logan Morrison
107. ANA - C Matthew Poitras
108. DET - LW Alex Suzdalev
109. CBJ - LW Dylan James
110. NJD - D Vladimir Grudinin
111. NYR - D Adam Engstrom
112. VAN - G Dylan Silverstein
113. DET - D Daniel Orlov
114. NSH - LW Victor Neuchev
115. DAL - RW Gavin Hayes
116. LAK - D Kasper Kulonummi
117. SEA - D Jeremy Langlois
118. PIT - RW Alex Sotek
119. BOS - G Tyler Muszelik
120. STL - RW Milo Matikka
121. MIN - C Cedric Guindon
122. CBJ - D Jace Wier
123. SEA - G Ian Blomqvist
124. CAR - LW Josh Filmon
125. FLP - RW Evan Konyen
126. MTL - LW Dimitri Buchelnikov
127. NJD - D Michael Fisher
128. MTL - D Miguel Tourigny
129. DET - LW Sandis Vilmanis
5th ROUND
130. MTL - LW Eric Alarie
131. AZC - RW Marek Hejduk
132. SEA - RW Oskar Petterson
133. PHI - D Michael Buchinger
134. BUF - LW Brandon Lisowsky
135. VGK - D Isaiah George
136. OTT - D Jack Spakes
137. DET - LW Michael Milne
138. SJS - D Spencer Sova
139. ANA - D David Moravec
140. SJS - D Mans Forsfjall
141. NJD - D Arseni Koromyslov
142. NYI - C Alex Muromtsev
143. OTT - D Jorrian Donavan
144. VAN - LW Semyon Demidov
145. VGK - C Brennan Ali
146. NSH - C Servac Petrovsky
147. DAL - LW Josh Davies
148. LAK - D Oskar Asplund
149. WAS - D Ludwig Jannson
150. PIT - LW Zam Plante
151. OTT - C Cole Spicer
152. STL - G Niklas Kokko
153. MIN - D Filip Nordberg
154. ANA - D Jake Livanavage
155. CGY - LW Alex Bump
156. CAR - C Cam Lund
157. FLP - C Beau Jelsma
158. EDM - G Mason Beaupit
159. NYR - D Tristan Sarsland
160. TBL - RW Cam O’Neil
161. COL - D Marian Mosko
6th Round
162. MTL - RW Tucker Robertson
163. AZC - D Tnias Mathurin
164. SEA - G Reid Dyck
165. PHI - RW Lukas Plos
166. NJD - RW Lucas Edmonds
167. CHI - D Hunter McDonald (No picks 4th/5th so you have to take BPA which I think is McDonald here)
168. OTT - D Rayan Bettehar
169. TBL - G Maxim Arefyev
170. BUF - D Tyson Jugnauth
171. CAR - G Nolan Lalonde
172. SJS - RW James Hardie
173. CHI - RW Cole Knuble (Would love him in rounds 6-7)
174. NYI - LW Jack Harvey
175. WPG - D David Gucciardi
176. VAN - LW Cole Spicer
177. VGK - D Hudson Thornton
178. ANA - RW Joel Jonnson
179. DAL - LW Ilya Kvochko
180. LAK - D Alex Pelevin
181. WAS - C Danil Davydov
182. PIT - RW Connor Kurth
183. BOS - D Charlie Leddy
184. STL - LW Kenta Isogai
185. MIN - RW Connor McClennon
186. FLP - LW Aidan Castle
187. BUF - C Joshua Fahrni
188. CAR - C Gavin Bryant
189. FLP - D Zach Bookman
190. EDM - C Lorenzo Canonica
191. NYR - D Jackson Edward
192. TBL - D Ryan Healey
193. COL - RW Evan Konyen
7th Round
194. MTL - RW Ben Hemerling
195. SJS - LW Sam Savoie
196. SEA - RW Jake Sloan
197. PHI - RW Nikita Grebenkin
198. NJD - D Garret Brown
199. CHI - RW Michael La Starza (BPA)
200. BOS - G Braden Holt
201. DET - D Ales Cech
202. BUF - C Connor McGrath
203. CBJ - D Ed Jackson
204. SJS - C Otto Hokkanen
205. CAR - RW Michael Callow
206. OTT - RW James Steffan
207. WPG - LW Dylan Godbout
208. VAN - LW Nicholas Pierre
209. VGK - C Gustav Karlsson
210. NSH - C Kyle Jackson
211. BUF - LW Parker Bell
212. DET - RW Matt Maggio
213. WAS - LW Max Kilpenen
214. PIT - G Cam Whitehead
215. BOS - D Charlie Wright
216. MTL - C Alex Blais
217. SJS - D Maks Percic
218. TOR - LW Hugo Frylen
219. CGY - LW Ralf Rollinger
220. CAR - RW Braeden Bowman
221. FLP - C Luke Woodworth
222. EDM - RW Rasmus Rudslatt
223. TBL - D Aaron Pionk
224. TBL - C Cade Littler
225. COL - D Liam Steele
Apologies if a selection is off 1-2 spots as I was working on this whole playoffs were going on. All picks are sorely based on my own research.
NHL is a unique animal… you MUST draft well in the 1st and 2nd rounds in order to be good. Don’t believe me? Here is my research:
Best 3 players each team:
Carolina: Aho, Svech, Slavin (3/3) P
Columbus: Bjork, Laine, Werenski (2/3)
New Jersey: Hughes, Nico, Bratt (3/3)
NYI: Barzal, Nelson, Dobson (3/3)
NYR: Igor, Panarin, Fox (1/3) P
Philly: Atkinson, Hayes, Prov (1/3)
Pitt: Crosby, Malkin, Letang (3/3) P
Caps: Ovi, Backs, Carlson (3/3) P
9/12 - 10/12
Bruins: Marchand, Past, Bergeron (3/3) P
Buffalo: Tage, Power, Dahlin (2/3)
Detroit: Seider, Larkin, Bertuzzi (3/3)
Florida: Bark, Hubs, Ekblad (3/3) P
MTL: Suzuki, Caulfield, Price (2/3)
Sens: Brady, Stuts, Chabot (3/3)
TBL: Hedman, Stamkos, Kuch/BP (3/3) P
Leafs: Matthews, Marner, Nylander (3/3) P
10/12 - 12/12
AZC - Keller, Scmaltz, Cych (2/3)
CHI - Kaner, Cat, Jones (2/3)
AVES - NMK, Landeskog, Makar (3/3) P
DAL - Benn, Heisk, Robs (3/3) P
MIN - JEE, Kiril, Zuccs (2/3) P
NSH - Josi, Duchene, Filip (2/3)
STL - ROR, Tarasenko, Thomas (2/3) P
WPG - Connor, Scheif, Wheeler (2/3)
8/12 - 10/12
ANA - Zegras, TT, Henrique (2/3)
CGY - Jonny, MT, LIndy (2/3) P
EDM - Conor, Dri, Nurse (3/3) P
LAK - Kopi, DD, Fiala (2/3) P
SJS - Burns, Hertl, Meier (2/3)
SEA - NA
VAN - Petts, Hughes, Miller (2/3)
VGK - NA
6/9 - 7/9
As you can see in every single divison the non-playoff teams averaged to have their best players not drafted by said team where as the playoff teams best players they actually drafted. It’s not a coincidence.
Elephant in the room: DeBrincat
Trade or keep?
Let’s look at what I think are excpetable / potential deals:
If it were me… I’d burn it down this way so we can truly begin again asap.
Dream trade:
Philadelphia acquires:
LW Alex DeBrincat
D Nicholas Beaudin
2023 3rd
Chicago acquires
RW Bobby Brink
C Morgan Frost
RW James Van Riemsdyk (1x7m)
D Cam York
2022 #5, #72
2023 1st (top 3 protected)
Why for each team? Philly is in desperate need of a star player. They have an a average team after a failed rebuild and need serious scoring help. DeBrincat is proven, young, and plays both ends at an elite level. They have to fire sale and start again or go all in right now. It will cost them big time. Brink is a B+ prospect, York and A- and Frost a C+ to me. I expect Brink can be a 20-25goals a year type of mid 6 wing while York I think is Conor Murphy type of player. Frost is most likely going to stay 3rd-4th line center for his career. The goal here is to hit on #5 and 2023 1st. Adding in Beaudin (fallen out of favor) and taking some cap should push this deal through.
——————————————————-
New Jersey acquires:
#5
D Conor Murphy
Chicago acquires:
#2
2023 3rd
Why? I think Chicago wants Cooley. I don’t think he makes to 5. New Jersey needs a top 4 D badly as well as I think wants to take a Jiricek / Nemec / Kemell / Savoie. So to me this would be a win-win.
——————————————————-
Colorado acquires:
RW Patrick Kane (Chicago retains 50%)
D Wyatt Kalynuk
Chicago acquires:
C Alex Newhook
LW Oscar Olausson
C Jean-Luc Foudy
D Erik Johnson (1x6m)
2023 1st
2025 3rd
Why? Kane has the say here and really I think only Aves, Rangers, and Sabres would be in play for his acceptance. Aves don’t have pick currency so it’s going to lean on prospects / depth. Newhook is already a good player and looks like a true #2C in this league for a long time. Olausson was a late 1st and has some nice potential as a middle 6 scoring wing. Foudy can skate, had an average minors year though so he is more just icing on this deal. 2023 is all about flexing that pick depth and we would have to get that in return here. Taking on Johnson’s money while giving them an nhl ready depth 925k option will make this a deal. Again, Kane has to agree to it but how could he say no to joining a team that has I’d say a 30-40% chance at repeating.
Recap:
Out - Kane / DeBrincat / Murphy / Beaudin / Kalynuk
In - #2 (Cooley) and #72 / Newhook / Foudy / Olausson / York / Brink / Frost / 2 2023 1sts / 2025 3rd
Vets: Van Riemsdyk / Johnson for deadline sell
I think that all these deals are fair for all sides and that Blackhawks would have acquired the necessary group of picks and prospects to speed up a rebuild. It would also amass an insane 4 picks in 2023 1st. Let’s say hawks get #4, Flyers #11, Lightning #27, Aves #32.
So that prospect list and then add in 4,11,27,32 from a loaded 2023. There is the rebuild right there.
Other DeBrincat options:
NJ: #2, Nolan Foote, Pavel Zacha, 2023 1st
PHI: #5, Cam York, Morgan Frost, 2024 1st
OTT: #7, Ridley Greig, Jacob Bernard-Docker, 2024 1st
DET: #8, Jonatan Berggren, Joe Velano, Albert Johansson, 2023 2nd, 2024 3rd
NYI: #13, Oliver Wahlstrom, Aatu Raty, 2023 1st, 2024 2nd
CAR: Seth Jarvis, Jack Drury, Scott Morrow, #71, 2023 1st
One deal I read about that seems totally false for the reason that it’s way more than I’d expect…..
2022
#7
#72
D Erik Brannstrom (22yo - RFA)
C Shane Pinto (21yo - 1x925k)
D Michael Del Zotto (32yo - 1x2m)
2023 1st (top 4 protected)
2025 1st (top 3 protected)
I mean if that were on the table I’d run to agree to it.
So I hope you now have some info on draft week. Do I think we will trade the Cat? I think it’s actually more likely at trade deadline as I think the true focus is on 2023 draft that has an unreal list of franchise altering players:
C Conor Bedard (Franhise)
F Matvei Michkov (Franchise)
Fantilli / Benson also potential stars….
Last note: this draft like most is all about tiers:
Top 4
5-14 interchangeable
15-50 interchangeable
51-120 interchangeable
121-UDFA interchangeable
That’s why you WILL see me draft someone at 65 where as someone else has then 118 etc…. It’s just that type of a crapshoot.
Comments / discussion / what should the Hawks do?
Btw congrats to Doug on winning the CHGO playoff challenge! Heard Jay mention you on the pod.
The Hawks board is, was, and will be dead so I wanted to see if I could get some discussion with it being draft week:
Recent news / transactions for Hawks:
- New GM (Kyle Davidson) and coach (Luke Richardson)
- New positions and titles within the front office (Hunter)
- Rumors everywhere surrounding Alex DeBrincat
Also an in-person draft in Montreal on Thursday which is so so exciting. Even more so is all the uncertainty of this draft. Shane Wright has been the presumed #1 Franchise altering center prospect for 3-4 years now. He has been good no doubt but some question his recent seasons finish. Look, he got “exceptional status” and got 94pts while also being a legit 2 way center. Long story short…. He is the #1 prospect in this draft. Slafkovsky is a risk, Cooley is an offense only 5’10 center, and Nemec is an offensive defensive so yea Wright will and should go 1st.
With all that said I’d like to present my full 7 round mock with no trades as you can’t project them.
I’d also like to add with all the DeBrincat trade rumors for top 5 picks that it’s extremely rare a high pick like that gets dealt ever (21 years ago Jason Spezza). So while I’d love to take Cooley at 2 and Jiricek at 5 I am in the camp that says it’s very unlikely DeBrincat goes for anything other than prospects and FUTURE 1sts.
1st ROUND
1. MTL - C Shane Wright (Has to be their pick)
2. NJD - RW Juraj Slafkovsky (A big position winger for Hughes)
3. AZC - RW Cutter Gauthier (They want him, typical mistake by Yotes. I expect them trading down for him or stay and take Nemec over Cooley. They should take Cooley and not over think this.)
4. SEA - D Simon Nemec (Has a legit chance at going 2 or 3)
5. PHI - C Logan Cooley (Would be the steal of the draft, I think they want Nemec/Jiricek otherwise)
6. CBJ - D David Jiricek (My #3 overall prospect, sure fire top pair guy)
7. OTT - RW Matt Savoie (Plays fast, super scoring winger)
8. DET - RW Joakim Kemell (Started as a “Luka Doncic” type of season for him before slowing down… still he is going to be amazing)
9. BUF - C Marco Kasper (Flown up boards due to 2way ability)
10. ANA - RW Danila Yurov (True wildcard, could even go late 1st)
11. SJS - D Pavel Mintyukov (Top 5 talent, but has risk attached)
12. CBJ - RW Jonathan Lekkerimaki (I think he may slide if gets past 7/8 and maybe even close to 20s)
13. NYI - D Kevin Korchinski (Super safe pick)
14. WPG - RW Isaac Howard (Could go anywhere 12-35)
15. VAN - RW Frank Nazar (Elite scorer)
16. BUF (VGK) - RW Jagger Firkus (Boom or bust prospect, has elite release point that’s hard to pick up)
17. NSH - C Conor Geekie (A true locker room asset)
18. DAL - C Noah Ostlund (Going to be a mid 6 dependable center)
19. MIN - LW Liam Ohgren (Could truly be the steal of the 1st)
20. WAS - LW Brad Lambert (Is he magic hands amazing or a headache to coach and teach NHL grind game)
21. PIT - D Denton Mateychuk (Really like his game, steady top 4?)
22. ANA (via BOS) - D Lian Bischel (Potential potential)
23. STL - D Ryan Chesley (Will be an NHL mainstay)
24. MIN - D Lane Hutson (So if he was 6ft he would be drafted #1, that’s how talented he is… but he is 5’8 155)
25. TOR - C David Goyette (Perfect fit here)
26. MTL (via CGY) - D Maveric Lamoureux (6’6 great skating D men don’t come along that often)
27. AZC (via CAL) - D Seamus Casey (Could go 25 or 50 honestly)
28. BUF (via FLP) - D Calle Odelius (Looks like maybe a boom or bust prospect.. will need time)
29. EDM - C Nathan Gaucher (Rare a player comes in that you know
30. WPG (via NYR) - C Reiger Lorenz (Great skating center prospect)
31. TBL - C Jiri Kulich (Just looks and sounds like a Tampa type of player)
32. AZC (via COL) - RW Reid Schaefer (Brings that grit and toughness the Yotes sorely need)
2nd ROUND
33. MTL - D Owen Pickering
34. AZC - RW Jimmy Snuggerud
35. SEA - C Owen Beck
36. AZC (via PHI) - D Mattias Havelid
37. NJD - D Elias Salomonsson
38. CHI - D Tristan Luneau (There will be a couple of D prospects that slip to 38 here. Luneau is a late 1st talent but he may present some medical risks. I’ve heard a few media members mention he may have lower back issue. We will see but ultimately I see a Luneau, Pickering, Havelid type slip down here for the Hawks.
39. OTT - RW Filip Mesar
40. DET - C Luca Del Bel Belluz
41. BUF - RW Jani Nyman
42. ANA - C Rutger McGroarty
43. AZC (via SJS) - C Danil Zhilkin
44. CBJ - C Jordan Gustafson
45. AZC (via NYI) - LW Kirill Dolzhenkov
46. WAS (via WPG) -RW Gleb Trikozov
47. MIN (via VAN) - D Ty Nelson
48. VGK - C Topi Ronni
49. SEA (via NSH) - C Filip Bystedt
50. DAL - D Noah Warren
51. LAK - LW Alexander Perevalov
52. DET (via WAS) - LW Adam Ingram
53. ANA (via PIT) - G Topias Leinonen
54. MTL (via EDM) - C Cruz Lucious
55. BOS - RW Ivan Mirochechenko
56. WPG (via STL) - RW Jack Devine
57. OTT (via TBL) - RW Maddox Flemming
58. WPG (via NYR) - LW Julian Lutz
59. CHI (via MIN) - C Paul Ludwinski (He is a 2 way projected 3rd or 4th line center with a last name that just WORKS lol for Chicago. I think this pick is going to be just outside that tier in the 25-50 group that are all around the same ability)
60. SEA (via TOR) - G Hugo Havelid
61. CGY - D Christian Kyrou
62. CAR - C Pano Fimis
63. NYI (via COL) - RW Nicolas Moldenhauer
64. SEA (via FLP) - RW Jordan Dumais
65. MTL (comp.) - C Bryce McConnel-Barker
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3rd ROUND
66. MTL - D Sam Rinzel
67. AZC - D Keaton Dowhanuik
68. SEA - LW Matyas Sapovaliv
69. PHI - D Mats Lindgren
70. NJD - RW Matthew Seminoff
71. CAR (via CHI) - LW Ludwig Persson
72. OTT - C Hunter Haight
73. DET - C Aleksanteri Kaskamaki
74. BUF - RW Devin Kaplan
75. MTL (via ANA) - C Justin Cote
76. SJS - C Jackie Hughes
77. WPG - D Otto Salin
78. NYI - D Kirill Kudryavtsev
79. TOR (via WPG) - C Ilya Kvochko
80. VAN - C Max Namestikov
81. CHI (via VGK) - LW Adam Sykora (This would be a great pick but I see many options here with these 2 picks)
82. NSH - C Liam Arnsby
83. DAL - RW Ryan Greene
84. NSH (via LAK) - D Simon Forsmark
85. WAS - LW Antonin Verreault
86. LAK (via PIT) - D Elmeri Laakso
87. CHI (via EDM) - G Tyler Brennan (Hawks need goalie prospects badly. Bad news: this is the weakest goalie draft in 7-9 years. Brennan may be 1 of the top 2-3 prospects so you have to take a flyer here)
88. OTT (via BOS) - C Fraser Minten
89. STL - C Jake Karabela
90. CBJ (via TBL) - LW Quinn Finley
91. VGK (via NYR) - C Marcus Vidicek
92. MIN - D Tomas Hamara
93. CHI (via TOR) - LW Matthew Ward (Scoring wings are sorely needed here and i think Ward fits our depth issues)
94. BOS (via CGY) - C Fabian Wagner
95. MTL (via CAR) - C Jere Lassila
96. COL - G Jan Spunar
97. FLP - C Kasper Lundell
ROUND 4
98. MTL - D Tyler Dukes
99. WPG - D Artem Duda
100. SEA - C Ben Macdonald
101. PHI - G Ivan Zhigalov
102. NJD - C Vinzenz Rohrer
103. TBL - D Daniil Ivanov
104. OTT - D Jake Livanange
105. DET - C Matyias Sapovaliv
106. BUF - C Logan Morrison
107. ANA - C Matthew Poitras
108. DET - LW Alex Suzdalev
109. CBJ - LW Dylan James
110. NJD - D Vladimir Grudinin
111. NYR - D Adam Engstrom
112. VAN - G Dylan Silverstein
113. DET - D Daniel Orlov
114. NSH - LW Victor Neuchev
115. DAL - RW Gavin Hayes
116. LAK - D Kasper Kulonummi
117. SEA - D Jeremy Langlois
118. PIT - RW Alex Sotek
119. BOS - G Tyler Muszelik
120. STL - RW Milo Matikka
121. MIN - C Cedric Guindon
122. CBJ - D Jace Wier
123. SEA - G Ian Blomqvist
124. CAR - LW Josh Filmon
125. FLP - RW Evan Konyen
126. MTL - LW Dimitri Buchelnikov
127. NJD - D Michael Fisher
128. MTL - D Miguel Tourigny
129. DET - LW Sandis Vilmanis
5th ROUND
130. MTL - LW Eric Alarie
131. AZC - RW Marek Hejduk
132. SEA - RW Oskar Petterson
133. PHI - D Michael Buchinger
134. BUF - LW Brandon Lisowsky
135. VGK - D Isaiah George
136. OTT - D Jack Spakes
137. DET - LW Michael Milne
138. SJS - D Spencer Sova
139. ANA - D David Moravec
140. SJS - D Mans Forsfjall
141. NJD - D Arseni Koromyslov
142. NYI - C Alex Muromtsev
143. OTT - D Jorrian Donavan
144. VAN - LW Semyon Demidov
145. VGK - C Brennan Ali
146. NSH - C Servac Petrovsky
147. DAL - LW Josh Davies
148. LAK - D Oskar Asplund
149. WAS - D Ludwig Jannson
150. PIT - LW Zam Plante
151. OTT - C Cole Spicer
152. STL - G Niklas Kokko
153. MIN - D Filip Nordberg
154. ANA - D Jake Livanavage
155. CGY - LW Alex Bump
156. CAR - C Cam Lund
157. FLP - C Beau Jelsma
158. EDM - G Mason Beaupit
159. NYR - D Tristan Sarsland
160. TBL - RW Cam O’Neil
161. COL - D Marian Mosko
6th Round
162. MTL - RW Tucker Robertson
163. AZC - D Tnias Mathurin
164. SEA - G Reid Dyck
165. PHI - RW Lukas Plos
166. NJD - RW Lucas Edmonds
167. CHI - D Hunter McDonald (No picks 4th/5th so you have to take BPA which I think is McDonald here)
168. OTT - D Rayan Bettehar
169. TBL - G Maxim Arefyev
170. BUF - D Tyson Jugnauth
171. CAR - G Nolan Lalonde
172. SJS - RW James Hardie
173. CHI - RW Cole Knuble (Would love him in rounds 6-7)
174. NYI - LW Jack Harvey
175. WPG - D David Gucciardi
176. VAN - LW Cole Spicer
177. VGK - D Hudson Thornton
178. ANA - RW Joel Jonnson
179. DAL - LW Ilya Kvochko
180. LAK - D Alex Pelevin
181. WAS - C Danil Davydov
182. PIT - RW Connor Kurth
183. BOS - D Charlie Leddy
184. STL - LW Kenta Isogai
185. MIN - RW Connor McClennon
186. FLP - LW Aidan Castle
187. BUF - C Joshua Fahrni
188. CAR - C Gavin Bryant
189. FLP - D Zach Bookman
190. EDM - C Lorenzo Canonica
191. NYR - D Jackson Edward
192. TBL - D Ryan Healey
193. COL - RW Evan Konyen
7th Round
194. MTL - RW Ben Hemerling
195. SJS - LW Sam Savoie
196. SEA - RW Jake Sloan
197. PHI - RW Nikita Grebenkin
198. NJD - D Garret Brown
199. CHI - RW Michael La Starza (BPA)
200. BOS - G Braden Holt
201. DET - D Ales Cech
202. BUF - C Connor McGrath
203. CBJ - D Ed Jackson
204. SJS - C Otto Hokkanen
205. CAR - RW Michael Callow
206. OTT - RW James Steffan
207. WPG - LW Dylan Godbout
208. VAN - LW Nicholas Pierre
209. VGK - C Gustav Karlsson
210. NSH - C Kyle Jackson
211. BUF - LW Parker Bell
212. DET - RW Matt Maggio
213. WAS - LW Max Kilpenen
214. PIT - G Cam Whitehead
215. BOS - D Charlie Wright
216. MTL - C Alex Blais
217. SJS - D Maks Percic
218. TOR - LW Hugo Frylen
219. CGY - LW Ralf Rollinger
220. CAR - RW Braeden Bowman
221. FLP - C Luke Woodworth
222. EDM - RW Rasmus Rudslatt
223. TBL - D Aaron Pionk
224. TBL - C Cade Littler
225. COL - D Liam Steele
Apologies if a selection is off 1-2 spots as I was working on this whole playoffs were going on. All picks are sorely based on my own research.
NHL is a unique animal… you MUST draft well in the 1st and 2nd rounds in order to be good. Don’t believe me? Here is my research:
Best 3 players each team:
Carolina: Aho, Svech, Slavin (3/3) P
Columbus: Bjork, Laine, Werenski (2/3)
New Jersey: Hughes, Nico, Bratt (3/3)
NYI: Barzal, Nelson, Dobson (3/3)
NYR: Igor, Panarin, Fox (1/3) P
Philly: Atkinson, Hayes, Prov (1/3)
Pitt: Crosby, Malkin, Letang (3/3) P
Caps: Ovi, Backs, Carlson (3/3) P
9/12 - 10/12
Bruins: Marchand, Past, Bergeron (3/3) P
Buffalo: Tage, Power, Dahlin (2/3)
Detroit: Seider, Larkin, Bertuzzi (3/3)
Florida: Bark, Hubs, Ekblad (3/3) P
MTL: Suzuki, Caulfield, Price (2/3)
Sens: Brady, Stuts, Chabot (3/3)
TBL: Hedman, Stamkos, Kuch/BP (3/3) P
Leafs: Matthews, Marner, Nylander (3/3) P
10/12 - 12/12
AZC - Keller, Scmaltz, Cych (2/3)
CHI - Kaner, Cat, Jones (2/3)
AVES - NMK, Landeskog, Makar (3/3) P
DAL - Benn, Heisk, Robs (3/3) P
MIN - JEE, Kiril, Zuccs (2/3) P
NSH - Josi, Duchene, Filip (2/3)
STL - ROR, Tarasenko, Thomas (2/3) P
WPG - Connor, Scheif, Wheeler (2/3)
8/12 - 10/12
ANA - Zegras, TT, Henrique (2/3)
CGY - Jonny, MT, LIndy (2/3) P
EDM - Conor, Dri, Nurse (3/3) P
LAK - Kopi, DD, Fiala (2/3) P
SJS - Burns, Hertl, Meier (2/3)
SEA - NA
VAN - Petts, Hughes, Miller (2/3)
VGK - NA
6/9 - 7/9
As you can see in every single divison the non-playoff teams averaged to have their best players not drafted by said team where as the playoff teams best players they actually drafted. It’s not a coincidence.
Elephant in the room: DeBrincat
Trade or keep?
Let’s look at what I think are excpetable / potential deals:
If it were me… I’d burn it down this way so we can truly begin again asap.
Dream trade:
Philadelphia acquires:
LW Alex DeBrincat
D Nicholas Beaudin
2023 3rd
Chicago acquires
RW Bobby Brink
C Morgan Frost
RW James Van Riemsdyk (1x7m)
D Cam York
2022 #5, #72
2023 1st (top 3 protected)
Why for each team? Philly is in desperate need of a star player. They have an a average team after a failed rebuild and need serious scoring help. DeBrincat is proven, young, and plays both ends at an elite level. They have to fire sale and start again or go all in right now. It will cost them big time. Brink is a B+ prospect, York and A- and Frost a C+ to me. I expect Brink can be a 20-25goals a year type of mid 6 wing while York I think is Conor Murphy type of player. Frost is most likely going to stay 3rd-4th line center for his career. The goal here is to hit on #5 and 2023 1st. Adding in Beaudin (fallen out of favor) and taking some cap should push this deal through.
——————————————————-
New Jersey acquires:
#5
D Conor Murphy
Chicago acquires:
#2
2023 3rd
Why? I think Chicago wants Cooley. I don’t think he makes to 5. New Jersey needs a top 4 D badly as well as I think wants to take a Jiricek / Nemec / Kemell / Savoie. So to me this would be a win-win.
——————————————————-
Colorado acquires:
RW Patrick Kane (Chicago retains 50%)
D Wyatt Kalynuk
Chicago acquires:
C Alex Newhook
LW Oscar Olausson
C Jean-Luc Foudy
D Erik Johnson (1x6m)
2023 1st
2025 3rd
Why? Kane has the say here and really I think only Aves, Rangers, and Sabres would be in play for his acceptance. Aves don’t have pick currency so it’s going to lean on prospects / depth. Newhook is already a good player and looks like a true #2C in this league for a long time. Olausson was a late 1st and has some nice potential as a middle 6 scoring wing. Foudy can skate, had an average minors year though so he is more just icing on this deal. 2023 is all about flexing that pick depth and we would have to get that in return here. Taking on Johnson’s money while giving them an nhl ready depth 925k option will make this a deal. Again, Kane has to agree to it but how could he say no to joining a team that has I’d say a 30-40% chance at repeating.
Recap:
Out - Kane / DeBrincat / Murphy / Beaudin / Kalynuk
In - #2 (Cooley) and #72 / Newhook / Foudy / Olausson / York / Brink / Frost / 2 2023 1sts / 2025 3rd
Vets: Van Riemsdyk / Johnson for deadline sell
I think that all these deals are fair for all sides and that Blackhawks would have acquired the necessary group of picks and prospects to speed up a rebuild. It would also amass an insane 4 picks in 2023 1st. Let’s say hawks get #4, Flyers #11, Lightning #27, Aves #32.
So that prospect list and then add in 4,11,27,32 from a loaded 2023. There is the rebuild right there.
Other DeBrincat options:
NJ: #2, Nolan Foote, Pavel Zacha, 2023 1st
PHI: #5, Cam York, Morgan Frost, 2024 1st
OTT: #7, Ridley Greig, Jacob Bernard-Docker, 2024 1st
DET: #8, Jonatan Berggren, Joe Velano, Albert Johansson, 2023 2nd, 2024 3rd
NYI: #13, Oliver Wahlstrom, Aatu Raty, 2023 1st, 2024 2nd
CAR: Seth Jarvis, Jack Drury, Scott Morrow, #71, 2023 1st
One deal I read about that seems totally false for the reason that it’s way more than I’d expect…..
2022
#7
#72
D Erik Brannstrom (22yo - RFA)
C Shane Pinto (21yo - 1x925k)
D Michael Del Zotto (32yo - 1x2m)
2023 1st (top 4 protected)
2025 1st (top 3 protected)
I mean if that were on the table I’d run to agree to it.
So I hope you now have some info on draft week. Do I think we will trade the Cat? I think it’s actually more likely at trade deadline as I think the true focus is on 2023 draft that has an unreal list of franchise altering players:
C Conor Bedard (Franhise)
F Matvei Michkov (Franchise)
Fantilli / Benson also potential stars….
Last note: this draft like most is all about tiers:
Top 4
5-14 interchangeable
15-50 interchangeable
51-120 interchangeable
121-UDFA interchangeable
That’s why you WILL see me draft someone at 65 where as someone else has then 118 etc…. It’s just that type of a crapshoot.
Comments / discussion / what should the Hawks do?
Btw congrats to Doug on winning the CHGO playoff challenge! Heard Jay mention you on the pod.