As a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks, I won’t try to tell you that the upcoming NHL Entry Draft doesn’t have me incredibly excited. And for good reason. As you no doubt already know, the Hawks have the first pick overall and it’s pretty much a slam dunk that they’ll be selecting Connor Bedard with that pick.
Again, as you know, Bedard has been identified as being what’s called a “generational talent,” something not seen since the selection of that other Connor, McDavid, in the 2015 draft by Edmonton. We all know how McDavid turned out. I can only hope for something similar in the Windy City. Two different players, of course, but Bedard is 100% worth the excitement.
And for all of those out there who hope Bedard amounts to the next coming of Doug Wickenheiser, Alexander Daigle, or even Alex Lafreniere, don’t hold your breath. If any of you had the first pick, you wouldn’t have to think too hard about picking Bedard for yourself. He’s going to be a superstar right out of the box, even on a Chicago team that’s a shell of its former three-time cup-winning self.
Yes, when NHL Vice-President Bill Daley flipped that card with the Blackhawk logo on it, I’ll admit to a very strong positive reaction on my part. My daughter, at home at the time, would have taken note of all the shouting and cheering, although she’d have no idea of the reason for it. Nevertheless, it was a happy time.
It’s funny, though, that now that I know Bedard’s coming to Chicago, my excitement for the draft is no longer centred upon him. I know we’ve got him locked up at first overall, so there’s no surprise there anymore. It’s the next Blackhawk pick at #19 that has me juiced. Somewhat weird, that.
For so much of my life, the Hawks were not very good, and it wasn’t often that they’d appear in the playoffs in any meaningful way. Hell, they hadn’t been to a Stanley Cup final since 1992 when they got steamrollered by Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in four games. It would be another seventeen years, until 2009 in fact, that the Hawks would play any kind of exciting hockey again. Drafting Jonathan Toews (2006) and Patrick Kane (2007) certainly helped with that.
For that long stretch, and ever since, the NHL Draft has been a big deal on my personal calendar. It was my version of the playoffs since my team couldn’t excite me on the ice with their play, but could, potentially make things exciting for me in the off-season. So I’d spend hours combing the internet, accessing scouting reports on maybe the Top 50 potential picks, researching the mock drafts of hockey experts and amateurs alike, trying to assess which young players Chicago should pick. And then on draft night, sitting with excitement as players were selected before we picked, crossing off those selected already, and seeing who might be left for us to pick when our turn came. And after our pick, doing a deep dive on the newest Blackhawk, whether I agreed with the pick or not. For me, it was, and is, pretty cool stuff.
More than anything, though, it was the suspense of the whole thing, not knowing for sure who would fall to our pick, who would be available, and ultimately who we would select. That’s where the fun of it resided.
Connor Bedard will be selected first overall by the Chicago Blackhawks, so entertain no other scenario. Anything other than that will have me quitting hockey and watching professional backgammon instead. But I’m not worried. Also, while incredibly exciting, there’s no suspense.
Even with Toews and Kane it was different. There was suspense.
In 2006, we had the #3 pick and I I wanted Toews. The problem was that the two teams ahead of us, St. Louis and Pittsburgh, were not likely to let him pass them by. Sure, there were other good players to consider, and I was pretty sure whoever we got at three would be a good player, but still, I knew who I wanted. And sure enough, St. Louis obliged by picking Eric Johnson first. The the Penguins took Jordan Stahl. And hello, welcome to Chicago, Jonathan. Four years later, as team captain, he raised the first of three Stanley Cups.
In 2007, we won the draft lottery and picked first. The difference between the first overall pick in 2007 and the first overall pick in 2023 is that there was not the overwhelming consensus of who should go #1. In retrospect it was a no-brainer, but at the time, while Kane was the odds-on favourite to be picked first, there wasn’t the massive consensus that there is today around Bedard. Some people considered Kyle Turris as a possible first overall, while others liked James Van Riemsdyck for the top spot. I did all the research, and to me there was no question, it was Kane. And, of course, that’s who we got, and he skated around with the cup in his third year, the first of three cups with that Hawks dynasty team. But there was some element of suspense because, until I heard my team call his name, there was no guarantee I was going to get my Patrick Kane.
So, as I said, Bedard is a slam-dunk this year. Absolutely fantastic, no doubt. But no suspense. So that’s why I’m snooping around to see who we’re going to take at #19.
This is an incredibly deep draft class, with all kinds of players top-ten worthy in other years sliding down the board into the teens and twenties. Which means that, no matter who we pick at 19, we’re going to get one hell of a hockey player. Not to mention that Chicago has four picks in the second round. That’s six picks of the top 55 picks going to Chicago! In a really deep draft. Yikes, some of these second-round guys would be legitimate first-rounders in any other year, which means more really good players on the way. And a lot of research to get the lay of the land on these guys who will be picked well after Bedard crosses the stage to open the night.
Finally, what if Chicago bundles a couple of those seconds, or maybe that #19 pick with a second and maybe taking a bad contract off the hands of the Vancouver Canucks? If we do that, we’d pick at #11, swapping firsts with the Canucks. My goodness, any player drafted at #11 this year will be a good NHL player for a long time, and that would be pretty cool.
So yeah, I’m all excited by Bedard, no question. But it’s what happens after that that has me really stoked.
NEWSMAGRENFREW 