Having the No. 2 pick — along with a second first-rounder, No. 20, as well as three second-round picks — carries a bit more intrigue for the Chicago Blackhawks this NHL draft than the cut-and-dried first pick.
“Maybe there will be more action at 2. There certainly wasn’t any action at 1 (last year),” GM Kyle Davidson said. “Everyone is pretty tight-lipped, not only about their players but their draft boards. You do hear some rumors, scout talk, but I don’t put too much stock in that unless I’m hearing it directly from a GM. I’m very skeptical of the information.”
It seems highly unlikely the Hawks would part with the No. 2 pick, but you never know. This is a team that started with no first-round picks in 2022 and ended up with three — and then went against convention and selected defenseman Kevin Korchinski at No. 7, considered a reach at the time.
Here are several options for the Hawks at each draft spot.
No. 2
SKA Hockey Club player, Ivan Demidov seen in action during a Kontinental Hockey League game against Spartak Moscow at the Ice Sports Palace. (Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images)
The consensus says the Hawks will take Ivan Demidov, a right wing for SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL junior league. Demidov has had a couple of knee injuries since October, and according to reports he’s under contract with the Russian league.
Davidson indicated the Hawks will do their due diligence on both fronts but said for now, “I don’t think it’s any concern at all.”
But Artyom Levshunov, Anton Silayev, Cayden Lindstrom and Cole Eiserman are also possibilities with the pick. Read more here.
No. 20
Michael Hage attempts to make an acrobatic pass while being checked by Cole Hutson during Chipotle All-American Game between Team Blue and Team White at USA Hockey Arena on Jan. 15, 2024 in Plymouth, Mich. (Michael Miller/ISI Photos)
While the Chicago Blackhawks have been stockpiling draft picks like toilet paper in a pandemic, Davidson doesn’t sound averse to dealing this year’s No. 20 selection that he acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It would be a disservice to close yourself off and just be like, ‘We’re just going to make this pick,’ or, ‘Just going to try and move up,’” he said. “Whether it’s move back, move up, stick, see what that pick’s value is on the market, (trade for) an established NHLer — whatever the case may be — that’s all up for evaluation.”
Could it be Michael Hage, Bennett Sennecke or Sacha Boisvert? Read more here.
7 options for the 3 picks in the 2nd round
Tanner Howe of the Regina Pats celebrates his team’s first period goal against the Brandon Wheat Kings at Westoba Place on Sept. 22, 2023 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. (Jonathan Kozub/Getty)
Davidson considers this year’s NHL draft pool to be deep, “certainly through the second round.”
That’s a good thing for the Hawks, who own five picks in the first two rounds, including the Nos. 34, 54 and 62 selections in Round 2.
“There’s always players that end up surprising people and being a little bit better than you would have thought at 18 years old, and it’s our job to try and find those,” Davidson said.
Dan Marr, vice president of NHL Central Scouting, agrees.
“There’s no deficit, that’s for sure,” he said. Read more here.
