Arizona’s Future, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jonesy Talks Philly Rebuild, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

May 17, 2023

The big news in the NHL on Tuesday night was from… Arizona? The Coyotes were part of a special election in Tempe to determine the viability of their $2.1 billion entertainment district plan, which would include a new, permanent arena to keep the team in Arizona. Well, that special election happened and the Coyotes failed to get any of the three propositions on the ballot enough votes to pass. In fact, they lost by a fairly significant margin. The organization and the NHL both released statements late last night expressing their disappointment. What’s next? It might be a new home for the artist-formerly-known-as the original Winnipeg Jets.

Arizona Coyotes Arena Plan Loses Special Election — Is Relocation Next?https://t.co/CoYh0nwNLV pic.twitter.com/92eNQT4UXU
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) May 17, 2023

And the Yotes’ best player, Clayton Keller, was clearly an unhappy star last night.

😔
— Clayton Keller (@ClaytonKeller37) May 17, 2023

Make sure you vote in our Twitter poll today! And let us know in the comments if you’re choosing Other.

Where will the Coyotes end up?
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) May 17, 2023

Big Blackhawks birthday wishes to Lukas Reichel, who turns 21 today. A lot of us are looking forward to seeing him in the NHL for a full regular season next year.

Happy 21st birthday to Lukas Reichel. I'm sure he was among the happiest people in the #Blackhawks organization when the draft lottery came up gold for Chicago pic.twitter.com/Y1jQ3JcWB4— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) May 17, 2023

The Blackhawks had three prospects in action in Game 3 of the WHL championship series in Seattle. And Chicago’s prospects showed out! The Thunderbirds scored four goals in the first period and took a 6-2 lead to the third. Colton Dach had two assists while Nolan Allan and Kevin Korchinski had an assist on Dylan Guenther’s power play goal below. Seattle allowed a power play goal in the third but held on to win the game 6-3. The Thunderbirds have a 2-1 lead in the series and host Game 4 tonight.

Dylan Guenther gets his league-leading 15th goal of the #WHLPlayoffs!🔥@SeattleTBirds | @ArizonaCoyotes #WHLChampionship | #FeedingtheFuture pic.twitter.com/JmPuMwUdMj
— The WHL (@TheWHL) May 17, 2023

Yesterday we dropped the second piece in our series considering a potential trade up in the draft for the Blackhawks. Monday we discussed the cost. The second installment looked at three spots the Hawks might target to make a deal — and what the deal might look like.

#Blackhawks Moving Up In The Draft: Part II — Potential Partners https://t.co/Oj8l8WHGTZ pic.twitter.com/xeYyYDcqfU
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) May 16, 2023

With Dallas advancing to the Western Conference Final on Monday night, that’s one more piece of the Blackhawks’ draft puzzle that’s a little more clear. Remember: Chicago swapped a third-round pick with the Stars at last year’s draft for one in the 2023 NHL Draft. By virtue of the Stars being in the conference final, that pick will now be in the final four of the third round this year. Also, the Blues’ third pick in the first round this year came from Dallas so it slides into the final four of the opening round as well.

It's noteworthy with the Stars advancing to the WCF last night that the #Blackhawks third-round pick from Dallas will now by No. 94 at best— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) May 16, 2023

The new president of hockey ops for the Flyers, Keith Jones, was on Frank Seravalli’s podcast. This was a really interesting conversation that’s worth your time, but Jones’ comment about building from the blue line is both smart and encouraging as a Blackhawks fan. When you look at where the Blackhawks’ rebuild is going, and where the first young players will come to help the NHL roster, the collection of defensemen Chicago has put together is really impressive. Now we just need the Hawks to grab some forwards to get the offense going around Connor Bedard and the arrow is pointing way up.

Let’s also remember the Flyers have the 7th pick in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft. That might be a spot where the top defenseman in this year’s class, RHD David Reinbacher, comes off the board. There are a few teams after Philly who covet a big defenseman (Washington at 8, St. Louis at 10) so that’s a spot to keep an eye on as we get closer to the draft.

How will #Flyers prioritize their rebuild? Hint from Keith Jones:

"The blue line, to me, is the most important thing. We want to have a really advanced back end."

Frankly Speaking | Ep. 14: https://t.co/XRheRuUuNE

Presented by @OLGproline. Join today: https://t.co/W0NLcrQgeP pic.twitter.com/GzdBYdO1XE— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) May 16, 2023

Finally, we all love a first from a young player. Last night, we saw Mash Mervis lose one for the first time in the major leagues. I can’t wait to enjoy the heck out of Connor Bedard‘s first NHL EVERYTHING this coming season!

Matt Mervis Just Rocketed His First Big League Homer Off the Foul Polehttps://t.co/OyrV8sgazt pic.twitter.com/2T3ld9kNcz
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) May 17, 2023

written by

Tab Bamford

Tab Bamford has been writing about the Chicago Blackhawks for almost two decades. He joined Bleacher Nation as the lead Blackhawks writer in May 2022. Tab is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and is the author of two books about the Blackhawks: "100 Things Blackhawks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die" (Triumph Books) and "Chicago Blackhawks: An Illustrated Timeline" (Reedy Press, 2021). Find him on Twitter/X/Instagram/Threads at @The1Tab

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