Let’s jump into a great read from the folks over at The Athletic from Monday. Corey Pronman wrote a fabulous piece in which he asked six NHL scouts to rank the last nine (9) No. 1 overall picks — and then include this year’s presumed No. 1, Macklin Celebrini — based on their impression of the player as an NHL prospect leading into their draft. On their list, Blackhawks’ star Connor Bedard ranked second behind Connor McDavid, just coming out in front of Toronto’s Auston Matthews.
Here’s what Pronman said about the feedback on Bedard’s profile before the Blackhawks picked him last summer:
Bedard has delivered on the hype behind him when healthy. He’s been Chicago’s best player when he’s in the lineup. His puck skills and offensive imagination are elite, and he has a special goal scorer’s touch while being able to play with pace and compete. The distinction between him and McDavid would be McDavid’s freak athleticism in his skating and size.
Two of the six voters preferred Matthews at the No. 2 position. Some preferred Matthews for his size and confidence in playing the center position in the NHL. Bedard has been a strong NHL center as a rookie but due to his frame, there’s a question on if he’s going to get beaten in the faceoff circle like Jack Hughes has.
For what it’s worth, the scouts rated Celebrini fifth; New Jersey’s Jack Hughes ranked fourth behind McDavid, Bedard and Matthews.
While we’re on the subject of Celebrini, I thought we’d take a different route with a few mock drafts in the days leading up to the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery. Using Takathon’s lottery simulator, I’m going to run a few mocks based on how the picks line up. In the first one this morning, the Blackhawks didn’t get a favorable result in the lottery. But did that hurt their ability to get the right player?
Oh yeah, keep your eyes on the sky around 10 this morning because…
Speaking of interesting mock drafts, I read one from FC Hockey that’s intriguing for a few reasons. They have the Blackhawks taking Ivan Demidov second overall, which I have also mocked recently. Then, with the Lightning’s pick at No. 20, the Blackhawks select LHD Aron Kiviharju. Here’s what they say about the pick:
With Chicago’s second pick in the first round, they select a smooth-skating Finnish defenseman in Aron Kiviharju. Kiviharju has fallen from his status as an elite prospect in this class and, though there are doubts he has a true elite upside, his highly-mobile style of game makes him a natural puck-mover and he’s a natural fit as a power-play quarterback with his offensive zone vision. Kiviharju missed a large portion of the season with injury, but a strong World Under-18s showing could vault him back up draft boards.
“Kiviharju is an elegant defenseman with ultimate playmaking skills. He can pass the puck anywhere on the ice from even the smallest spaces. In addition, he can pass high pucks into empty spaces for wingers at high speed.” – FCHockey regional scout Arttu Myllymaki
My Take: because the Blackhawks have a lot of depth already on the left side of the blue line, I haven’t considered Kiviharju at No. 20. In fact, because of his size (5-10, 172) I have him sliding into the mid- to late-20s in most of my mock drafts. Nice prospect. But I’m not sure how he would differentiate himself in a group with Kevin Korchinski and Wyatt Kaiser as puck-movers and Alex Vlasic and Ethan Del Mastro as more physical shut-down guys on the left side.
Speaking of first-round picks, this is a smart piece from Nate Brown at Chicago Hockey Now in which he discusses a few things Blackhawks fans should keep in mind for the offseason. First, he’s spot on that the Blackhawks can impact the NHL roster more immediately via trade than the draft this summer. With the exception of Celebrini, there isn’t a player who is probably going to be NHL ready for the 2024-25 season in this draft class. So, if you’re looking for immediate help, it’s No. 1 or not happening in the draft.
The bigger part of the discussion that’s smart is the idea of moving one of the Blackhawks’ acquired future first-round picks in a trade. He outlines how many players selected between 17-32 (when there have been 32 picks) who have appeared in 82 NHL games to date. The data isn’t great. I agree with him that the Hawks shouldn’t be against moving one of those picks. And it’s worth noting that general manager Kyle Davidson admitted at the 2023 trade deadline that one of the reasons they were pushing so many of their acquired picks down the road was so they had assets to make the right move when the time came. Is the time now? Probably not. But if the right deal presents itself?
OH BY THE WAY Connor Bedard’s cousin, Gavin McKenna, is a legit stud, too. He’s going to be the guy everyone wants in 2026 (yeah, three drafts away).
The Florida Panthers sent the Tampa Bay Lightning to the golf courses last night with an emphatic 6-1 win. This is an important result for a couple reasons, the first — and biggest of which for Blackhawks fans — is it helps Chicago’s position with Tampa’s first-round pick. Now we need Vegas to make a run…
The other reason this game was significant is because it might be the last time we see Steven Stamkos in a Bolts sweater. I know there are lots of Blackhawks fans who would love to see him come to town to work with Bedard and improve the offense. If we’re honest, if he leaves Tampa there will be a line of potential contenders in front of the Hawks in line for his services. So don’t go buying Stammer sweaters in red. Sorry.
More importantly to me, after watching Patrick Kane in a Rangers and Red Wings sweater over the past few months and the way things ended for Jonathan Toews in Chicago, there’s a part of my soul that doesn’t want to ever see Stamkos in anything but Tampa’s colors. He’s always been one of the absolute class acts in the entire game and has represented that franchise so incredibly well. Obviously it’s a business; even his head coach knows that it’s up to the player, agent and GM to make decisions from here. But I’m hoping Stamkos stays in Tampa.
Finally, want chills on a Tuesday morning? Watch one of the greatest linebackers in Bears history give the organization’s two first-round picks a pep talk and welcome them to the family.
NEWSLETTER
