Blackhawks to pick third after dropping in NHL draft lottery
For the third year in a row, the Blackhawks have a top-three selection in the NHL Draft.
General manager Kyle Davidson was almost giddy when discussing the team’s upcoming No. 3 pick, a spot determined during Monday’s draft lottery.
The Blackhawks had the second-best chance to move up to No. 1 but dropped to third after having the second-worst record in the league this season.
The New York Islanders will pick first despite entering the lottery with a 3.5% chance to win it. San Jose, which had the best chance, picks second. Among the players considered among the top prospects are defenseman Matthew Schaefer, and forwards Michael Misa and James Hagens.
“Third overall is a pretty damn good place to acquire more talent, and we’ll add it to a really strong prospect pool,” Davidson said. “Looking back at the season … the youth movement that was starting to come, that was super exciting.”
Of course, a team doesn’t get to third overall in the draft without going through a rebuilding period. The Blackhawks are firmly in the midst of theirs. This is the first time Chicago will make top-five picks in three consecutive drafts since 1963 to 1965. The Blackhawks also picked in the top five in three out of four seasons from 2004 to 2007 — a stretch netting the team Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
This run of high picks has already gained the team Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard and defenseman Artyom Levshunov, who played 18 games with the Blackhawks this rookie season. Davidson is confident this year’s selection will yield another promising player.
“Third overall, we’re gonna get a great player,” Davidson said. “We stayed in a good range where I think we’re going to be really excited with what we end up with.”
The bigger vacuum for the Blackhawks right now is at head coach. After Luke Richardson was fired in December, Davidson tapped Anders Sӧrensen as the interim head coach. While the team is still in the midst of its coaching search, Davidson said Sӧrensen remains an appealing candidate.
“Anders is certainly in the mix. With our young players, how they responded to him, it was quite positive,” Davidson said. “I can’t name one of our younger players that hasn’t gotten better under Anders, not one. They've all improved.”
Considering the Blackhawks had an average age of just over 27 years old last season — the eighth-youngest in the NHL — it makes sense Davidson would appreciate a coach who’s helped young players improve.
He’s also got a top-three pick to focus on, and he made it clear he was comfortable making the pick without the input of whomever the team chooses as the next head coach. He also said even before Monday’s draft lottery, there was a lot of enthusiasm around the league to fill the role.
“Ultimately, we want someone that’s excited about what’s going on in Chicago. And based on the reaction in my phone, this is quite an appealing job,” Davidson said. “But we’ve got to find the right person that fits what we’re doing, and that’s the course we’re running right now.”
The Blackhawks hope the uphill climb section of the course is almost done. The Rockford IceHogs, the team’s AHL affiliate, is one win away from a spot in the Central Division Finals. The youth movement is continuing to blossom — the key now is to properly fill in the puzzle.
“We want to make sure that in the end, we come to the best decision for the Chicago Blackhawks,” Davidson said. “We feel like we’re on that path now, but we don’t want to rush it. We just want to get it right.”