10 thoughts on the Blackhawks heading into the NHL Draft

Posted June 16, 2026 12:36 pm

By Scott Powers

Going into the 2023 NHL Draft, the Blackhawks knew they were selecting Connor Bedard with the first pick.

In 2024, they went into the draft knowing they’d select Artyom Levshunov second.

Last year, there was some intrigue about what the San Jose Sharks would do with the second pick, but the Blackhawks were pretty sure they’d be taking Anton Frondell with the third pick, and they were right.

With roughly two weeks until the 2026 draft, the Blackhawks are prepared to take the best player available with the fourth pick, but they have much less certainty of how things will play out before them.

Let’s get into that and more about the draft on June 26 and 27.

1. There will be a conversation between Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson and Sharks general manager Mike Grier about whether San Jose is open to flipping its No. 2 pick for the Blackhawks’ No. 4 pick. If the Sharks are targeting a defenseman, as many people assume, it could make sense for them to obtain the Blackhawks’ pick, gain another draft pick or two and still get the player they want.

According to PuckPedia’s draft pick calculator, the Sharks’ No. 2 pick is equivalent to a package of the Blackhawks’ No. 4 pick, another first-round pick in the No. 15-32 range (likely either the Edmonton Oilers’ or Florida Panthers’ 2027 first-round pick), and a 2026 third-round pick. Perhaps the Sharks would ask for the two first-round picks and a prospect or some other combination.

That type of NHL trade doesn’t happen that often, but it could make sense. We’ll see. It might not be discussed until days or hours before the draft.

2. There is a chance Ivar Stenberg will fall to the Blackhawks at No. 4. The Blackhawks don’t seem to be that confident in that, but others are. But even if that is a possibility, Blackhawks fans aren’t going to blame Davidson if he’s overly aggressive and gives up too much, at least on paper, while trying to acquire the Sharks’ No. 2 pick to ensure he can select Stenberg. Outside of Gavin McKenna, there’s not another player who fits what the Blackhawks could use more than Stenberg.

3. If the Blackhawks draft Stenberg, I assume Davidson will be less likely to sign and/or acquire another top-six forward unless he can largely do it with draft pick assets. Stenberg would jump into the Blackhawks’ NHL lineup next season, as Roman Kantserov will do. Adding Frondell, Kantserov and Stenberg to their top six in a short span would be significant. Add Nick Lardis to that top-six mix, and those are four important players who weren’t on the Blackhawks’ season-opening roster a season ago. There might be development bumps, but fans would be understanding.

Drafting Stenberg could impact how the Blackhawks build their lineup for the upcoming season. The Blackhawks would be at about 14 roster forwards if Stenberg is added to a list that already includes Kantserov, Frondell, Lardis, Bedard, Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene, Tyler Bertuzzi, Ryan Donato, Landon Slaggert, André Burakovsky, Teuvo Teräväinen and Andrew Mangiapane. That could mean Ilya Mikheyev is less likely to re-sign. It doesn’t sound as though the Blackhawks are considering any buyouts. That could change, depending on who is on the roster and where they stand with the salary-cap floor.

4. If the Blackhawks aren’t able to draft Stenberg, it’s not the end of the world. It might change how aggressively Davidson looks at the trade market in pursuing a top-six forward. The Blackhawks would be pleased with drafting Caleb Malhotra, who they liked throughout the past season and thought only got better. Frondell rose in their rankings in a similar way last season.

5. If McKenna, Stenberg and Malhotra are gone, which is a possibility, Chase Reid is likely the defenseman they’d take at No. 4. He checks a ton of boxes. Like Malhotra, Reid will probably spend a year or two playing college hockey before turning pro. At that point, the Blackhawks will have a better idea of what they have with their young NHL defensemen. The Blackhawks also don’t seem to care that Reid is a right-handed shot like Levshunov and Sam Rinzel.

6. The Blackhawks visited Reid at his home in Michigan, but that’s not that uncommon. Those visits are made by the Blackhawks regional scouts, not Davidson. He was not present at Reid’s home. Davidson did meet with Reid at the scouting combine.

7. It wouldn’t be shocking if the Blackhawks used a combination of two of their three second-round picks to move back into the first round. Quality is more important than quantity at this point in the rebuild. Whether the Blackhawks seek to move up could also be determined by who they pick at No. 4. The Blackhawks have the 34th, 37th and 45th picks in the second round.

8. The Blackhawks will likely draft a few defensemen with some of their second-, third- and fourth-pick picks. They have drafted six defensemen under Davidson in the last four years: Levshunov, Rinzel and Kevin Korchinski in the first round; Ashton Cumby and Ty Henry in the sixth round; and Janne Peltonen in the seventh round.

Cumby, Henry and Peltonen are long shots to become NHLers. Henry missed all of last season with an ankle injury and will be a freshman at St. Thomas next season. That extends the clock for the Blackhawks to own his rights. Peltonen still hasn’t become a fixture in Finland’s top division. The Blackhawks need to make a decision on him by June 1, 2027. Cumby signed a two-year AHL deal with the Rockford IceHogs. The Blackhawks like his physicality, but we’ll see how the rest of his game adapts to pro hockey.

9. The Blackhawks think Taige Harding has a chance to be an NHL player, especially what they saw in his development this past season. With fewer defenseman prospects coming after him, the Blackhawks could use more depth in the system. Jakub Vaněček and Ben Macbeath are a couple of defenseman prospects Chicago could look at in the second round. Xavier Villeneuve and Tommy Bleyl are two other possibilities, but they might not get out of the first round.

10. Could the Blackhawks draft a European and/or Russian player with their picks to store away and see what they become? It certainly paid off with drafting Kantserov in the second round. A few potentially intriguing players include Tomáš Chrenko (Slovakia) and Lavr Gashilov and Alan Shaikhlislamov from Russia.