Blackhawks Pre-draft Thoughts

                                                

It's been a minute since I've written about the Blackhawks, hasn't it?

The NHL Entry Level Draft is this Friday. I'll be honest, with work and the two books that I'm working on, I haven't had much time to devote to hockey. I didn't catch as much of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as I'd normally like. I'm sure as shit not following prospects to an in depth level. 

And that's the thing, with every year since Bedard's draft year, I've grown less and less interested in prospects. Most of these kids aren't going to play in the NHL. There's a high likelihood of Kyle Davidson drafting a player you don't like. It's just a crap shoot. 

With Gavin McKenna going at No. 1 (most likely), Caleb Malhotra and Ivar Stenberg are the two next forwards likely to be gone by the Hawks pick at four. However, there is the likelihood that San Jose drafts a defenseman (Chase Reid). See below on that San Jose pick.

The possibility of Kyle Davidson trading the No. 4 overall pick to acquire a player is also being floated around. If it's Matthew Knies, sure. Anyone else and it'd have to be a big surprise. 

Much like the end of the season where my interest in this team plummeted, I'm not all too excited for the draft. If we end up with Stenberg, I'll be happy. 

Scott Powers had some interesting things to say in a recent article, so let's dig in. 

• "The Blackhawks are expected to look for an established defenseman this offseason, as mentioned before. "
• Powers mentions John Carlson and Bowen Byram as potential targets. Carlson is likely to stay in the East and a Byram trade would be huge. But remember when this organization was pumping the tires of their defensemen? 
• I'm starting to have doubts about The Blackhawks own confidence in what was once seen a strength (a large amount of defensemen prospects). 
• Knies is mentioned as a high interest target for the Hawks but not for the No. 4 pick. 
• If we somehow land this, I'll ease up on some of my KD criticisms. 

There's some other stuff in there about contracts internal to the Hawks and whatnot. Obviously the big one being Connor Bedard's, which hasn't really moved all too much.

But of course, today (June 23) the San Jose Sharks traded William Ecklund to the Ottawa Senators, which means they will most likely use their No.2 overall pick on Stenberg. 

Sharks seem likely to take Ivar Stenberg at #2 now that they’ve dealt another young winger for a pick that’ll likely get used to take a D.

That is, unless the Blackhawks trade up for #2. https://t.co/Yp5kGRp2cT

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) June 23, 2026

Meanwhile, it's been crickets from Kyle Davidson.  We'll have thoughts after the draft.