Forget Powerball Just Pick #3

Dec 14, 2011; St. Paul, MN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews (19) against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. The Blackhawks defeated the Wild 4-3 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

Powerball Update- It’s up to $55o million but this is not about your 1 in 175,000,000 chance in $550,000,000, although 3 and 7 seem to be people’s lucky number and it has been lucky for Chicago teams.

When thinking about the #3 pick in any draft in any league most people in Chicago that have been around for a while and those that are NBA junkies have one memory.  The greatest player in the NBA was the the #3 pick of the 1984 draft.  The one and only Michael Jordan was passed up by both the Houston Rockets and Portland Trailblazers before he fell into the Bulls lap after his Olympic gold medal.  The Rockets weren’t left totally without anything having drafted an all-time great in Hakeem Olajuwon and his back to back titles while MJ was trying to be baseball player, but Portland was left with just a broken down Sam Bowie.

While I’m not comparing anybody in this article to Michael Jordan it is interesting that another great Chicago player was passed up by two teams in his draft in 2006.  Jonathan Toews was not taken by the St Louis Blues which selected defenseman Erik Johnson with the first pick of the draft, and Pittsburgh selected Jordan Staal with the second pick of the draft.  The Blackhawks selected their future captain with the beloved #3 pick of the 2006 draft.

Toews has won a Conn Smyth trophy while hoisting the Stanley Cup.  He has 144 goals 180 assists and a +87 +/- rating.  He also ranks routinely in the top 10 in faceoffs and of course there is all the non statistical stuff that cannot be measured but everyone from the locker room to the 3rd level in the United Center can see with their eyes.  Toews is the leader of the franchise and one of the biggest reasons that everyone wants this lockout to be over to see Toews back on the ice.  Toews may not be as dynamic as a Sydney Crosby, but he’s the nuts and bolts a “Mr. Consistency” that every team wishes they had on their end of the ice.

Like “the dream” Staal won a championship in Pittsburgh before getting traded pre lockout to Carolina to join his brother, but I’m sure the Blues would like to have that pick back instead of taking a defensman and be able to put Toews in their lineup for the next 15 seasons.

Pick #3 is a very lucky spot for Chicago organizations and Jonathan Toews is the latest example of a great player that landed in Chicago.

Good Luck with your powerball numbers tonight and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter@Blackhawk_Up and friend us on Facebook at Blackhawk Up!