The Athletic has Blackhawks losing young defenseman in mock NHL Expansion Draft

One of the NHL’s most inevitable offseason topics is when expansion will occur again, which led The Athletic to piece together a mock Expansion Draft for a fictional 33rd team. Because of the strict rules of the draft, the Chicago Blackhawks would find themselves in a unique situation: with so much young homegrown talent in the lineup, they would risk losing one of them unless they worked out a deal to move a veteran.

In a related article, The Athletic broke down the best options for the Blackhawks to protect, whether it was based on skill or contract status, and went with the eight-skater, one-goalie option, keeping Connor Bedard, Tyler Bertuzzi, Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Bowen Byram, Sam Rinzel, Alex Vlasic, Artyom Levshunov, and goalie Spencer Knight.

The writers based this mock draft on the 2026-27 roster, so who knows who may be in a Chicago sweater when the real thing happens. But for entertainment purposes, once a handful of big names came off the board, The Athletic then selected 24-year-old defenseman Wyatt Kaiser.

Initially drafted 81st overall at the 2020 NHL Draft, Kaiser finally became a full-time NHLer last season, scoring six goals and finishing the campaign with 17 points in 77 games. Although he made his Blackhawks debut back in 2022-23, he skated only nine games that year, with an additional 32 in 2023-24, and another 57 in 2024-25. Overall, in the NHL, he’s up to 175 games over five seasons with 10 goals and 35 points.

The last time the Blackhawks participated in an Expansion Draft was 2021, when the Seattle Kraken joined the NHL. The franchise was in a different place at the time, with names like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Alex DeBrincat on their protection list. At the same time, John Quenneville ended up being the Kraken’s selection from Chicago. As a former first-round pick, 30th overall with the New Jersey Devils, Quenneville played only nine games with the Blackhawks and never suited up with Seattle.

When the Vegas Golden Knights joined the NHL in 2017, Chicago’s protection list featured the core of the franchise’s recent dynasty, including Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Corey Crawford. That year, the Blackhawks lost 2015 Stanley Cup winner Trevor van Riemsdyk to the Golden Knights, who would trade him the very next day to the Washington Capitals.

Because the Blackhawks have spent the majority of this decade restocking the cupboard with draft picks who have turned into NHL regulars and superstars, they could end up losing one of those players whom they’ve developed for years. But that could be the price to protect the team’s core, who are one step closer to being a contender again.

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