3 needs the Chicago Blackhawks must address in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft

As the 2023-24 NHL regular season nears its conclusion, teams are beginning to look ahead. When the season ends on Friday, April 14th, the top sixteen teams will be chasing the Stanley Cup while the remaining sixteen clubs look toward the offseason, particularly the NHL Draft.

The Chicago Blackhawks are a team that has been thinking about the draft all season long as they continue with their rebuild. Despite drafting Connor Bedard with the first-overall selection in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the Blackhawks rebuild is not yet nearing the finishing stages.

With a 22-48-5 record and 49 points, Chicago sits 31st in the NHL standings, only sitting above the San Jose Sharks who have 42 points. If there is no change to the bottom three in the standings, the Blackhawks will end the season having a 13.5% chance at winning the draft lottery, the second-best odds.

Last season, the Blackhawks ended the year with the third-best odds at winning the lottery and won, but there is no guarantee that lightning will strike twice. However, if the Blackhawks do not end up winning the lottery, they will still be drafting a great player with tons of potential. Aside from their first-round pick, the Blackhawks also have the Tampa Bay Lightning's first-rounder which they acquired in the Brandon Hagel trade at the 2022 Trade Deadline.

With seven more draft picks beyond the first round, three of which are in the second round, there will be plenty of opportunities for the Blackhawks to make their prospect pool even deeper.

The Blackhawks pipeline has been coming along very nicely since General Manager Kyle Davidson took over in 2022, but there are still some areas where the team could look to improve as this year's NHL Draft approaches.