3-round Chicago Blackhawks mock draft ahead of the NHL Entry Draft

The Chicago Blackhawks have an opportunity to add more talent to their rebuild in the NHL Entry Draft on Friday. The Hawks have the No. 2 overall pick in the draft along with five more picks in the draft's first 75 selections.

The first three rounds are usually where a team is going to get players capable of contributing on the top nine or as a first or second-pairing defenseman.

Sure, the Hawks might find a player in the fifth or sixth round who can contribute at the NHL level, but usually those picks are how teams fill out the AHL rosters.

That is why this mock draft will go through the team's first three rounds.

For this exercise, the FC Hockey mock draft simulator was used with the consensus board, not FC Hockey's board, to rank the prospects to choose from.

The Blackhawks value four traits in their prospects and that is speed, hockey intelligence, competitiveness, and character. Some of the selections made in this mock did take into account that the Hawks could use some size and they do need to add some more prospects to their blue line.

Here are the two players the Blackhawks could draft in the first round...

No. 2 overall, Ivan Demidov, Forward, SKA St. Petersburg, KHL

The Hawks could go safe and take Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov. That would not be a bad thing as he is very good blueline player.

Demidov provides a higher ceiling and the chance to be a star on the same level as Connor Bedard. Plus, Demidov has confirmed he is coming over to the NHL once his KHL contract expires after next season.

He is TSN's Bob McKenzie's second-best draft prospect in the draft.

No. 18 overall, Liam Greentree, Forward, Windsor Spitfires, OHL

Some would love for the Hawks to go defense here, but the board did not shake out where the Hawks would not be reaching. Greentree was the best available player and he is six feet, two inches tall and 194lbs.

He had 36 goals in the WHL and is a high-character guy.

NHL Central Scouting has him ranked as the 14th North American skater. Eliteprospects.com ranks him 15th, McKenzie lists him at 18, and Craig Button thinks he is the 23rd-best skater.

He needs to improve his skating and his overall game, but the Hawks could use his length and size, especially since a lot of the forward prospects in the Hawks are on the smaller side.