5 sleepers at forward the Blackhawks must consider in the 2024 NHL Draft

The Chicago Blackhawks have so many picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, general manager Kyle Davidson is bound to land a sleeper. While that player could be a blueliner or a goaltender, let’s keep our focus at forward. Unlike those forwards Davidson can snag with his second first-round pick, the players listed in this slideshow aren’t expecting their names to be called in the first round and perhaps not even in the second. 

As the headline and above paragraph suggest, we’re talking about sleepers, but each forward listed possesses high potential. The primary criteria for this one are that none of the players mentioned will sit lower than 50th overall per Tankathon’s rankings, meaning they, at best, are slated to be taken in the bottom half of the second round. 

But that doesn’t mean these aren’t future top-six forwards, even if few, if any, are projecting such to be the case at the moment. Those listed have also produced well, so the likely culprit is a lack of size, a raw skill-set, or perhaps they’re just late-bloomers, or a combination. 

2024 NHL Draft contains a few underrated forwards for the Blackhawks 

That said, proper development, whether it’s to pack on more size, consistency, or learning to play the game beyond just natural talent, is what each of the following players may require. So, getting them into the system is the first step while they continue their careers either overseas, in college, or in the junior leagues. 

While it would be great to land every potential sleeper on this list, Davidson would realistically draft just one or two of the following players tops. And that’s if he’s focusing on getting more forwards, especially wingers, into the system.  

So, which five draft prospects should Davidson key on in the back half of Round 2 and beyond? Let’s check out these five names, starting with the 52nd-ranked prospect via Tankathon as of the morning of April 30th - note that these rankings DO update periodically.