The Chicago Blackhawks are likely to Draft a Defenseman in the 2024 Draft

When looking at this year's results on the ice it's easy to want to quickly transition to draft discussion. That is the exciting part of any rebuild afterall, the hope that comes with each draft pick and in particular any player selected high in the 1st round. Connor Bedard, Oliver Moore, Kevin Korchinski, Sam Rinzel, and Frank Nazar are all showing great early returns in Kyle Davidson's short tenure as a shrewd drafting general manager.

One thing has been a constant thus far though with Davidson, that he is going to likely draft the best player on the board when he selects. Whether that means getting the player that has unexpectedly fallen (Oliver Moore, Frank Nazar), the player that represents the highest upside on the board (Kevin Korchinski, Sam Rinzel) or the obvious pick (Connor Bedard). This leads to the next draft and how we can all use this history in trying to see which direction the Blackhawks may go in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Before diving into said 2024 draft class though it's important to look ahead at 2025 and 2026. With 14 picks in the top 2 rounds over all 3 of these drafts, the Hawks will have no shortage of opportunities to add impact players to the organization.

What do the 2025 / 2026 Drafts offer that the 2024 class does not?

Let's get one thing out of the way, if the Chicago Blackhawks get the #1 pick in 2024 they will select Macklin Celebrini. Outside of the outstanding center though, there is a pretty incomplete list of forwards available. 2025 however houses an unbelievable contingent of potential franchise level players from the forward (LW-C-RW) positions.

James Hagens, Anton Frondell, Porter Martone, Roger McQueen, and Michael Misa are just 5 of the many players already staking claim over becoming future top 10 selections. These 5 in particular though should give GMs across the league notice that perhaps they won't be selecting a defenseman if drafting high in the 2025 draft class.

Even further out is the 2026 class and yet again the forwards seem to have the edge, led by likely #1 pick (and cousin to Connor Bedard) Gavin McKenna. Canadian center Ryan Roobroeck is already producing in the OHL at the age 16 while looking like his frame will be that of a plus (already 6-2 185lbs) at the NHL level. Swedish born scoring dynamo Viggo Bjorck, while just 15, is putting up eye popping numbers (92 points in 33 games) though at a lower level of hockey than McKenna or Roobroeck.

So with this knowledge already in hand, where might the Blackhawks look in the 2024 Draft?

Simply put, outside of Macklin Celebrini going #1 overall the group of forwards in the draft class represent equal amounts of promise as they do risk. The likes of Ivan Demidov, Cayden Lindstrom, Berkly Catton, Liam Greentree, and Konsta Helenius are all talented, however when compared to what is in the next 2 drafts (from Blackhawk Up's perspective) it may be wise to look at the defensive players this go around.

That group, when taking into consideration the Blackhawks have two 1st round picks (their own and Tampa Bay's 1st round selection) may afford Chicago an opportunity to not only take one of the top 3 defenders, but perhaps 2 in the top 6 of said projected defenseman. There in lays the outline though, this 2024 draft class is shaping up to have upwards of 6 blue line talents that grade out inside the top 10-12 picks. With some teams likely opting for forwards, it could push one of the players closer to 15-20 and in the range of where the Blackhawks could maneuver (TBL currently hold the 21st selection slot).

Of those 6 players eluded to, half are right shot and half are left shot. As the Blackhawks have a heavy contingent of left handed defenders in the NHL or in the prospect pool, let's first look at the right handed prospects from a defensive point of view.

3 RD that the Blackhawks could take in the 2024 draft:

1. Sam Dickinson. If you've been reading the articles over the past few months, you know by now that everyone at Blackhawk Up is a big fan of Dickinson's projection. Without a doubt, Dickinson is one of the safest selections in this draft class. A likely pick in the 4-8 range, the LD has a refined and steady two way approach. Reliable in almost all areas already, Dickinson is also one of the younger players in the class (despite being 6-3 194lbs). The Blackhawks while having Korchinski and Vlasic on the left side, would be remissed if they didn't consider Sam Dickinson.

2. Anton Silayev. Maybe the biggest (pun intended) "what if" of any of the last few drafts. What if the 6'7 smooth skating LD turns into Zdeno Chara? What if he's just a very solid Tyler Myers though? Where would a GM be willing to make that pick? He has the talent to go inside the top 5, but that risk factor could prevent that and could push his selection into the more likely 7-12 compass.

3. Zeev Buium. This is a player that could go anywhere from 10th all the way into the 20s depending on how you see his value at the NHL level. Size is below average and he turned 18 a very Marian Hossa amount of days ago. So does the University of Denver product (well over a pt per game in NCAA) transcend his measurables? Most of the time he does as he seems quite "slippery" when eluding players and tends to make the difficult passes look easy. More than likely though this is a player that could find himself a little bit lower than first thought of when draft rolls around. Buium is a pick in that 12-20 range when all is said and done.

Note: Buium's link is of a Mock Draft from 66 days ago that still holds up pretty well. In said mock, Blackhawk Up made these predictions on the 6 top rated defenseman:

3. Sam Dickinson

4. Artyom Levshunov (Blackhawks)

5. Anton Silayev

9. Zayne Parekh

11. Zeev Buium

Carter Yakemchuk was outside of the top 16 at the time.

So will the Blackhawks take at least 1 defenseman in this year's first round? That seems likely at this point, especially inside the top 5 with heavy consideration to Artyom Levshunov and Sam Dickinson. If a Carter Yakemchuk or Zeev Buium make it into the teens then a potential move up from their 2nd first rounder could be an option as well.

With the 2025 and 2026 classes being stacked with better forwards than the 2024 class, the lack of right shot D that project as top 4 talents in the system, this draft is shaping up to see one of the these 6 prospects becoming a future Chicago Blackhawk.